by MaryJo Brueggeman
Our recent blog post on how one of our clients leveraged our Kudos Reports to boost both patient and employee engagement resonated with our readers. The concept is simple and yet we’ve found that this one element of our comprehensive suite of health system performance improvement tools is particularly powerful. Why? Because TruthPoint’s Kudos Reports formalize what is often an informal process in ways that ensure several positive impacts:
- The ability to capture patient and family inputs, opinions and perceptions while they’re “in the moment,” including feedback about the staff they’ve interacted with
- The ability to identify staff who have gone above and beyond to create exceptional experiences for the patients they serve—too often these critical moments go unseen and unnoticed by administrators
- The ability to recognize staff whose actions have made a difference to patients
- The ability to collect, aggregate and analyze these inputs to identify what patients most value so that these actions can be formally incorporated into process improvements
Patients appreciate the opportunity to share their perspectives and, especially, to know that their input will be shared and used to make their care—and the care of other patients—better.
Employees and providers value the ability to learn how they’re positively impacting the patients they serve and to receive well deserved recognition from their peers and managers. Your healthcare organization benefits from insights that can be used to make process improvements and to spread best practices to improve the patient experience.
During my time as CNO of a community hospital in Minnesota, I found it was not unusual to see copies of kudos’ reports acknowledging specific individuals on their locker doors or posted in break rooms. It was the part of the results report they were most eager to hear. I was sitting with an HR professional shortly before I left my role as CNO, and there on her cubicle wall was a thank you note I had written her 8-years before, referencing a Kudo from another employee. These are powerful tools.
The importance of acknowledgement to employees is well documented. In a TEDTalk, behavioral economist Dan Ariely talked about what motivates employees to feel good about their work based on studies that he has conducted. A key takeaway: we are most motivated by the knowledge that what we do is meaningful, and by the acknowledgement of others. In short, kudos carry exceptional power!
We also know that there is an inextricable link between satisfied employees and satisfied patients. When employees feel valued they’re more engaged and more likely to extend extra effort to ensure that patient needs are met—and exceeded.
But, without a formal means of capturing, sharing, aggregating and analyzing these inputs healthcare organizations miss out on opportunities to identify, and replicate, best practices across the healthcare system. They miss out on the simple “aha moments” that can come from a seemingly casual comment. They miss out on the opportunity to acknowledge and engage staff members who work tirelessly to provide service to patients in situations where usually only they, and those they care for, know the value and impact of the service they’ve provided.
If you’re leaving the opportunity to capture and share kudos to benefit staff, patients and your organization to chance, Kudos Reports can help you make sure those important insights don’t fall through the cracks.