U.S. Hospital System: Creating a Culture of Recognition

“Healthcare is a very rewarding business, but fundamentally it’s a tough business. We can see tremendous amounts of burnout. One of the things that we know will really combat that is when people feel appreciated.”
—Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President

 A healthcare organization in the U.S. needed a recognition vendor that understood their values and could help everyone, across the entire system, connect to those values every day.

A new way to recognize.

The organization had a recognition program that never truly mirrored the innovative and successful hospital that they are. It was static, not very fun, underutilized, and never fully represented the brand and values they’ve worked so hard to create. Not only that, but it was also not cost effective and felt more like a transaction than an experience.

Their Vice President of Talent Development said that during their search for vendors, “none compared to the passion, the excitement, the fun, and the creativity of O.C. Tanner.”

The organization launched a service award program and recognition program with O.C. Tanner. By adding an easy-to-use and fun recognition program to their organization, they were ready to take their culture to the next level.

“We absolutely love working with O.C. Tanner. It has been a tremendous collaboration, with the key word there being collaboration,” says their Vice President of Talent Development.

Taking recognition on the go.

With 47,000 employees across their healthcare system, their Director of Recognition and Events knew that recognition initiatives had to be accessible and easy to use. Through the mobile app, employees anywhere can send eCards with points attached or nominate someone for a higher award level. They can also be rewarded through a number of communication plays throughout the year that tie points to things like blood drives and wellness fairs and referrals.

“[Our employees] really run the gamut of all sorts of different types of backgrounds,” their Director of Recognition and Events says, “but everybody has a smart phone nowadays. To be able to put it on your phone and give that recognition right then and there has been really great.”

The most successful way they have seen the program thrive is through Mobile Appreciation Stations. These stations travel around the hospitals across their different locations throughout the year. Employees and leaders can learn more about the power of a thank you through notecards, treats, and push reminders to log into their recognition platform.

During one mobile appreciation station event, “a woman came downstairs at three in the morning,” shared the Vice President of Talent Development, “while we were wrapping up and she was holding this card with tears in her eyes and said, ’I've worked here for 25 years and no one has ever written such a heartfelt thank you to me. You don't understand how powerful this is.’”

The organization is constantly creating these moments for their employees so that they can in turn create those powerful moments for their patients and families.

The proof is in the data.

The organization has seen incredible results year after year. They have reduced attrition in the hospital by three-digit percentage points, their recognition score on the Gallup Survey grew by statistically significant numbers each year, and their overall engagement in the organization has skyrocketed. Not only that, but their Great Places to Work survey data saw great results in areas such as leadership and feeling valued at work.

Since the program’s launch:

• Reduced attrition in the hospitals
• Gallup Survey recognition scores grew statistically each year
• Great Places to Work survey data showed great results in areas of leadership and feeling valued at work
  

The organization believes all of these results go hand-in-hand with their program which helps people feel respected, appreciated, and engaged in the culture: “When you drive engagement, that drives outcomes, it drives patient experience, it drives quality outcomes. So, to us, [appreciation and respect] is what makes us who we are, and it is what makes us one of the top hospitals in the country.”

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Outcomes are everything
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