New research has come out that has examined the significant impact that employee engagement efforts can have on the healthcare industry. It finds that hospitals that can raise their employee engagement also report more satisfied patients, who are more likely to recommend the hospital to others. The Forum,  ” Employee Engagement = Better Patient Care and Satisfaction,” notes that the average nurse turnover rate in acute care hospitals is 21.3 percent. That number is even higher in at critical care facilities.

Hospitals must view engagement efforts as part of the a long-term approach, not just a one-off morale boost. To better understand, they broke down the impact of higher employee engagement into three categories.

1. The impact on the employees themselves.

2. The effects on patients (including creased patient loyalty and word of mouth recommendations)

3. The impact on the facility’s financial performance.

Now that hospitals are turning to computers and electronic devices to conduct diagnostic test, the focus on employee engagement has become essential. The key conclusion is that in addition to what healthcare workers do, emphasis needs to be placed on how the employees feel about what they do. Patient experiences won’t be good if employees aren’t happy.

Content taken from the article “Employee Engagement = Better Patient Care and Satisfaction” by Frank Mulhern, of Northwestern University as well as Jimmy Peltier and Andy Dahl, of the University of Wisconsin