Knowledge Exchange

Featured QWL Story

East Central Health

When management at East Central Health in Camrose, Alberta, set out to implement structures and processes that facilitate collaborative working practices, they realized actually collaborating with their staff - and not prescribing to them - was the most logical approach to fostering a genuine sense of hope and teamwork that could have a positive effect on employees and clients alike.

The problems facing East Central Health (ECH), such as absenteeism, high turnover, recruitment difficulties and poor morale, weren't unique to ECH, but their collaborative approach to finding a lasting solution was.

Two facilitators worked with East Central Health's 35 site teams to develop a site-specific strategy to address quality of worklife issues. The teams were comprised of both front-line workers and site managers to encourage partnerships and foster a sense of shared responsibility for a healthy work culture.

The key was a softer approach that allowed team members to explore what was meaningful to them personally. The facilitators helped teams identify specific factors in the workplace that were affecting employee satisfaction, and let them propose solutions, believing that changes suggested by the employees themselves would have a greater chance of being sustained.

Teams were guided through a gap analysis identifying what they want their worksite to be like, where the site is currently, and what the gaps are. The biggest breakthroughs came when teams began to experience an 'a-ha!' moment, says Sheila Niven, Healthy Worklife Facilitator for ECH.

"During the orientation, the teams were asked three questions: 'What does a great place to work feel like, sound like and look like? What is the good, bad and the ugly in the current conditions? How can we close the gap between the two?" explained Ms. Niven.

"Teams struggled to come up with 'logical', 'correct' responses to the last question. But, when the final question was changed to 'What do you hope for?' the responses took on a more positive and hopeful frame. People felt less intimidated and were more creative in their suggestions for initiatives," she said.

Another core element of ECH's approach was to focus on those gaps that teams had control over. The facilitators clarified with staff which factors they were unable to change, such as budgets, workload and staffing levels, and highlighted opportunities to make improvements in other areas that would have a positive impact on culture and working relationships.

The facilitators shared ideas between teams and addressed system issues with senior managers. The approach empowered employees to initiate various quality of worklife projects, and to listen to other employees and bring back good ideas to the teams.

"If we have staff that feel valued and get along with each other, we have less grievances and stress leave, plus people are better able to focus on their work and the work goes more smoothly," said Joan Petruk, Health and Safety Coordinator for ECH.

"When communication is improved, people have a better opportunity to gain the information they need to do their work and when workplace conflict is resolved, it's easier to get people back off disability," said Ms. Petruk.

Besides these qualitative improvements, ECH was able to measure the positive impact of their new approach to quality worklife issues on the organization's bottom line. For example, the reduction in the paid time loss rate from March 2005 to March 2007 was 11.03 per FTE (full-time equivalent). This resulted in a cost savings across the organization of $382,622.40 based on an average hourly salary of $25.46.

In addition, ECH's turnover rate fell from a high of 17.20% to 16% in the second year of the project and morale increased by 1.84% when measured by a questionnaire completed by staff.

"One team in particular caught the spirit of the project at the orientation. They wanted to change their culture and were tired of the negativity that was part of their history over the past several years," explained Brian Match, Health Services Coordinator for ECH.

"The foundation they built their project on is 'a healthy community supported on three pillars: Hope, Respect, and Trust'. When asked what the turning point was, they cited the hope message. They continue to support each other by showing appreciation using 'Care Cards' and posting inspirational messages. They even publish a newsletter and host monthly 'Lunch & Learn' sessions for all staff to attend," said Mr. Match.

Perhaps the success of ECH's unique approach is best summed up by a team member who said "This is so energizing and inspiring that I will even come on my day off!" When it comes to building a climate of hope and healing in a healthcare workplace, it doesn't get much better than that.