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How do you empower hospital staff members?

In today’s healthcare world, most hospital staff members experience an abundance of stress - from an onslaught of new patients due to COVID-19, to strict new guidelines, to new health measures. A lot of people working in hospitals are also experiencing burnout.

When staff members experience burnout, it has a direct effect on the patient experience.

So how do we empower staff members to do their job, be positive, and improve the patient experience?

We do it through empowerment. Here are seven ways to do it.

7 Ways to Empower Hospital Staff Members Using the Empowerment Bundle

1. Service Recovery

When staff members work together to execute excellent patient care, the environment changes.

All employees must make it a part of their daily practice to “mess up, fess up, and dress up.” When we make this a part of our practice, habits, and culture, it displaces the old behaviors and becomes our cultural practice.

When we make a mistake, we have to be accountable for it and do our best to rectify it and learn from it. That’s what service recovery is all about.

2. Six-Foot Rule

In the days of COVID-19 and social distancing, all staff members must abide by the six-foot rule to keep a safe distance between themselves, other staff members, and patients.

Following the six-foot rule not only respects the people and patients you are working with but shows them that the hospital is doing its part to protect patients.

3. Managing Up

Managing up means saying something significant about another caregiver when you hand them off to another patient.

By doing this, the patient can rest assured that the staff member caring for them will do their best to provide the best service possible.

4. Platinum Live-it

The platinum live-it rule emphasizes the importance of following up. Whether you are following up with patients, other hospital staff members, a doctor, or another superior, doing so will improve the overall experience for both patients and staff members.

5. No Pass Zone

When you see an opportunity to help a fellow staff member or patient, do not pass it up. A culture of engagement builds off of teamwork. Do not pass up the opportunity to help someone in need.

6. License to Silence

Everyone is empowered to speak with a kinder, gentler voice, fix the noise, and honor and recognize quiet time, healing time, or hush time in the afternoons or evenings.

Never underestimate the power of silence in patient care. A patient’s perception of silence is more important in the day than it is sleeping at night.

As a caregiver, this is something you must always remember and practice.

7. Freedom to Clean

You are never too important to pick up something dirty on the floor, whether dirty bandages, dirty paper, or anything else. Think about how you keep your desk organized. Patients can see it, so it looks professional.

With the freedom to clean, we all have the empowerment to clean as we go.

Lead in the New Normal By Empowering Your Hospital Staff

It’s not easy to lead in the new normal. The above seven best practices of the empowerment bundle can help improve patient satisfaction in a hospital during these difficult times. They can also improve the morale of all your hospital staff.

By following all these best practices, everyone can train up. Everyone can be part of the solution.

Reimagining Healthcare Engagement Summit

In June, we hold a special one-day summit called “Reimagining Healthcare Engagement,” which will be 100% live streaming. Register to learn more about how to refresh the workplace through resilience, agility, and kindness.

Everyone’s a Caregiver: Providing Education for Healthcare Workers

Everyone's a Caregiver provides education to healthcare workers to better improve their patient's overall experience. We understand the time constraints placed in today's workplace and have customized microlearning videos to help you gain the skills you need to be a better, more positive healthcare worker. Contact us today to see how we can help, or click here to learn more.

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