Today, the focus on employee productivity is everywhere, including healthcare industries. Unfortunately, however, during the pandemic, employee productivity in healthcare may have backslid.
Good news, though, you can get your employee productivity back on track with the following foolproof ways. With that, you can continue to be a valued member of the healthcare industry.
In this article, we explore five tried and tested strategies companies can adopt to maximise employee productivity in healthcare.
Importance of employee productivity in healthcare
Increased employee productivity in healthcare can be beneficial for the quality of patient care and, resultantly, improve the satisfaction of the company’s medical services.
Moreover, employee productivity is directly associated with employee engagement, and ultimately, the turnover rate in the healthcare industry. Resultingly, it reduces human resources hiring costs and provides a conspicuous customer experience that’s worthy of circulating.
In 2020, the turnover rate in healthcare stood at a whopping 19.5%, as cited from a Retention & RN Staffing Report by NSI National Health Care. Needless to say, these aren’t solely numbers. However, they also exhibit the significance of employee productivity in healthcare and why employers should recalibrate and emphasise employee productivity more.
Since employees are instrumental in the healthcare industry, there is a notion your employee’s performance and productivity can immensely affect the services provided and, inevitably, the moods of your patients.
Therefore, employee productivity is decisive in the success of your business, just as patient satisfaction constitutes employees’ efficacy.
Improve workplace communication in healthcare
Effective communication in healthcare ensures accurate diagnoses, encourages a better quality of work, leads to optimal work processes, and predominantly raises employee productivity in healthcare. But, just how many companies have fully embraced the boons of improving workplace communication in healthcare?
According to research by FierceHealthcare, poor communication has led to nearly 2,000 deaths and $1.7 billion of medical malpractice claims. This massive cost incurred indicates poor communication is more widespread than effective communication, negatively impacting employee productivity. Moreover, conflicts may arise from poor communication and affect the team’s performance and morale.
Poor communication in healthcare includes miscommunication of patients’ treatment processes, inadequate consent, deplorable conduct and lack of professional relationship. For that reason, it’s cardinal to utilise the right communication tools and methods to minimise conflicts and prioritise patient safety.
Companies should disseminate codes to articulate standards of practice in healthcare to the staff to minimise misunderstandings. Additionally, there should be open lines of communication to facilitate sharing of information between all employees and create a seamless and effective communication experience for everyone.
Communication should be reciprocal and effective communication will skyrocket employee productivity in healthcare.
Prioritise employee wellbeing
It’s always about “How are the patients today?” and never, “How are employees being treated and cared for?” More often than not, we neglect the wellbeing of our staff, trying to chase results and KPIs. However, prioritising employee wellbeing can be an essential facet of employee productivity in healthcare.
Employee wellbeing is undoubtedly associated with employee productivity in healthcare. Well-rested employees with improved mental health will develop a more positive attitude towards work and directly impact the ability to serve patients wholeheartedly. Besides, employees will focus more to complete tasks at hand, being more efficient with their work processes, and producing higher quality deliverables.
Additionally, by prioritising wellbeing, employees won’t suffer from mental and physical health illnesses due to distress arising from work. Furthermore, prioritising employee wellbeing boosts morale and reduces the chances of staff burnout from implicating other staff and the quality of care provided to patients.
That being the case, companies can organise periodic wellness programs, taking care of employees’ physical and mental health. However, such recurrent bonding events seem inconsequential initially, and companies may be on the horns of a dilemma to discontinue the programs.
Nevertheless, do persevere as the employee wellness programs will manifest themselves as beneficial in the long run for maximising employee productivity in healthcare.
Establish a positive culture and management in healthcare
It’s always known that fostering a positive workplace culture and good management goes hand in hand with employee productivity, but how much of that is true? According to a Global Happiness and Wellbeing report by Harvard Business School, employee satisfaction has a positive correlation of 0.20 to employee productivity and an average of a negative 0.25 correlation to staff turnover rate.
