Managing the Engagement Driver

By Kevin Sheridan

June 23, 2013 | Formats: Article | Tags: Communication, Leadership, Management

Leveraging the key engagement driver of the organization’s strategy and mission is paramount. One organization that makes communicating strategy and mission a priority is AtlantiCare, a well-respected network of hospitals and healthcare facilities in southeastern New Jersey. With 65 locations and approximately 5,000 employees, AtlantiCare is the region’s largest healthcare provider and a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient.

Upon conducting an employee engagement survey, AtlantiCare executives learned that employees wanted to feel more connected to the greater good of the organization. Many employees had entered the healthcare industry because they wanted the opportunity to help others and joined AtlantiCare because they wanted to be a part of an organization known for its positive impact on the community.

Although employees had faith AtlantiCare was on the right path, they wanted to better understand how the organization was going to get there and what they could personally do to help. This inquisitive notion prompted the idea of developing each employee’s ID holder. This small piece of paper contains big goals for the organization overall, all the way down to each individual employee. Each Strategy Map contains AtlantiCare’s lists of “bests,” better known as the Five Bs. These Five Bs are the areas in which AtlantiCare is committed to being best-in-class: people and workplace, customer service, quality, financial performance, and growth.

Each year, AtlantiCare makes goals for each of the Five Bs. Departments brainstorm about how they can contribute to the organizational goals and create their own departmental goals to impact the greater good. Individual employees are also asked to set personal goals that tie to the big picture.

Rick Lovering, head of human resources and organizational development, says the Strategy Maps help connect all 5,000 employees to AtlantiCare’s strategy and mission. He believes the program reinforces how everyone is equally important in achieving the organization’s vision. Lovering says he can walk down the hall and ask any employee what he or she is working on, and he or she can clearly describe his or her goals and how achieving those goals will tie back to the organization’s strategy and mission. AtlantiCare saw an increase in engagement, and involving employees in the strategy and mission has had a huge impact on the overall organization.