The Situation
The North Memorial Health system employs more than 5,000 Team Members[1] at two hospitals and 25 clinics across the greater Minneapolis – St. Paul area. Serving more than 55,000 customers monthly, their mission is “empowering our customers to achieve their best health.” With a strong focus on the patient experience, their annual Team Member survey indicated that there were opportunities for improvement in the Team Member experience, particularly in the area of recognition.

Adding to the challenge was the fact that both hospitals have different logos and brand guidelines. Using single-sign-on technology, the website and all support tools are branded to align with the user’s hospital affiliation.

The Solution
With little or no educational materials or appreciation tools available to Team Members, it was agreed upon that the best approach would be to create a one-stop recognition website. The website is accessible to all North Memorial Health Team Members and includes three areas of focus.

  • Education. A Recognition Basics section explains how Team Member recognition correlates to higher engagement, reduced turnover, increased revenues, greater customer satisfaction, and even improved wellness outcomes. For example, the cost of turnover for a bedside RN ranges from $37,700 to $58,400 per team member, resulting in the average hospital losing between $5.2 and $8.1 million each year.[2]
  • Best practices. More than 50 best practices are shared, ranging from quick tips, to formal and informal recognition ideas, to peer-to-peer suggestions. Here’s one example: Designate a wall in a break room or shared space as the Wall of Fame for your Team Members. Ask Team Members to post accolades, thank you notes, and stories of the great work they see their colleagues doing.
  • Tools. A library of eCards, downloadable certificates, and thank you cards was developed to spotlight Team Members for living the values, different milestone moments such as birthdays and service anniversaries, Team Member of the Month, and other achievements. All content is customizable, including language.

The website is scalable, with an easy-to-use content management system that allows materials to be edited, deleted, or added on the fly. For example, a seasonal certificate was created to recognize departments that reached a 90 percent or higher flu vaccination rate.

The Results
While updated employee survey results are pending, website usage has been substantial. In the first six months since launch, more than 5,000 Team Members logged in, viewing 51,000 pages, sending over 10,000 eCards, and downloading 2,000+ certificates and thank you cards.

[1]Team Members refers to employees at North Memorial Health locations.
[2]2016 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report