12 Ways Leadership Rounds Have a Positive Impact on Staff and the Patient Experience
In any organization, the standard for efficient processes, ethics, and developing a positive, cohesive culture starts from the top down. This is especially true for hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
When those in healthcare leadership positions (nurse managers, patient safety directors, VPs, etc.) take the initiative in prioritizing leadership and patient rounds, a positive impact is felt throughout the entire organization. Every employee, from a seasoned hospital worker to a resident, to an intern, to administrative staff, will feel motivated to make a difference and contribute to the patient’s well-being. The outcome affects patient satisfaction scores … and when patients are properly taken care of, it is a win for the entire team.
How Does Leadership Rounding Improve Patient Experience?
With more out-of-pocket bills for healthcare, consumers are beginning to shop for quality and cost, comparing hospital performance. Consumers are aware of online rating sites and will consider this information when selecting a hospital or healthcare system. A clinician’s ability to measure and manage the patient experience is going to become even more crucial as reputation impacts patient consumer behavior.
So how can your organization help to improve patient experience? To start, we need to look at the foundation of your hospital ‒ the employees. From the hospital administrators to the nursing staff, and everyone else that is interacting with patients in one way or another. Are they happy? Are they engaged?
Growing evidence suggests that patients who are more engaged with their healthcare team have better health outcomes. Leadership rounding is a practice in which those in healthcare leadership roles set aside time to discuss pressing topics with staff, managers, and coordinators. These conversations might include:
- Addressing any recurring issues employees encounter on a day-to-day basis
- Barriers that prevent staff from doing their best work
- Asking questions about what can be done to improve daily processes and protocols
- Gathering feedback on internal communications
- Factfinding evidence to get to the root of internal issues
- Noting successful practices in order to continue positive growth
Check out more of our tips for what makes an effective hospital round, here.
The Benefits of Leadership Rounding
If you are looking for new ways to motivate your staff and streamline internal communications going forward, the following twelve points should act as your guidepost. And with our industry-leading SentactRounding platform at their fingertips, your team will have the ability to confidently control these efforts.
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Empower Employees with Tools and Resources
Does your healthcare team have the tools and resources they need to deliver safe and quality patient care? Utilizing resources such as digital rounding will help staff to care for patients in much more efficient process, reducing errors and saving time. Staff can also help to identify trends and measure any gaps in care … setting the stage for an improved patient experience.
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Reduce Employee Stress
The less paperwork, the better. The less time sitting at a desk staring at a computer, the better! The goal of leadership rounding is to get to the root of existing issues so that employees do not need to feel overwhelmed with solving them on their own. Now, these issues can be communicated to leadership members on the go, via SentactRounding. Employees will stress less about the time and work they have to do to in order to achieve great patient care.
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Help Staff Stay Ahead of Potential Problems
With features like “Every Patient, Every Day”, “Hourly Patient Rounds”, and “Leadership Rounds”, our platform helps staff get ahead of potential problems. How many times have you noticed an issue and forgot to relay the message simply due to the fast-paced and high-stakes environment of a hospital or healthcare facility? Employees and leaders alike will feel more comfortable knowing information won’t just slip through the crack
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Helps staff to feel nurtured, valued, and cared for
Leadership rounding is not just about solving issues, but commending staff on the positive impact they’re having on the rest of the organization and their patients. When employees are presented with challenges, effective leadership rounding will give staff peace of mind knowing that their well-being is also prioritized – just as much as their patients.
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Helps avoid staff burnout
It’s not always easy to track down a busy nurse juggling many tasks. If you are in a leadership role, it is important to implement internal communications strategies and technologies so that staff are not burnt out due to a lack of accessible information. During your rounds, be sure to communicate to staff that their mental health is a top priority and work with them to achieve stability.
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Promotes employee engagement and a positive work culture
If team members can more easily, honestly, and comfortably communicate with each other, it creates a space for positivity. When you are making your leadership rounds, try asking direct questions about employee morale. Then, use that feedback to create and implement concrete ideas to boost morale where it is lacking. Not to mention, when a positive work culture exists, it also leads to less turnover.
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Keeps staff communication at the forefront of care
No one knows the patients better than the physicians and staff working directly with them on a daily basis. In order to provide the best care, staff should have a leader(s) to turn to when challenges arise so that they can focus on the well-being of their patients. Through SentactRounding, all issues are internally routed so no excuse can be made for not following through on best practices.
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Gives employees a voice to be heard
When staff can freely and easily communicate with leaders and leaders can reciprocate their appreciation for staff feedback, everyone will feel like they are playing an important role in their healthcare organization. Instead of just fulfilling the responsibilities of their day-to-day role, staff will feel like they are contributing to the betterment of the entire organization, which in turn, benefits all patients.
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Increases staff responsiveness
Healthcare facilities and hospitals that use our SentactRounding technology have reported a 70% increase in staff responsiveness. We all know it takes one single second for patient care to take a turn for the worst and with this increase in effective communication and response time, staff can feel more confident in treating, or even saving the life, of a patient.
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Lowers patient complications and mortality rates
To piggyback off the last point, it is vital to reiterate that effective leadership rounding and internal communications from staff can save the life of a patient. Patient notes and files won’t be misplaced or misconstrued because there will be a staff member’s eyes on them at just the tap of a button. With more time to dedicate to patient care, physicians and leaders alike can feel like they’re making a difference in someone’s life.
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Employee Recognition
Employee appreciation leads to improved employee engagement. Employee recognition programs can play a central role in increasing employee engagement and satisfaction. Recognizing Staff for a job well done is crucial for boosting team morale – especially when someone goes the extra mile to make a difference for a patient … Having an engaged workforce is known to significantly boost productivity, and ultimately patient satisfaction -
Staff Education and Enrichment
Staff enrichment and education contributes to satisfying both physical and psychological staff needs. Leadership rounding is not only an opportunity to observe and interact with employees, but it also helps to educate the team as well. Enrichment makes us feel valued and good about the contributions we are making. Staff enrichment could come in the form of a formal orientation program, cross-functional training, maintenance of professional skills, coaching, career development, and personal development.
