Tune in now to the latest Moments Move Us episode with Rhonda Brandon, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Duke University Health System 🎧
Wambi has been named one of “Best Fit” Mental Health Services & Solutions by ANA\California.
Real-time recognition is the driving force of the Wambi platform. Our holistic solution impacts patients, frontline staff, and every member of your organization.
Our innovative employee recognition solution leverages gamification to positively transform the employee experience. Calculate your ROI, explore data insights, and read more about our success stories.
New Podcast Episode:
Rise & Lead with Rhonda Brandon
Relationships bring richness to our lives, and move things forward, faster than anything else. Bring a passionate group of people together who share the same mission, using their ”ikigai”, and watch the profound impact that they have on the world. The ripple effect of energetic, cause-oriented people is astounding–individual interactions are energizing and the movement of a team like this is game-changing. Every business owner and CEO dreams of having this dynamic among their employees. Every job seeker hopes for this possibility. And yet, very few have this experience.
Watch this TEDx Talk by Chloe Wong to learn more about the power of ikigai.
Did you know that most Americans have two close friends? That’s it! What’s more, statistics show only 15-20% of employees have a friend at work. Bottomline: humans struggle to build relationships. Mix in the dynamics of a pandemic and statistics must undoubtedly dwindle ever more.
“Employee satisfaction increases nearly 50% when a worker develops a close relationship on the job. Relationships with coworkers are among the top drivers of employee engagement—77% of employees list them as a priority,” according to Quantum Workplace.
If we want to do incredible work and get incredible results, we must have incredible relationships.
Not simply acquaintances, but friends. People are much more likely to be real and admit mistakes or insecurities if they have a friendship with someone. And with friends, we are more likely to risks or try new things. Organizations crave innovation and people are stifled. Help people build relationships and watch the new ideas trickle in.
Workplaces must be a relationship-building platform and that starts with leaders being the example. Here are some ideas to move the needle:
Inspire all employees who have direct interaction with each other to have a conversation around commonalities. One idea, you could start with the Ikigai map as a conversation piece. The goal is to find a shared focus among both parties.
Remember, people love to talk about themselves, but we must ask questions with depth that get people to open and share. For example:
When you are asking the questions, talk very little. Concentrate on being a good listener. Write things down to show you care about what they are saying. Reflect back what you heard when appropriate. And in future interactions, try to recall things they said to show you were listening. Listening illustrates care.
With a new appreciation for the power of relationships in influencing your success in business, practice your connection skills. Each time to launch a new project or meet a new potential client or coworker, pause to consider how you can connect with them more deeply—whether to build a friendship or to create a strong ally in future partnerships. Odds are, your efforts will improve both of your days and it will have lasting impact on your success at work.
Nikki Lewallen is passionate about leadership, business development, innovation, efficiency, and philanthropy. Nikki’s known expertise in relationship-building enables her to find and nurture strategic connections that result in meaningful business outcomes. Her mission to help people “love Mondays” keeps her career focus always grounded in employee engagement. Nikki is always seeking the “win-win” and stays focused on results. As Director of Partnerships at Wambi, Nikki works nationally alongside the best and brightest advisors to people-first leaders in healthcare, collaborating on the shared mission of improving experience for patients, employees, and all people in the healthcare ecosystem. She is the show host for Gut+Science, a series of podcasts that provide a platform for people-first leaders to share their stories and inspire others to build more engaging workplaces. Nikki serves on multiple nonprofit boards to fulfill her core value of service, and her board roles fulfill her priority life categories of faith and entrepreneurship.
In a normal climate, our revered healthcare workers are warriors. The everyday obstacles they face in the workplace are regularly challenged by a lack of resources, lack of appreciation, staffing demands, and poor team morale. Now topped off with a global pandemic and many nurses are beginning to literally throw in the towel. A recent survey found “just 35% of nurses said they felt like their work had meaning, and only one quarter of all respondents said they were optimistic about the future.” Leaders must acknowledge the true impact of turnover and the trickle-down effect it has to proactively mitigate further damage.
“Staff turnover in hospitals is estimated to cost at least two times the pay of a regular employed nurse” (1) and is triggered by a myriad of issues:
In addition to the adverse effect turnover has on organizations and teams, research indicates patients take the brunt of its impact, which often manifests as infections, medical errors, and an overall poor experience. While there is no quick fix, the key to slowing the spread of turnover lies in small strides and day-to-day changes at all levels in the healthcare ecosystem.
Many hospitals and health systems already have robust staff retention processes in place: a shared governance structure for feedback, staff involvement on key topics that impact their work, and adjusting ratios when possible to ease feelings of burnout. However, a novel approach to fighting turnover that is gaining popularity is sharing recognition with staff. While negative feedback is common, shining a light on positive interactions in a systematic way is not widely adopted. However, to ensure healthcare workers feel valued on a daily basis, recognizing moments that create positive patient outcomes is key. Simple, individualized gratitude from patients can be the one thing that connects and motivates team members.
