Often the only way to address a challenge at work or in life is to learn everything about the problem and the potential solutions at hand. It takes effort, determination, and commitment to move from a place of stagnation to a position as a continuous learner actively engaged in innovation. This work shouldn’t be underestimated, and it requires the realization that often we're hindered only by our own ability to change personal and team habits.
In healthcare, superb talent management and the continuous development of individuals and teams is imperative, because hospitals and health systems are learning organizations. As such, it's our duty to pursue better learning and development habits while building better teams.
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
~ Maya Angelou
Tackling challenges with better healthcare teams
What are the top three challenges your healthcare organization faces? The first step is identifying the issues to learn all you can about the barriers you and your team face. As Maya Angelou puts it, we are only able to “do better” after we first “know better.” Many post COVID-19 studies show that nearly all healthcare systems today share the same top priorities:
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Increase patient experience and satisfaction
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Boost efficiencies while controlling or lowering spend and foster process improvements
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Improve overall clinical quality and care safety
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Re-evaluate staffing needs, standards, and workforce processes to better support clinicians and staff
While there is variance from organization to organization, these priorities are likely familiar goals for your healthcare operations team. So, what can you do to help improve and address these key focus areas within your organizations? For starters, look at what elements are within your control to improve.
As learning organizations, it is not only within our control, it is also our duty to relentlessly pursue knowledge and development. That said, how can we best achieve this goal with learners at all levels, perspectives, and experiences while following requirements and targets that are always changing?
The only way is to develop a strong workforce equipped with the combined foundational knowledge and functional experience necessary to lead your organization toward improvement. Your employees and teams are the frontline defenders of your customer service experience. They also tend to identify the best approaches to solving problems and serve as the face of safety and quality within your organization. As a result:
- We must prepare frontline employees and leaders with the highest quality learning and development.
- We need to empower them to find successful, realistic solutions, then provide ongoing opportunities for support and learning as they implement those solutions. In other words, to develop leaders equipped to address today's unique and changing healthcare challenges and priorities, develop talent from the inside out, and from the bottom up.
- Let your employees lead the way, but provide them with crucial foundational knowledge so they can navigate rapidly changing situations and priorities with confidence. In addition, provide opportunities for them to share feedback and to learn from others.
- It's vital to communicate to your clinicians and staff that the stakes are high, but so is the level of support. Healthcare organizations cannot afford the cost of negative experiences, poor engagement, and gaps in processes.
When your entire workforce is open to continuous growth through learning and development, you can create a strong workplace culture that not only improves patient experience and satisfaction, but also reduces staff turnover.
We can help you achieve continuous learning, growth, and development of individuals and teams with solutions from Skillsoft and HealthcareSource, now a part of symplr. Consider taking the opportunity to provide virtual learning and local collaboration to help your employees grow and develop to their personal best, and see your organization start to “do better” than ever before.
