GGI partners with BG Healthcare to develop World Class Managers
Why engaging managers matter in the Healthcare Sector
In today’s fast-paced world, we need to keep up with the demands of our customers, the needs of our shareholders and ultimately engage the most important asset of all, our people. Swap those customers to patients who need the ultimate service level, care to make them better add in an increasingly squeeze of budgets to satisfy your shareholders and a struggle to attract, retain and develop talent.
All major organisations in Healthcare are feeling the pinch in every sense of the above, with the latest analysis in December 2017 showing the NHS alone has at least 36,000 full-time equivalent nursing vacancies, and the number could actually be as high as 42,000.
Here at The Global Growth Institute (GGI), we understand the importance of employee engagement, Where engaging, retaining and developing world-class managers should be at the forefront of any organisations success. It has been proven time and time again that engaged employees are:
- Happier in their work
- More reliable
- More productive
- Willing to go the ‘extra mile’ for colleagues and customers, which has a knock effect on improved patient care
- More creative and willing to contribute more to the success of the organisation
According to the CIPD statistics, 7 out of 10 people leave the manager, not the organisation. They join the organisation because they believe in the cause and purpose but 70% of the time they will leave due to bad management. This is a staggering statistic. We must equip all managers to be the very best at what they are meant to do – manage people.
Our journey in the health sector began back in September 2017, when we held a launch conference event for the sector along with Bryan Griffiths, Founder of BG Healthcare Consultancy. Bryan has a wealth of experience as a medical devices development professional and has also worked in the NHS in a number of innovation roles. Bryan has experience of running both national NHS programmes as well as regional clinical initiatives.
A large number of people attended the conference to hear from GGI’s Founding Partner Wayne Clarke and Bryan to gain insights of what ‘great’ looks like and participated in an in-depth discussion around how best practice can be applied in their organisations, trusts and various roles.
Following the success of the event, we have since launched World Class Manager in some of the Northwest biggest Hospitals and NHS trusts. The GGI & BG Healthcare work closely with each trust to develop a number of managers, hold focus groups and gain real-time feedback of what can be done to help further develop management levels and improve organisational performance.
Advantages:
- On-line course means no requirement to leave the workplace
- Short bursts of learning mean no requirements to take time out of the working day
- Low cost for the full online programme means a lower investment is required
Absenteeism
A recent Gallop survey measured over 50,000 businesses that included roughly 1.5 million employees from 34 countries. The research showed that those in the top quartile had 37% lower absenteeism than those in a lower quartile.
Managers are key to help tackle absenteeism in the workplace. The relationships they build with their team will make them more aware of the team members work / life balance, both physical and physiological well-being as well as their economic and environmental health.
By managing a team in a supportive and true way, engaged workforces reduce absenteeism. This will directly affect bottom line performance.
Employee Turnover
Whilst a certain degree of employee turnover is considered healthy and a refreshing morale booster, a high rate of turnover (particularly if it is sustained) can result in a lack of engagement. The average rate of employee turnover in the UK stands at around 15%, though this figure does vary from industry to industry.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that low levels of engagement across an organisation can lead to higher rates of employee turnover and vice versa. In one study, 66% of highly engaged employees reported that they had no plans to leave their company, while only 3% of them were actively looking to change jobs, compared to 12% and 31%, respectively for disengaged employees. Another study of nearly 24,000 business units compared top quartile and bottom quartile engagement scores and found that those in the bottom quartile averaged 31% –51% more employee turnover.
According to the Telegraph, NHS spending on agency staff increased by £400 million in the 2015-2016 financial year, and despite an attempted crackdown, locum staff cost the NHS £3.7 billion. By equipping managers to engage employees, we can contribute to reducing this cost.
Customer (Patient) Satisfaction Levels
Happy Employees = Happy Customers. This is not just speculation; these two elements are deeply connected. The Gallup Workplace study found that companies in the top quartile of employee engagement experience had 10% higher customer ratings!
Engaged employees not only spread their enthusiasm to customers, but they are also more dedicated to providing the best product and service to their customers. While studies show that engaged employees lead to satisfied customers, satisfied customers also play a role in employee engagement. Positive customer experiences can reinforce how employees feel about the value and purpose of their work. While it’s important to learn from negative customer experiences, customer success stories serve as a paradigm for behaviour and decision- making going forward.
Managers and supervisors should highlight and recognise customer satisfaction to drive engagement.
Employee Productivity
Employee productivity is key to any business. After all, when teams are able to make substantial gains and improvements in a short amount of time, it can have a huge impact on the bottom-line. The more efficient your employees are, the more successful you’ll be as a business.
(Source: The McKinsey Global Institute, Gallup, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tower Watson, Cornerstone)