“The greatest motivator for my teams is to be recognized by their peers and patients through Wambi. It makes them feel valued and helps them realize their hard work really does pay off. —Kathy L. Lynch, RN, MSN, Nurse Manager, 4T and ICU/IMC
“9% of millennials say they receive routine feedback; an even smaller percentage of millennials (17%) say the feedback they do receive is meaningful.”(3)
When wins are celebrated in real time, team members experience strong positive reinforcement. The result: long–term positive behavior, feelings of being appreciated, and retained staff. Systems like Wambi enable healthcare team members to receive recognition and gratitude immediately and on an ongoing basis from their patients and families, peers, and leadership. Organizations implementing recognition systems are beginning to see how important it is to provide individualized real-time feedback and praise to their most crucial asset – their team. In fact, hospitals and health systems who prioritize recognition have a competitive advantage over others that do not. Staff who feel they are seen, appreciated, and valued stay at their employer and ultimately provide better care to their patients.
At East Orange General Hospital (EOGH), real-time recognition from patients and families captured in Wambi was one of the major contributing factors that led to a 53% improvement in RN Annualized Voluntary Turnover.
In devising a turnover and retention strategy, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that while nurses, physicians, and other staff in healthcare are not admitted to the hospitals in which they serve, they too are suffering and need care and attention to heal from the physical, emotional, and mental toll COVID-19 has taken on their lives. Let’s give them the care they deserve.
Hausknecht, J. (June 2017). How do leader departures affect turnover among those employees left behind? Cornell University.
To improve healthcare quality outcomes, we must focus on turnover. (2017, October 11). HealthStream.
Managers: Millenials want feedback, but won’t ask for it. (2016, June 2). Gallup.
In the United States of America, we observe Black History Month in February to honor the contributions of those in the African diaspora who have helped shaped the history of the USA. As the month draws to a close, we are reminded that the work of amplifying and listening to Black voices and learning from Black healthcare professionals and leaders does not exist in a vacuum. We remind and encourage everyone to continue to be active in advancing equality in its varying forms in your workplaces and in your daily lives. Today and every day, we have to look around the room and make sure that we have the right people and the right voices to make the decisions and provide the solutions to move everyone forward. Our CEO Rebecca Metter asked us, “What do we want for ourselves, our families, our communities? Are we willing to take the risks and put forth the work for our desires to become reality? Can we move from thinking and wishing to actualizing?” In our desire to actualize change and celebrate the diversity of mind and thought, we are listening to Black healthcare professionals who have graciously shared their knowledge and insights on joy, compassion, gratitude, imagination and fearlessness. Watch and listen to our interviews with:
Meet Taofiki Gafar-Schaner, BSN, RN, the Co-Founder of Frontier Health & Resources and a 2020 ANA Innovation Award winner. Listen to him speak fearlessly on the transformative force of speaking truthfully and honestly.
“I think the most important thing is to speak the truth. Speak the truth to ourselves and speak the truth to others, whether it be in our families or professions. There are a lot of things going on in the world today, but what’s giving me hope is looking at things with fresh, new, and truthful eyes. We say that making the world a better place starts with us asking ourselves what we can do better. From the opioid crisis, to Covid-19 treatments, to racial injustice, we must recognize that we all play a part in these moments, and we can all make things better.”
Meet Lydel Wright, MSN, BSN RN NEA-BC, a Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellow, and a healthcare advocate who believes in championing healthcare through frontline engagement and innovation. Lydel uplifts caregivers and healthcare heroes with celebratory words of praise.
“To the nurses and the healthcare heroes all over the globe, whether you’re retired, or at the bedside, in nursing school, or in the C-suite, my first feeling is one of celebration and gratitude for your many contributions. The contributions that get celebrated, and the contributions that are not shared. Those are the embodiment of our profession that we love: healthcare. I feel celebration and gratitude for those who give of themselves everyday, go into harm’s ways, and deliver great care. We are fighting public health emergencies – one with Covid019, and one with systematic racism and discrimination. Every person who participates in the delivery care, I want you to know that you are necessary to these fights.”
Meet Dr. Seun Ross, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations at InGenesis. Dr. Ross is a published author, most recently in a book titled, “The Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Executive Role.” She received The Healthcare Award from the Helene Fuld School of Nursing in 2014, in recognition of her efforts in advancing the profession of nursing. Hear hear speak imaginatively on the way open-mindedness can make a difference and better the world at large.
“We have compounding issues these days. We are in the midst of Covid-19, a pandemic, economic crisis, and climate change. We are also in the midst of this global uprising for equality and to end racism and discrimination. What I think nurses are good at is empathy – we are carers through and through. We do whatever it takes to get a person to wellness. And it’s not just the physical wellness, but also mental and emotional health. For the majority of us, if you are encounter of African-American descent, or minorities in general (eg. Latinos, Asian-Americans, etc.) it’s important we hear everyone out. You must remove your personal feelings and just listen. The issue is that people have their own notions of what race and racism means. Just having a conversation and being open-minded can change opinions.”
