I’m sure most of us would agree that NHS employees are doing a great job and working incredibly hard under challenging conditions. There’s rising demand and increased pressures such as cost savings and hitting government targets.
I’ve no doubt that patient safety is at the heart of our healthcare system, but it seems that patient safety and poor care are receiving increasing volumes of news coverage. The publishing of several high-profile reports and now the Care Quality Commission (CQC) adding to the bad news for the NHS.
A quarter of hospital trusts in England are at raised risk of providing poor care, according to the report by the CQC. The new hospital inspection regime has so far found that 44 out of 161 trusts are in the highest two risk categories.
And with NHS employees facing another pay freeze I have no doubt that motivation and morale in the NHS will be suffering. Recognition at work is a key part of motivating employees, and an excellent way to counter such negative headlines, yet less than a third of NHS employees feel appreciated for the job they do, according to The Voucher Shop 2013 NHS Employee Survey.
All commentators accept that a patient admitted to hospital with a life-threatening condition mid-week will have a better result than a patient admitted on a Friday night. Why should that be?
Motivated employees are more productive, more likely to act to improve patient care and are better situated to cope with further change within the NHS in the future. The move towards seven-day working is gathering momentum by making sure that the standard working week includes evenings and weekends. This is hoped to improve the outcomes for patients admitted on an evening or weekend.
But in order to make sure you have a successful recognition and reward scheme you need to get the basics right.
The right reward
Understanding your workforce and what makes them tick should be your main priority. Younger employees, the so called Generation Y aged 18-30, may want different rewards than employees who have families.
Start by surveying your workforce to find out what really motivates them. You may be surprised to find that cash rewards aren’t as high up on the list as you thought and the right recognition doesn’t have to bust the budget either.
Low cost and no cost options:
Write a note to say thank you, specifically mention what you are saying thank you for and the impact that action/behaviour had.
Give a simple, token value voucher in recognition of a good piece of work or a personal milestone (the employee’s birthday for example).
Give them a positive comment on social media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, although ask their permission first.
Create a recognition box. When someone does something outstanding they get to choose a gift from the box, it could be a car wash, a free lunch or voucher to spend.
At the right time
Rewards need to be given at the right time. In the public sector long service awards have been traditionally used to recognise someone for having served a specific amount time, they recognise the past. In the private sector long service awards are given more frequently, employees don’t have to wait 10, 20 or 25 years to receive recognition. Tailor the frequency of long service awards to your staff and your organisation goals.
If you suffer from high staff turnover then expressing regular appreciation of a job well done through the presentation of smaller, lower value rewards more often will have a greater impact on NHS employer/employee relations than rare, large scale events.
Communicated correctly
NHS programme managers often fail to get their employee scheme communications right, and if the communications budget is spent in the wrong place then the recognition scheme simply won’t work.
The Voucher Shop tested the effectiveness of communications on NHS employees who had signed up for our cashback savings card. Those who received welcome journey communications guiding them through the benefits on offer during the first three months of their subscription earned 30% more cash back and spent 23% more overall.
When compared to the 10% control group this clearly demonstrates that in order to improve benefit uptake, NHS Trusts need to develop a clear and continuing communications plan, or risk their scheme failing.
It’s clear that with challenging time ahead the NHS cannot afford not to reward and recognise staff. The NHS has everything to lose by not concentrating on recognising the achievements of employees, but equally it has everything to gain by getting appreciation right. With the right recognition and reward scheme in place, NHS Trusts can improve patient safety, increase care quality, meet and exceed government targets and provide a more productive, caring working environment.
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Kuljit Kaur
Kuljit is responsible for business development at The Voucher Shop, a division of p&mm ltd. Your one stop shop for corporate vouchers and gift cards for employee benefits, recognition or rewards. Connect with Kuljit on Google+
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