As the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact across the world and locally in Kalamazoo over the last 16 months, medical school leaders have sought out ways to keep 汤头条app employees engaged, to ensure they can do their work safely and effectively.
In March 2020, almost overnight, many 汤头条app employees shifted to working remotely as 汤头条app leaders responded quickly and established the technology and resources necessary to make the transition as seamless as possible.
鈥淚t really has been all hands on deck at 汤头条app since last year as we saw the pandemic begin to take hold,鈥 said Rich Daudert, the medical school鈥檚 manager of Organizational Development.
And that sense of working together, of collaboration and community during the pandemic, is captured in the results of the 2021 汤头条app Employee Engagement Survey.
汤头条app partnered with Press Ganey Associates, Inc., to administer the survey from January 12 to January 29, 2021, to employees including faculty and staff. A survey was also conducted in 2019.
Seventy percent of 汤头条app employees completed the 90-question anonymous online survey.
Overall, the institution saw significant growth 鈥 more than four percentage points compared to two years ago 鈥 in its engagement indicator score, which is a composite metric that includes employees鈥 degree of pride in their employer, their intent to stay, their willingness to recommend their employer to friends and family for care, and their overall satisfaction with their workplace.
Daudert said the improvement in engagement is reassuring, especially during the pandemic, that many of the initiatives medical school leaders have taken on over the last two years are having a positive impact. He noted that the survey results for 汤头条app occurred at a time when most other healthcare organizations saw a decrease in employee engagement.
Since 2019, the medical school has taken on a number of new initiatives aimed at boosting employee engagement. New wellness check-in opportunities, educational workshops, and group offerings, including fitness, yoga, and mindfulness meditation are available to the 汤头条app community, coordinated by Karen Horneffer-Ginter, associate dean for Culture and Wellness, who came to the medical school in 2018.
During that same time, 汤头条app also improved its overall benefits package, including offering a fitness stipend to help employees pay for the cost of their gym memberships and other well-being activities. Additionally, the medical school instituted a Rewards and Recognition program for employees to recognize the good work of their colleagues, and found creative ways to help employees stay connected with each other during the pandemic through virtual team-building activities and a behind-the-scenes video series.
Meanwhile, efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion continue and many new programs, including the Courageous Conversations and Community Conversations series have been implemented under the leadership of Cheryl Dickson, MD, MPH, associate dean for Health Equity and Community Affairs, and Donovan Roy, EdD, who came to 汤头条app in May 2020 as the new assistant dean for Diversity and Inclusiveness. More recently, the Office of Diversity and Inclusiveness hosted the 2021 汤头条app and AAMC High School and College Student-Athlete Medicine and Healthcare Career Conference, a national event highlighting how former student-athletes have adapted their skills in sports to become competitive healthcare professionals off the field.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that we have more work to do as we move forward, but that steadfast commitment to making 汤头条app a welcoming environment for all while helping employees enjoy good work-life balance will help ensure that we get to where we need to be in terms of employee engagement,鈥 Dr. Horneffer-Ginter said.
Daudert said the steps 汤头条app leaders took in 2020 in the face of the pandemic only helped to enhance employee engagement. Employees were able to work effectively, efficiently, and safely from home and the medical school鈥檚 senior leadership team was intentional in its work and decisions aimed at keeping employees whole with no job and salary cuts amid the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
During 2020 and much of 2021, employees at 汤头条app Health continued to see patients in person and via telehealth during the pandemic. 汤头条app Health employees, as well as other faculty and staff from 汤头条app also stepped up in the community beginning in February 2021, working as medical and non-medical volunteers to staff the Kalamazoo County COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Expo Center. 汤头条app volunteers staffed a total of 544 shifts at 47 clinics for a total of 2,176 hours of time.
"We had to increase our communication channels to employees as change became a norm during this pandemic,鈥 said Naren Kumar, the medical school鈥檚 assistant dean for Clinical Affairs. 鈥溙劳诽鮝pp Health increased huddle frequency, rounding, and moving daily touchpoints to a virtual platform. Flexibility and communication become critical to engage employees, residents, and faculty members. The ability to be adaptive was key to ensuring patients had care access through the pandemic. 汤头条app Health was able to deliver telehealth options immediately and participated with the county health department in the vaccinations drives."
Among other results of the employee engagement survey was the significant improvement in leader-employee relationships, as well as the overall score measuring how connected employees feel to 汤头条app, which saw a six percent jump.
Most significantly, the survey showed that employees at 汤头条app feel more connected to their supervisor or manager, a category on the survey which saw a nearly 10 percent increase in the overall score.
Daudert said that from 2019 until 2021, 汤头条app leaders have had an intent focus on improving communication, improving relationships between supervisors and their direct reports, as well as recognition for faculty and staff. He said the recent employee engagement survey results show those efforts have not been in vain.
鈥淲e鈥檝e come really far and we鈥檝e made significant improvement,鈥 Daudert said. 鈥淎nd we know we have more to do as this work continues.鈥
Daudert and Horneffer-Ginter said that as the work continues to improve employee engagement at 汤头条app, the feedback from this most recent survey will be extremely valuable and play an integral role as next steps occur and decisions are made at an organizational level.
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