As you know we did not make the Top 25 Best employers in the State this year. We have received the actual survey results and comments.
In most companies feedback like this would normally be the “big pink elephant” in the room that no one wants to talk about. But the only way things get better is to put them out in the open and have a plan to make it better.
These statistics and comments help our senior leadership gauge how well we’re doing on employee satisfaction. There were many positive comments and negative as well. Our raw score dropped overall by 10 points and in each individual category by an equal or greater amount.
Your feedback was very telling about what you were unhappy about and what you would like to see addressed. It is also clear that there are some misunderstandings about all sorts of things from how we make money to how some of our benefits work. Here are a few noteworthy comments:
1. A few people didn’t understand why we are expanding our outpatient sites if we were having money problems.
Here is some clarity: Our Foundation raises money dedicated specifically for renovations of current or new locations, and then we hire staff to serve more patients. The only way we can make more money is to see more kids. There is no other way for us to be able to cover our increasing costs without continuing to grow.
2. Someone wrote that they were unhappy the tuition reimbursement was eliminated.
This one is just not true. We did not eliminate our tuition reimbursement program. We just put a cap on how much we will reimburse and that an employee must continue to work at CSH for a specific period of time after they complete their course. It’s unfortunate, but we had people get their degrees and resign after their graduation.
The examples above speak to a bigger issue of miscommunication and access to information. While we have the weekly wrap up, this blog, children's chatter and the intranet where a lot of information is posted, face to face interactions makes all the difference. This is an area where we can improve, and will!
I have asked Senior Leadership to start attending staff meetings to reinforce that you have access to have your questions answered at any time.
We will also be implementing “lunch and learns” given by Senior Leaders. We will advertise the topic and you can bring your lunch and learn more about all sorts of topics that were identified in your comments.
Many comments also referred for the need for more employee recognition and events we can do together. You ask, we provide.
We are going to have a get together during rehab week in September. We will also use this as the chance to recognize the employees who celebrated their milestone years this year and last (5, 10 15 years of service). In addition we will be pulling the stars that have been given out at each site and the person who has had the most Press, Ganey comments written about them by site and creating special recognition for them.
While I am disappointed that we did not get the recognition, not because of the award, but because it was your way of saying that you aren't happy.
While some will argue that it is not a surprise given that we aren't giving raises and we had to make a lot of hard choices about changing benefits in order to avoid layoffs, the bottom line is that your comments and scores tell us that you didn’t think we handled the changes in a way that was appropriate for you and I own that. No excuses.
You have given us feedback of the things you want changed. Some we can fix; some we can't. But through it all we will keep talking and using your feedback to make us a better organization and a better place to work.
Your ideas and comments are always welcome.
Amy
8 comments:
What a great blog. It’s really nice to see some of things written in this post. I believe one of the most important attributes anyone can have is that of “Accountability.” Much like Toyota felt the need to listen to their customers and make immediate changes to their product, it’s fantastic to hear that our Senior Leadership is taking the recent survey to heart and attempting to make changes here (although we didn’t have any national recall on our product). The “lunch and learns” might be an interesting way to get correct information out to employees, but they will only work if employees attend and accurately spread the word out to our colleagues who are unable to attend. I would suggest that “Fact sheets” or “Take aways” be distributed after the meetings to prevent the game of telephone taking place or rumors and misinformation being circulated.
While I agree with the comments that it would be nice to try and get together more often I certainly realize the struggle that poses. As we expand, it will be harder to centralize a location for get-togethers, but it will be nice to try and get back to the days of the Beach Party, but maybe on a smaller scale.
I feel the need to comment on the idea that we need more recognition. Remembering that this is my own opinion and others are welcome to disagree I feel that time and money spent on Recognition Programs might be better utilized on improving the flow of necessary procedures and systems within the hospital. Basically, we hear people say they are not being recognized for what they do. There have been so many programs in the past and many more that are already in place where recognition occurs. I’m probably missing some, but the ones that come to the top of my head are:
1) Star Program
2) Press Ganey
3) Incentive Bonus
4) Press Ganey Bonus
5) Weekly wrap up mentions
6) Children’s Chatter mentions
7) Senior Leadership meeting mentions
8) 5, 10, 15, 20 year employee recognition
9) Monthly discipline recognition i.e. OT month, Rehab Week, etc.