With such a positive correlation, you can’t deny the fact placed right before your eyes. Cultivating a positive workplace culture and worthy management corresponds to employee productivity in healthcare. The culture and management can make or break an employee’s mindset. All employees want to feel safe and valued in the working environment – a zero harm culture.
Companies should integrate ways to adopt such a culture in the healthcare sector as it establishes an employee’s mindset of coming to work. On top of that, companies can now adopt hybrid work arrangements to comply with government regulations.
Not only can this cut down the number of people heading down towards the workplace, but it also strengthens employee productivity. During the pandemic, employee welfare and support prove to be substantially critical in healthcare.
Therefore, the management should monitor and manage the organisation’s culture and conditions to optimise employee productivity in healthcare. Hence, the management is entrusted with promoting and fostering an affirmative working environment, where employee productivity in healthcare benefits themselves and their patients.
Evaluate employees’ performance via key metrics
Tracking employees’ performance using key metrics may seem daunting. There are many factors and metrics to consider, especially in the healthcare sector. You may be thinking, “Isn’t performance evaluation just another mundane year-end process to deal with?” Well, just read on.
Performance management is salient in every company. If done correctly, performance evaluation can increase employee productivity in healthcare and empower employees to improve service quality.
With that said, it’s vital performance management is conducted well, with the sole objective to improve and teach your employees, not to bring them down. Performance evaluation can be a breezy and enjoyable process for both parties. Here’s how.
You should provide frequent and transparent feedback to your employees based on palpable key metrics, such as patient retention, satisfaction rates and wait times. Go ahead and celebrate their gains or achievements at work, but certainly don’t be shy to share their areas of improvement as well.
Such a holistic assessment of their performance offers employees a clearer picture of patients’ expectations. Thus, it encourages a customer-centric approach to work on their shortcomings accordingly.
Of course, those mentioned above aren’t the only few vital metrics to measure. There’s more, and it’s up to you to determine the prime metrics your company wants to assess. Consequently, the business will recognise progress in employee productivity in healthcare and organisational performance.
Utilise the right technology in healthcare
As technology advances, it entices businesses to adapt and utilise the myriad of technology to stay ahead of their competitors. However, not all technology systems can be implemented in any industry, especially healthcare.
Did you honestly believe the healthcare industry and, more specifically, your institute can utilise every single technology ever created? Well, you could be mistaken.
Technology misuse can instead be detrimental to employee productivity in the healthcare industry. For example, specific healthcare sectors implemented HR tools as a healthcare management system. Yet, HR tools have limitations and are not accustomed to different workflows. The complexity of technology used and its cost are driving factors that determine its potency in healthcare.
As healthcare industries mitigate the effects of COVID-19, they face a more prominent issue of staffing displacement and disruptions in their physical operations. As a result, businesses deploy technology to connect with patients and stakeholders remotely.
The healthcare industry can leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) coupled with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to automate repetitive work processes in healthcare.
Visitor management and electronic medication management systems are examples of technology the healthcare sector can implement to boost employee productivity. This implementation reduces employee burnout and inefficiency in the workplace and ameliorates employee productivity.
In closing
There are numerous opinions on how to boost employee productivity in healthcare. Although not limited to, such proposed actions are:
- Effective communication
- Prioritising employee wellbeing
- Managing workplace culture
- Evaluating employee performance via key metrics
- Leveraging the right technology
These might as well be the fundamentals to make headway for employee productivity in healthcare. Once companies apply these tactics, institutes will maximise customer experience and enhance the satisfaction of medical services.
Therefore, it’s incredibly pivotal to maximising employee productivity in healthcare, especially when the industry is the pillar of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare industry can’t fall, and as long as companies take these lines of action, there shouldn’t be an issue of employee productivity in healthcare.
Moving forward, we can then conquer COVID-19 together and come out of this pandemic stronger and better prepared for the future.
