What is employee motivation?
Employee motivation is the level of enthusiasm, commitment, and creativity that an employee brings to their job daily.
Higher employee motivation leads to better engagement and productivity. “Happy employees experience 31% higher productivity“ (Talent Works International). Employee motivation has become one of the biggest priorities for most businesses, especially in the healthcare industry.
The importance of employee motivation in healthcare
Here are some main benefits of keeping employees motivated in your facility.
1. Increase productivity
More motivation and engagement often lead to more productivity. Healthcare facilities with motivated nurses have a quicker discharge rate, higher patient satisfaction, and lower morbidity rates. Facilities with engaged nurses enjoy an increased 31% in productivity levels.
2. Increase retention rates
Nurse turnover rates are one of healthcare facilities’ biggest challenges. Businesses with engaged and satisfied employees have an 87% higher employee retention rate.
3. Handle unexpected situations better
Highly motivated employees are more engaged and confident in their work, which helps them handle emergencies correctly. Nurses are constantly working in demanding situations where their decisions impact the mortality rates of their patients. Motivated nurses will make much better judgments and save many more lives than disengaged nurses.
4. Better team players
Nurses require good teamwork skills to get the best patient outcomes. Motivated employees are more likely to be team players than solo players, which helps to build a positive work culture.
9 strategies to motivate employees
1. Encourage creativity and innovation
New nurses often have creative ideas but do not express them for fear that their input will be ignored or ridiculed. Nurses who have just graduated have access to the most updated medical knowledge and can provide great insights and creativity to your facility. Value their ideas even though they may not have the same experience as senior nurses.
2. Recognize and reward employees
Recognizing nurses for their achievements goes a long way. Every week you can announce the nurse who made a remarkable achievement that week together with a small monetary incentive or gift card. Recognition leads to positive performance pressure and boosts employee motivation in the workplace.
3. Offer learning and development opportunities
Healthcare facilities that offer growth opportunities improve nurses’ attitudes toward their patients and the facility. You can arrange training programs for senior nurses to provide from within your facility. It will help bring the care your facility can deliver up a notch.
4. Make working overtime voluntary
Nurses work long shifts and usually come home exhausted. Sometimes they are left wondering how to meet the demands of their lives beyond the workplace. Often, this concern occurs while at work and may reduce a nurse’s productivity and morale. Healthcare facilities that make nurse overtime strictly voluntary help nurses balance their work and private lives.
5. Build a positive work environment
Healthy workplace environments are where employees feel free to talk, feel valued, trust their leaders, and have a good relationship with the rest of their team.
6. Connect with your team of nurses
Successful leaders can and should connect with their nurses personally and professionally. Remember, not everything, at all times, needs to be work-related.
7. Provide constant feedback
Both positive and constructive negative feedback is essential. Continuous feedback helps your nurses stay in the loop and understand if there are any areas where they need to improve.
8. Ensure open communication
Facilities with poor internal communications suffer from low nurse motivation and engagement levels. Update your nurses about changes in the facility and evolving needs and expectations, so everyone is on the same page and motivated to do their best.
9. Be supportive
This may seem like a no-brainer, but a great way to increase employee motivation is to ensure your employees feel supported. Giving your nurses support will make all difference, especially on a tough day. Instead of calling them out on missing performance goals, strategize with them to improve their performance and make sure they feel they can ask for the resources they need.
How Dropstat helps managers improve employee motivation
Dropstat uses a well-being-focused application to ensure that staff are getting heard and supported. At the end of each shift, the nurses are asked to rate their mood with emojis. This helps managers to pick up on the nurses who are consistently unhappy at work. This app also provides the ability for nurses to reach out and connect with therapists at the click of a button to talk things out and improve their experience at work. Dropstat’s workforce analytics has proven to be a valuable asset for many healthcare managers to keep informed on their nurses’ well-being and regarding nurses that require more attention and motivation on the job.
