In support of our mission and vision at Stony Brook Medicine, we have made a strong commitment to build and nurture a culture of employee engagement. Research shows that employee engagement has a direct impact on both the quality of care and the patient experience, as engaged employees feel more involved, committed, passionate and empowered.
The satisfaction and engagement of our healthcare team, both faculty and staff, are extremely important. Research by Dale Carnegie confirmed the widely held belief that the supervisory relationship is a key driver of engagement and that “employees don’t leave organizations, rather, they leave people.”
Therefore, in an effort to give our managers the tools to foster and drive employee engagement, earlier this year, we began a new two-part learning experience called “Leadership Strategies which Foster Employee Engagement.” This learning experience consists of a 30-minute online module which provides leaders with strategies to drive high levels of employee communication and engagement. After the online module is completed, there is an in-person workshop where leaders discuss and practice building the key skills around engagement covered in the online module and have the opportunity for reflection and action planning.
This required education for all Stony Brook University Hospital and School of Medicine leaders brings our Leadership Commitments to life, which are aligned to our iCARE core values, and provides a framework for the way in which each of us will engage with others. If you are in a leadership role and have not already done so, please complete this important leadership engagement education.
Our recent Culture of Safety survey provides a roadmap for opportunities to improve engagement at the department level. The old adage that “actions speak louder than words” is quite true and I ask for your commitment to take action in response to this important survey feedback.
I ask that every leader take some time to reflect and develop action plans with their teams to create a safe and engaging work environment. A process, timeline and action planning tools were recently provided to leadership to guide them through this work. Sharing survey results with employees and inviting input into the action planning process will be key to improving employee engagement.
Additional work is taking place at the organizational level to nurture a culture of engagement. Employees at every level are invited to have their voices heard and provide input into shaping our culture of engagement. Under the leadership of the Employee Engagement Steering Committee and in alignment with our mission, vision, values and goals, we are developing employee engagement workgroups. Based on organizational data and employee feedback, the engagement workgroups are:
- iCARE
- Zero Workplace Harm
- Employee Recognition
- Employee Wellness
- Career Growth
If you are interested in joining any of these workgroups, please reach out to Kate Guggenheim, Director of Employee Engagement, at kathryn.guggenheim@stonybrookmedicine.edu by Aug. 31. We have a limited number of slots for each group, so selections will be made on a first come, first served basis.
After we launch our new intranet on August 22, be sure to check out the new Employee Engagement section which can be accessed from the Human Resources page to stay up-to-date on all our engagement initiatives and actions.
Ultimately, it is up to each and every one of us to drive the organizational impact of engagement at Stony Brook Medicine. Thank you for your commitment to this important and rewarding journey.
Carol