10) COACH program (bobblehead)
11) Beach Party
12) Parties when having babies, marriages, or people leave
13) Jeans days
14) Pictures hanging on the wall
15) Pizza parties when we meet corporate goals
16) etc, etc., etc.
What more do people want? I’ll say this bluntly, if you got into this job for recognition, it might not be the best job for you. We’re here for the patients and families, no matter what your status or job description in the hospital.
“I don’t want people to recognize me for doing my job well, I want people to recognize what it takes to do my job well”
That quote sums it up for me. We can’t do our job well without the proper resources or materials. Maybe we could save some time and money on Recognition Programs and put them to better use towards improving the procedures that need improving. But on the other hand, maybe money for Recognition Programs comes from another budget. I don’t know the answer, but when I keep hearing people asking for more recognition AND changes to daily operations I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we just focused on improving procedures and operations first…
Can’t wait to see the replies to this one…
I so agree with you Brian because it's what we need to do our jobs that makes us get recognized in the first place. I have come to realized that they are alot of people working here that do not care about the kids and their families. The ones that do and give new processes and suggestions to make our job efficient and less hectic are brushed a side. I have also seen where they are alot of unrealistic goals that are supposed to be met and thats setting your employee's up to fail, so where is the recognition in that FAILURE. I LOVE working for CSH even if we are not getting a raise or no recognition but that the people i'm working with are TEAM players to get the job done. They are also Managers and Directors that don't ever listen to their employee's. Worker's that don't even do anything are given recognition, stars and a bonus. Amy i know you wouldn't know any of this because your busy making things better for our kids but if your gonna try to fix CSH problems start from the bottom (regular workers)cause we also play very important roles in the process. They are alot of workers that would like to meet with you confidentially without Senior Leadership because they are scared of losing their jobs or being written up for just letting you know what's happening in the departments. I am are praying for a better CSH where problems on the lower level can be solved without everyone knowing your business and sides are being taken or any sort of animosity. I love that you are a open minded person and you show that you truly listen to us Amy. I wish some Leaders could take some qualities from you. I am thankful your at the TOP. I will also end with Brians saying
“I don’t want people to recognize me for doing my job well, I want people to recognize what it takes to do my job well”
Anonymous raises an interesting point regarding the ability (or feeling there is a lack thereof) for CSH employees to comment on the leadership within their own department. It concerns me to hear that employees are uncomfortable addressing issues with their immediate supervisors / directors in fear of retribution. I have a feeling that this may be a decent portion of the Big Pink Elephant that is roaming the halls of CSH... A great deal of anxiety, stress and concern could potentially be relieved from employees if they had a method of sharing departmental concerns directly with Senior Leadership that assured their disclosure would not negatively impact their status here. Of course, employees should try to work out any departmental issues directly with their supervisors / directors if possible. However, if employees feel the need to comment on the performance of their director / supervisor, (or anything else that concerns them for that matter) they should be able to do so comfortably and in confidence.
Do we currently have any procedure or confidential process in place for employees to voice their concerns about this issue? If not, maybe one should be developed.
Just my two cents...
Thanks to all who are sharing your ideas and helping Children's Specialized be the best we can be.
To Anonymous I had specific reactions - Let me ask you to think about it this way - in many ways I have the easy job. I get to talk about programs/services at 30,000 feet and don't have to enforce the day to day rules that make sure we hit our goals, many of the points you mentioned in your comments. Let me assure you, no one is being set up to fail. We are required to do all sorts of things by State and Federal regulators, insurance companies, our customers demands and see a certain number of patients just to be able to pay our bills.
