Motivating employees can be challenging in any industry but is essential in the healthcare environment. The work environment is often stressful and demanding, which can make it difficult to sustain high performance levels among staff members. Healthcare organizations are also under pressure to meet the unique challenges, values, strict regulatory requirements, and priorities present in this environment. They need quality care at affordable prices while keeping employees motivated—not an easy task! Fortunately, there are ways to motivate employees when working in this industry.
How to Get Started.
Be considerate of employees' personal lives.
The healthcare industry is notoriously challenging, and you can’t expect employees to give their all every single day. You should encourage them to take time off for personal and be considerate of the challenges they face in balancing work with home life. Consider asking your employees how their personal lives are going outside of work regularly—not just about their professional activities. Ask them how they're feeling or what challenges they may be facing in making time for hobbies outside of work hours. This will help you better understand whether there are any issues that need addressing, such as depression or anxiety due to a lack of balance between home and work commitments.
Recognize accomplishments and use positive reinforcement.
One of the most powerful motivators is recognition. Recognition can come in many forms, but the important thing is that it's specific to an accomplishment and given publicly, especially if you want to motivate your employees. For example, you can give a shout-out to an employee who did something well on social media, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. You could also send out emails recognizing employees for doing something great at work. Employees need to feel like they're being noticed for their hard work and achievements; this goes a long way toward encouraging them to continue their good performance!
Invest in time-efficient rewards and tools.
There are many different personalities among doctors and staff members who have different needs and expectations. They all work together, which requires everyone to collaborate effectively with one another. This creates an environment where everyone has specific roles in order to get their job done safely, efficiently, strategically, and while managing diverse emotions. At RPG Card Services, we can create a customized online ordering portal to execute your program and gift card ordering. Take a look at the benefits of utilizing our customer portals that make purchasing gift cards quick and easy:
- A customized look and feel that reflects your branding
- Easy-to-use interface
- Secure login
- Access to specific products designed for your program
- Accommodates multiple users
- Admin and standard user credentials
- Fund management
- Multiple location management
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Set goals that are realistic and important to employees, not just to the organization.
Goals should be realistic, relevant, and attainable. A goal that is too ambitious can be discouraging for employees when they fail to reach it. Goals should also be relevant to the organization, as well as the individual employee. For example, if an employee wants to make sure that he or she provides the best care possible for patients but doesn't have time because workloads are too high and resources are limited, then this could cause frustration and burnout. This can lead to ineffective employee performance or high turnover rates, which are costly for businesses in terms of time spent hiring replacements or money spent on recruitment services.
Listen to healthcare employees, even when it's hard.
And not just listen; take the time to understand. This can be hard because it requires you to stop being the boss for a moment, but it pays off. First, ask for feedback from your employees. This will give them an opportunity to talk about what they like and don't like, which is a great way to get started on improving their work environment.
Use this information as a guide for how you can make things better, both individually and organizationally. Perhaps there are some issues with how things are run at your company that need addressing and listening gives employees an outlet where they feel comfortable telling you exactly what those issues are (without any repercussions). Finally, if suggestions come up repeatedly from different people around the office, be sure to not only listen but also act on them! You'll want everyone to feel motivated by their jobs so that productivity goes up along with employee satisfaction levels.
Reminder: People-first mindset.
Employees in the healthcare industry deserve to be treated with respect and empathy. The healthcare industry is changing rapidly, but it’s important to remember that these changes affect real people with families and personal lives outside of work. We recommend creating an environment where employees feel like they are heard and appreciated, which can help them feel motivated at work—and beyond!
