Checkbox-Checkbox-Checkbox ...Repeat?

Everyone talks about culture. In fact, most of the time we discuss how great our culture is and at the same time we look away from and tolerate incivility all day every day. We name our culture with slogans. We build mnemonics about it. We use words like "excellence", "caring", "accountability" etc. in defining it. And then...We develop and fill in check boxes on forms for ROUNDING to see if all our efforts are getting the results we expected. We have forms for:

• Rounding on our patients

• Rounding on our staff

• Rounding for success

• Rounding for quality

• Rounding for the sake of rounding

• & however many more names we give to rounding...

and then we start new INITIATIVES...

• Teaching our staff to say "my pleasure" instead of thank you

• Teaching our staff to point with four fingers, palm up (because it is more professional - I guess)

• Teaching our staff to say, "I have time (even when they don't)

And then, the results don't change and everyone is unhappy, we seem surprised, and yet we still keep filling in check boxes on forms and ignoring the incivility that permeates our areas and how much this impacts every aspect of our culture.

Recently I heard from a colleague. Across the board, their engagement scores have hovered below the 10th percentile since early last year. In a strategy meeting focused on coming up with ways to improve scores, of all the options possible, the idea that was approved...

To train the valet staff about the services offered inside the hospital. Although the outcomes have yet to be validated, I'm going to go with that idea is NOT going to move the scores from the 10th percentile to anywhere even near the 50th. For starters, most surveys do not ask, "Did the valet person, (yes, the one who parked your car), share with you the services available in the hospital and did they say, "my pleasure"?

Initiatives I have seen as we focus while chasing the scores:

• Changing out wheels on the food carts to make them roll more quietly down the hall.

• Administrators making night time rounds - (not to round and visit with employees - which is a great idea), but rather, to visit patients at 10pm.

• Nurse leaders wearing name badges that say they are a nurse leader because one time a study showed that nurse leaders rounding on patients increased scores.

• Logs documenting missing information on communication boards that are then placed into excel spread sheets and reported out.

And yet, shockingly, none of these tactics moved the scores. Why? Because check boxes and more check boxes and "flavor of the month" initiatives are never going to get the results that you want or the outcomes that your employees and patients deserve.

It's not that some of them are not good/great idea

• Nurse leader rounding is an excellent idea - Try rounding on your employees, not to fill in a check box that shows you completed the round (because they quickly realize that is the ONLY reason you are doing it), but round to actually bond with your staff, understand what they are concerned about, and then let them know you are here them and appreciate them as well as their ideas and suggestions.

• Purposeful rounding as in the employees receive positive and constructive and consistent feedback with true consequences for failing to provide the care any of us would expect for ourselves is a win. But if your thought process is that every time you round, you have to give constructive feedback and recommendations, rethink that thought - maybe come up with affirmative slogans for when you round, like - "You are a rock star" OR "Thank you for always being awesome" OR "We are so lucky you choose to be on our team" ...because, if you throw in a "constructive" piece of advise every single time you round, it's like apologizing with a but... I'm sorry, but??? Were you really sorry, and did I really did a good job???

• Administrators visiting at 10pm - not a bad idea - however, that rounding should be focused on getting feedback from and bonding with the night shift team, not "spying" on the nurses by visiting the patients - which is how that activity is perceived... P.S. Movie passes and coffee cards and ice cream go a long way in connecting with your team.

We spend so much time focusing on external factors that will not change the patient's perception of the care they receive or the teams perception of the culture they work in, and we spend way too much time filling in forms and making check boxes, rather than looking at the key components that are impacting all of our outcomes.

The good news is, it is still early enough in 2020 to fix your issues, change your culture, and get the results you want which are the same ones your employees and patients deserve. Start now and you can end 2020 with great results, a beautiful dashboard, and happy people all around you!

What you permit - You promote!

• Fix the incivility that exists in your area.

• Implement a "Zero-Tolerance" for disruptive behavior program.

• Put an end to under-breath negative comments, outright rudeness, and sarcasm in your area.

• Treat your employees (and ensure that everyone else does to) with the same level of respect you want and the same level you want for your patients.

• Hold your team accountable for behaviors and outcomes that align with your goals.

• Have a reward program that is easy and actually feels like a reward.

• Add fun and humor to the daily experience for your team.

• Stop allowing filling in forms and making check boxes to be the main part of your day!

• Show up, be present, be approachable, be real, and lead!

• Be the leader you would want to work for!

End the Incivility - Add the Positivity

#YourEmployeesDeserveIt #YourPatientsDeserveIt #YouDeserveIt....#EndIncivilityToday