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By WENDY SELLERS

The healthcare industry is complex, challenging, severely understaffed and lacking effective leadership. The massive shortage of qualified healthcare staff continues to be an issue - in nursing, specialists, clinicians and even general physicians to name a few. High turnover also plagues the industry - and will continue to do so as long as employees have "better options". Money is not their only motivating factor. According to Gallup, being satisfied, trusted and engaged at work is more important than money to 50 percent of employees who quit their job because of a bad manager. Now more than ever, it is vital to build a reputation to attract and retain these sought-after staff members. In order to do so, your brand and culture must be enjoyable - which means your leadership team must learn to lead rather than simply manage.

Review the National Library of Medicine study and results on commitment vs control approaches for yourself https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5029057/. The findings reveal a control-based approach to people management does not work for the long term. In fact, this approach actually negatively affects staff attitude and operational efficiency.

The best HR approach to retain top healthcare talent AND improve long term operational efficiency is a development of mutual commitment between the employer and the employee. This commitment is based on a high level of trust and empowerment - which comes from great leadership. This starts with engaging your employees. So, what the heck does this mean? Definition: Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals. (Forbes.com)

Why is it important for your employee to have this emotional commitment? Can't they just do their job? Sure, they can do the minimum requirements of the job to avoid being fired. But let's be honest, almost everyone is doing more with less time and less employees since the economy tanked. The economy flourish that followed brought a crunched operating budget with revenue flow that is tight and highly regulated. For some specialties the budget is flowing and so is the revenue - yet experienced, loyal and dedicated employees are no longer a dime a dozen. See, this is where the emotional commitment comes in. When your employee is dedicated to the job and to you, they will be less likely to be swept away by a competitor, they will be more likely to stay late/ come in early and put in extra (paid or unpaid) hours to make sure the job is not only done - but done right, and they will be much more likely to tell their experienced, loyal and dedicated friends to come work for you and alongside them.

According to Towers Perrin research companies with engaged workers have 6 percent higher net profit margins, and according to Kenexa research engaged companies have five times higher shareholder returns over five years. (Forbes.com).

I'm in! How do I better engage my employees?

Here are 8 steps to getting your staff to give a darn - today!

• First, remember the answer to this question: Who is responsible for communication? You are! Repeat after me: I am responsible for communication. If someone did not understand your message, you must take responsibility. Always ask yourself or even the employee for that matter ~ how could I have handled that differently? Then handle it differently next time.
• Communicate often. Schedule weekly team meetings and stick to them! For some employees, you may need to meet more often or on an individual basis - especially if there is a challenging project and fast approaching or changing deadline. Employees whose managers hold regular meetings with them are almost three times as likely to be engaged than those with no meetings.
• Respond to your employee's emails, phone calls and voicemails. This shows that you respect and value them. You expect that of them and should give them the same effort.
• Set priorities for your employees so your expectations are clearly known. Osmosis does not work! If priorities change, as they often do, communicate with the team.
• Show sincere appreciation. If you fake it, employees know! Be specific in your gratitude. "You did great" Is not specific. "The way you handle the ABC customer complaint was inspiring. You saved the day. Thank you, John," Bonus: Thank you is free!
• Provide feedback often - do not wait for an annual performance review meeting. Often those meetings feel forced and superficial and let's face it, no one likes giving or getting an annual review. when performance management is done well, employees become more productive. Feedback can be as informal as a conversation over coffee or as formal as notes jotted down on paper discussing goals and even a reverse review ~ ask them questions about your performance!
• Get to know your employees as humans. You do not have to be best friends, but you do spend a lot of time together so being friendly makes those difficult conversations much easier for all involved. Find out what they do outside of work and engage them in those conversations.
• Finally, assist your employee in growing their strengths. Do not assign them to projects that will highlight their lesser strengths. Mentoring and coaching are extremely important to build confidence their trust, respect, and happiness. Happy employees are productive employees! Building someone up is called being a leader. Putting someone down is called being a bully.

Wendy Sellers "The HR Lady" has a master's degree in Human Resources, a master's degree in Health Care Administration, is a passionate HR Consultant, Leadership Coach, author, and speaker. She has worked with hundreds of corporations and associations conducting management training, leadership development and HR advisory services. Wendy is authentic and transparent - above all, she keeps it real. She is honest, loyal and direct - there is never any sugar coating!

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