Val Gokenbach, DM, RN, MBA, NEC-A, RWJF, Leadership Consultant, Executive Coach, Professional Speaker - Speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CNO Summit 2016 held in Las Vegas, NV

1. IGNITING TEAM SPIRIT
ATTRACTING, BUILDING AND
RETAINING AN ENGAGED
WORKFORCE

2. OBJECTIVES
• Understand the best practices for staff
engagement
• Provide information to develop successful
strategies for recruitment, retention and
engagement
• Understand the future staffing needs and
preparing for a turbulent future

3. WHY IS ENGAGEMENT IMPORTANT?
• Financial reasons
• Nursing image
• Achieving administrative goals
• Engagement correlates with
– Patient safety
– Patient satisfaction
– Nursing satisfaction

4. ENGAGEMENT DEFINED
• “an abstract, unwritten contract, in which the
employer agrees to provide materials and
resources the employee needs to get the job
done, matched by the employee’s agreement
to work at an optimal level to fulfill the goals
of the company.” (Javitch, 2007)
• Staff engagement and loyalty can die
overnight
• Customer loyalty can die in seconds

5. WHAT EMPLOYEES WANT
• To develop transferable skills to maintain high
employment prospects in this dynamic
environment
• Jobs that suit their personal goals
• Jobs that suit their personal needs
• Jobs that change to meet their needs
• Work for many concurrent employers to find
what works for them
• It is all about them

6. WHAT EMPLOYEES EMOTIONALLY
NEED
• To own their own personal journey through life,
only some of it to be spent in the workplace
• To meet their needs for a unique set of life aims
and objectives
• To feel welcomed and part of a culture that cares
for them and helps them achieve their goals
• To see work not as an end to itself but as a means
to others ends

7. DETERMINENTS OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
• Strong relationship with
manager
• Feeling empowered
• Feeling valuable in the
larger scheme
• Recognized for the
value they bring
• Work life balance
• Fair remuneration
• Realization of strong
organizational vision
• Career vs. Job
• Positively challenged
• Training and growth
opportunity

8. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR STAFF
LOYALTY?
• The flavor of the sundae starts at the top
• The CNO
– Create the salient vision for nursing and
communicate
– Create a “signature” culture for staff engagement
– Live the vision through role modeling and walking
the talk
– Hire right and make the tough decisions

9. CREATING A “SIGNATURE” CULTURE
• Begin with looking at the outcome of what you want your
culture to look like
• Flatten organizational structure as much as possible
• Open door policies with staff a must
• Honesty and information
• Zero tolerance for lateral violence
• Face time with employees
– Rounding day and night shifts
– Focus groups
– Town hall meetings
– Attend staff meetings
– Provide information

10. BUILDING A STRONG LEADERSHIP
TEAM
• Set the leadership bar high and maintain your
expectations
• Require leadership training programs and
continuing education
• Expect high visibility of your leaders and build in
accountability to measure
• Intrinsic coaching classes
• Six Sigma yellow belts
• Infrastructure for the illusion of communication

11. LEADERSHIP SCORECARDS
• Turnover rates
• Attrition rates
• Engagement scores
• Service scores
• Personal contact with
the staff
• Relational issues
• Budget performance
– Manpower
– Supplies
– Utilization of other
resources
– Quality metrics
• You need to act on
these

12. EMPOWERMENT INFRASTRUCTURE
• Professional nurse council (PNC)
• Must be created by staff and leaders
• One nurse from every area that employs nurses
• Meet monthly for 8 hours
• 50% turnover annually of elected members
• Matriculated educational program
• Members are chairs of their unit based PNC
• CNO and Administration needs to attend and
support

13. HIRE RIGHT AND EFFECTIVELY ON
BOARD
• Behavioral hiring
• Include staff
• Effective training programs/preceptors
• Mentorship programs
• Consistent connection to the manager
• Fish or cut bait

14. ENHANCE NURSING VALUE IN THE
ORGANIZATION
• Powerful collaboration with physicians with
mutual respect
• Nursing presence at the highest levels of the
organization
• Nursing leaders at the table for all critical
decisions
• Public recognition of nursing successes
• Celebration of successes
• Good relationship with ancillary departments

15. THOUGHTS TO PONDER
• Staff is your most valuable resource
• Leaders are the key to engaging and creating
loyalty of the staff
• Leadership is a tremendous responsibility
• Leadership is a serious meddling in the lives of
others that can result in either positive or
negative outcomes

16. QUESTIONS?
www.drvalgokenbach.com