If you have ideas of things that you think should change or things you want to be explained about how/why we do them - then you can do what you did today, post anonymously, and except for individual personnel issues, I will respond to your suggestions. If you have people that you feel are not living our values, then you should let HR know. They will keep it confidential and do a review to see if what you say is supported by others. In those personnel situations, we can't go back and tell you what we have done because that is private but EVERY concern is reviewed and taken very seriously.
I am asking you not to sit out and just be unhappy. We created this blog for just the things you mentioned in your comment. Give us a chance to fix it or at least tell you why we can't.
Amy
I really agree with Brian's comments. I don't need recognition. I want to be given the tools I need to perform my job effectively. I have been working at CSH for several years, and there was a time when I looked forward to coming to work. Now I have to remind myself of my financial responsibilities in order to gear up for CSH each morning. I don't need recognition, and in this economic climate I don't expect an increase.
I wonder when the hostility and lack of understanding toward one another began. The "Us versus Them" attitude. Do we really understand how frustrating it must be for Clinicians to treat patients, complete documentation, and then the insurance company denies the patient's treatment? Do we know how frustrating it must be for a Scheduler to schedule an appointment, obtain accurate information, and answer a parent's questions within a certain time frame while there are a large volume of calls waiting in the telephone queue? Do we know how stressful it is for a Registrar to register patients quickly and accurately with a lobby filled with overwhelmed parents, and a frustrated physician waiting down the hall for their patient? What about PAS trying to obtain authorization for services, having to go back and forth with a health plan only for the plan to deny authorization of services, and then you have to call the parent and explain? How about Patient Accounts trying to collect payment from a parent who has been laid off and has no health insurance? All of our jobs have challenges. While we have "Compassion" for our patients, we need to practice it toward one another.
When has it become acceptable for a Director or Manager to remain in his/her office all day with the door locked, and the blinds closed. The back and forth between Directors and Managers, the finger pointing, outbursts, meltdowns, the back and forth emails, the endless meetings addressing the same issues over and over again. I'm sure they are under pressure and have goals that they must meet, but it should not be at the emotional cost of their staff. Their attitude trickles down and impacts the staff. Of course this does not apply to all Directors and Managers, but you hear the grumblings in the hallways and cafeteria enough to know that it is an issue. Teamwork and Compassion begins with them. Sometimes they unwittingly pit Departments against one another. Employee Meetings with Amy are a great tool for us to understand what CSH has accomplished and where we might be headed. However, if you really want honest answers to the question, "Any rumors or concerns?" hold Employee meetings with no Directors, Managers, or HR executives with notepads. Who in their right mind is going to tell Amy their concerns when they are sitting next to their Director or Manager?
What an excellent summary the preceeding write-up is! I'm assuming it comes from a 'higher-up' in the organization or perhaps someone in HR, because every sentence is so right on the money, and summarizes what everybody thinks, but nobody has the guts to say. Thank you so very much for writing this.
Thank you for taking the time to complete such a passionate well thought out post. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on a few items you mentioned.
- When do you think “it” started?
- You talk a lot about “us” and “them,” Are you referring to management vs staff or Department vs departments?
Finally, you asked why I don’t exclude managers/HR/directors from the employee meetings. The answer to that is simple: we are trying to create an atmosphere where you can speak about anything in front of anyone. I know this is not possible in all cases. To practice our culture of caring if issues do arise, deal with the person that you have the issue with. I can't tell from your comments whether you have tried that or not. You cannot make a situation better without putting in some effort yourself and taking action. If you cannot speak with the person directly involved, you have to feel comfortable in speaking with your director or HR. How can we deal with the issues it if we do not know?
I’m a little surprised by your comments because the findings from our employee survey show that employee/supervisor relationships is our highest satisfaction score. So what am I missing?
I am not sure if this answers your specific issues but here is my last thought. None of this will get better unless you meet me half way to make it better. You need to step up. Identify the specific issues and let us begin to address them.
Amy
I think the biggest step has already been created. A tool like this blog, allowing yourself to speak your mind anonmously will create tools for more open communication in the end!
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