“We have compounding issues these days. We are in the midst of Covid-19, a pandemic, economic crisis, and climate change. We are also in the midst of this global uprising for equality and to end racism and discrimination. What I think nurses are good at is empathy – we are carers through and through. We do whatever it takes to get a person to wellness. And it’s not just the physical wellness, but also mental and emotional health.
For the majority of us, if you are encounter of African-American descent, or minorities in general (eg. Latinos, Asian-Americans, etc.) it’s important we hear everyone out. You must remove your personal feelings and just listen. The issue is that people have their own notions of what race and racism means. Just having a conversation and being open-minded can change opinions.”
Meet Edtrina Moss, PhD, RN-BC, NE-BC, Chief Executive Officer at the Ambulatory Care Specialty Group. Dr. Moss is a Board Certified Executive Nurse Leader with 20 years of nursing, management, and leadership experience. Edtrina is a nurse scholar with manuscript reviewer and publication expertise. She has more than ten years experience in acute and chronic dialysis care. Dr. Edtrina Moss shares words of compassion in her advice to forgive ourselves in hard times as a way to replenish and restore oneself.
“Be forgiving of yourself and be mindful that you have to give to yourself abundantly so you can continue to give abundantly to others. Be forgiving when you experience times of loss. We’re experiencing lots of loss in this pandemic. Be understanding of yourself and remember to replenish yourself so you can give to others. And that’s really important, especially for nurses—we often are always giving to others and we take a backseat to our own physical/mental/emotional health.”
Meet Cassandra Crowe Jackson, MBA, CPXP, the Chief Experience Officer at Sharp HealthCare with over 20 years of leadership experience in the industry. She was a guest of Dr. Bonnie Clipper’s micro-interviews and was an esteemed panelist for our “Transforming Healthcare Experience” virtual panel. Cassandra practices gratitude with her team members during personal check-ins.
“I’ve had to have a ton of virtual meetings. So when I start my virtual meetings and begin, you know, I always try to find the one question about you. It will be something more of my icebreaker in terms of, ‘What was the best thing that happened to you yesterday?’ Because that kind of stops people for a moment. Because they’re prepared to tell me all about their work and their role and what they can do to help me or what I could do to help them, but when I have taken that pulse and that beat, just to say, ‘What was the best thing that happened to you?’ Or, “What made your day?’ Or, ‘What were three things you were most grateful for yesterday?’ It kind of says, stop a moment and let’s connect here as humans first, and then we can talk business.”
Steve Long is the President and CEO of Hancock Regional Hospital, where he has helped develop a unique culture of inspired and engaged employees. Before taking over at Hancock, he served for 20 years in various healthcare leadership roles across the country.
The motto at Hancock Hospital is, “What a blessing it is to work in a place where we love people for a living.” This motto, coupled with their goal to be nationally recognized for kindness, has created a special culture of caring; A culture that is so tangible, you can actually feel the difference as you walk through the doors.
Nikki’s conversation with Steve focuses on creating a mission employees want to follow. Steve is a strong believer in creating and living by a core mission statement, in both your organization and in your personal life. To find your personal mission, ask yourself: what kind of legacy do you want to leave?
Steve Long: “This is why we hire for just the right kind of folks, because it comes from that intrinsic sense of ownership, that intrinsic sense that I have a part to play here. So we make sure that we hire for that. Again, it gets down to the attitude. It’s the difference between a person that sees a piece of trash in the corner of a room or on the edge of a hallway and walks by it and says, ‘Well, I sure hope that the person whose job is to pick it up, comes and picks that up.’ Then compared to a person who says, ‘Wow, I really don’t want our place to look like it’s not clean, so I’m going to stop and pick it up and throw it away.’ That’s the difference, and that’s what we look for as we hire people — the ones that are going to reach down, pick it up, and throw it away.”
Steve Long: “We look at our goals and our objectives. We program ourselves to look at outcomes. For example, have we seen a measurable improvement in patient safety? Have we seen an improvement in patient experience scores? And it’s not about did I walk through the unit four times in the last week? That’s an activity. What we actually measure and what we hold ourselves accountable for are the outcomes, and we do that because we have built an incentive plan that is actually organization-wide. We have both organization-wide incentive plans, and we have department-level incentive plans, and they’re also based on these outcomes.”
Steve Long: “I was building a house, and as I was framing it up, my boss, who was a physician, a very busy leader in academic medicine, came over to my place on a Saturday and he spent half a day cutting boards for my house. I was so impressed that he cared enough about me, that he would take time out of his very, very busy schedule on a weekend to come and help me work on my house. Because he did that and he showed that he cared about me, my loyalty to him and my desire to do the things that we needed to do as an organization, really were a result of his investment in me.”
If you liked this podcast, listen to Dennis Murphy’s podcast episode on Uniting Culture With a Higher Purpose.
In collaboration with Wambi, the Gut + Science Podcast Healthcare Series hosted by Nikki Lewellen, Director of Partnerships at Wambi, highlights accomplished, people-first healthcare CEOs (and executives) that share their powerful mindsets, experiences and tools that have helped them succeed. The show encompasses all areas of human capital at work and the successful best practices that breed healthy, engaged organizations.