BCBusiness

BCBUSINESS.CA jULY/AUGUST 2018 BCBusiness 119 Stress also causes disengagement, another driver of workplace unhappiness. A 2013 Gallup poll found that even when employees are o•ered perks like •ex time, work-from-home options and higher salaries, engage- ment is the best predictor of job satisfaction. Could such a seemingly simple rule hold true at large public organizations—say, at a health-care pro- vider, where the stakes are sky-high and failures can lead to death? In 2015, the Fraser Health Authority emphasized engagement when it embarked on a radi- cal change program for the almost 28,000 sta• at its 12 acute-care hospitals. "Asking nurses and doctors to do more is a hard sell, and the leadership wanted to see quick results," says ShelleyLynn Gardner, a rehabilitation assistant at Surrey Memorial Hospital's emergency department. Surrey Memorial runs the province's busiest ER, and the city's growing population has created a GP short- age and hospital overcrowding. That's prompted complaints from the BC Nurses Union and patients of chaotic and even hellish conditions, including out- breaks of in•uenza and C. dicile bacteria, so-called hallway medicine and as many as eight patients per nurse rather than the recommended four. When Fraser Health's change program began, branded Engagement Radical, or E™Rad, Gardner leapt at the opportunity. "At šrst I was alone. It was tough," she admits. How am I going to get people to buy into becoming more engaged when they already work 12-hour shifts in a very stressful environment? Gardner wondered. "I've never seen such amazing, dedicated nurses and sta• than we have here," she says. "But people can only give so much. I knew I had to engage the front-line workers to make it stick. The whole idea is a bottom-up kind of thing." "Health care is a high-stress world," says Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, executive director, leadership and organization development, at Fraser Health. "That can often lead to burnout and misery, especially if sta• are unable to use their best skills, and leaders are unwill- ing to give up personal power." Ironically, the human resources department is often part of the problem. "HR developed from the old era of industrial psycholožy and the reward- punishment model, and it still operates from this para- digm meant to handle low-performing people and deviants that abuse the system," Gilpin-Jackson says. Most people aren't like that, she adds. "This old- school approach doesn't work long-term, and it strips away the potential for trust, respect and full engage- ment, creating a joyless environment where employees do just enough to survive. The workplace needs to be a place where they can thrive." At Fraser Health, the organization development team launched engagement programs, forums and conferences with leaders and hospital staff that evolved into E™Rad. "The goal was to bring front-line sta• to the table, asking them to develop and imple- ment workplace goals by encouraging them to go against the grain and take risks," Gilpin-Jackson says. "From a leadership perspective, it's really quite simple. Make the commitment to change, give up control and let front-line sta• innovate change, and be consistent and committed over the long term." Back at chronically stressed Surrey Memorial, Gardner, the sole initial E™Rad member, introduced some heavy weapons: puppies from a group that brings therapy dogs to hospitals for patient rehabilitation and wellness. Gardner's Puppy Love Day was a big success. "Three-hundred-and-twenty-šve sta• attended. It was great for morale," she says. "They got to chill out with puppies and meet other sta•." Surrey Memorial now has Puppy Love Day twice a year, and other Fraser Health hospitals have followed suit. Gardner then instigated a program granting wishes to patients—šsh and chips, a Coke Slurpee and, in one extreme case that made headlines, two horses brought to the parking lot to visit with a patient. Nurses often spent their own time and money to fulšl requests. "It made patients feel valued, like we're not just a sterile institution," Gardner says. "It gave us all a strong sense of community pride." The Fraser Health E™Rad program now totals more than 500 sta•. Positive outcomes across the organiza- tion include some 34,000 fewer patient bed days, a shift that reduces mortality. Gardner says the change program has increased collaboration and trust among sta• and improved service delivery. "To me, happiness is about camara- derie, compassion and respect," she asserts. "It's feel- ing appreciated, challenged by di•erent opinions and ideas, having a deep sense of community and knowing there's so much still to learn." £ Ironically, the human resources department is often part of the problem. "HR developed from the old era of industrial psychology and the reward-punishment model, and it still operates from this paradigm meant to handle low-performing people and deviants that abuse the system. This old-school approach doesn't work long-term, and it strips away the potential for trust, respect and full engagement, creating a joyless environment" —Yabome Gilpin-Jackson

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