Employee recognition - the key to better healthcare culture?

Employee recognition plays a vital role in transforming the culture of healthcare organizations. It serves as a solution for aligning employees across various job functions and locations and encouraging them to consider a long-term career in healthcare. By strategically implementing recognition programs, organizations can unify their culture, foster long-term development, and enhance employees' morale and sense of well-being.

How recognition unifies culture

Unifying culture within healthcare organizations can be challenging. The alignment of frontline staff and administrative staff, prevention of microcultures in different departments or locations, and maintenance of a shared ethos are critical concerns. While training can help impart values and vision during onboarding and subsequent team-building activities, consistent reinforcement is essential to prevent culture drift. Employee recognition, when utilized strategically, acts as a tool to create cultural habits and mitigate these challenges.

By leveraging employee recognition, healthcare organizations can foster a positive and rewarding employee experience, ensuring that the values and goals of the organization become ingrained in the daily work of all professionals, uniting them towards a common purpose.

At Rewardian, we highly recommend aligning your recognition program with your organization's core values to reinforce their importance. One effective way to do this is by setting each value as a gift reason in your system. Tying recognition received by team members to these values serves as a constant reminder of what your organization stands for and how it translates to their daily work. Healthcare providers can further enhance this by using gift reasons to reinforce fundamental principles and competencies, such as adherence to safety protocols.

To unify your culture, this simple yet incredibly effective step can be applied to any branch of a healthcare organization, regardless of staff roles and responsibilities. It helps foster a sense of common goals among all staff, addressing the challenge of ensuring everyone connects with the company's purpose. When people recognize and appreciate each other's contributions, they start pulling in the same direction. This recognition across departments, branches, and arms of the business demonstrates the value placed on their efforts, leading to increased collaboration and connectedness throughout the organization.

Furthermore, recognition can be used to encourage teamwork by acknowledging individuals who work together and promoting mutual recognition among collaborators.

How recognition boosts retention and long-term growth

Recognition plays a crucial role in enhancing retention and fostering long-term growth. Especially in the current healthcare climate where reducing turnover is a top priority, healthcare providers need not only to retain talented individuals but also to promote their long-term career development. By implementing a comprehensive recognition program, retailers can effectively create a more enjoyable and welcoming work environment, thereby encouraging staff to stay. Moreover, recognition serves as a strategic tool to empower employees, enabling them to grow and excel in their roles while envisioning a sustainable career in the sector.

An important aspect that recognition addresses is changing the perception of healthcare as a thankless job. By implementing recognition initiatives, organizations can reshape this mindset and create a positive, supportive, and enjoyable environment that motivates staff to stay and thrive.

In most healthcare settings, managers have limited resources to foster motivation, engagement, and mentorship among their employees. However, recognition emerges as the most valuable tool at their disposal. Through tangible rewards and incentives, managers can acknowledge and reinforce exceptional performance while stimulating long-term growth through goal-setting and development opportunities.

Recognition not only helps employees feel acknowledged but also allows them to express their appreciation for their colleagues. This creates a culture where all levels of staff have a voice, empowering employees to contribute meaningfully and take ownership of their work. By cultivating these traits, organizations can groom new staff members for future leadership roles.

How recognition transforms employee experience

Healthcare roles can be challenging, requiring staff to navigate difficult situations, work irregular hours, and manage heavy workloads in high-pressure environments. The pandemic has further intensified these demands.

Moving forward from this crisis, recognizing the efforts of healthcare workers can contribute to a more fulfilling employee experience. Implementing a recognition program in itself can significantly boost morale among employees. Research indicates that non-monetary recognition can make employees feel more valued, motivated, and supported.

Moreover, recognition has the potential to increase energy levels for both recipients and givers. Given the current stresses faced by healthcare professionals, recognition can serve as a much-needed morale booster.

Additionally, fostering inclusivity is a key focus for healthcare leaders. The healthcare workforce is diverse, comprised of individuals of various ages, backgrounds, and educational levels. Implementing employee recognition programs can help create a sense of belonging and foster inclusivity among all staff members.

Furthermore, recognition contributes to a healthier work environment by promoting a positive and caring atmosphere. Organizations can go a step further by utilizing recognition programs to incentivize wellness initiatives, such as fitness challenges. Offering rewards for participation can increase engagement and generate excitement within the team.