Maximizing Staff Engagement and Leadership Effectiveness in Healthcare Practices

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Understanding Staff Engagement: Beyond Satisfaction
3. The Building Blocks of Engagement
4. Enhancing Leadership Effectiveness: Styles and Strategies
5. Building a Culture of Accountability and High Performance
6. Practical Tools to Reduce Turnover
7. Real-World Example: Insights from a Large Multi-disciplinary Medical Practice
8. Action Plan for Success
9. Conclusion

Introduction

In today’s healthcare environment, the effectiveness of your leadership team and the engagement of your staff are critical to delivering exceptional patient care and driving organizational success. At the ASCENT conference, I shared actionable strategies for building high-performing teams, reducing turnover, and fostering a culture of accountability. In this article, I’ll expand on those strategies and illustrate them with real-world, anonymized data from a large multi-site practice. 

Understanding Staff Engagement: Beyond Satisfaction

Staff engagement is more than just job satisfaction—it’s about how emotionally and professionally invested employees are in your practice’s mission. Engaged teams are more productive, deliver better patient care, and contribute to a positive workplace culture. Most practices start and grow without developing a regular cadence of checking in on the engagement level of their employees. When a practice starts, there are usually 2-5 employees which is easy to keep a pulse on mood and attititude of each employee, however as the practice grows the owners and the practice managers start to lose the direct contact with team members.  Before you know it, the practice is 8 years old and there are 40+ employees.  This is a sign of success and growth, but it often requires more objective measurement of engagement since the leadership team may not be able to keep a pulse on all employees.    

How do you measure engagement? 

Start with regular surveys to establish a baseline, identify areas for improvement, and track progress over time. Engagement is dynamic and requires ongoing attention.  The most important part is to start with at least a single engagement survey designed to measure where the starting point of the practice is at as of today.  Depending on results and depending on action items being taken, the next survey should indicate some improvements.  The timing is practice dependent but usually allow 6 months in between surveys to get a real impression on the engagement of the team.    Consider each survey a snapshot of current engagement, but when put together look for the trends based on the actions being taken.  

Why does engagement matter? 

High engagement leads to increased productivity, better patient experiences, and improved practice outcomes. It’s a virtuous cycle: engaged staff drive success at every level.  Ultimately the practice benfits significantly from engaged employees at all levels.  The receptionists, billing team and practice managers are all important variables of the patient experience.  Additionally, engaged employees typically solve problems quicker and/or volunteer to solve challenges the practice is experiencing. 

The Building Blocks of Engagement

Years of consulting and survey analysis reveal four consistent drivers of engagement: 

• Communication: Staff typically want clarity about the practice’s goals and direction. When challenges arise, they appreciate being included in the problem-solving process. They don’t need daily details of all challenges, but regular communication is what they are looking for.  This is different from practice to practice, but regular monthly meetings may be a great starting point to start improving communication. 

• Recognition and Appreciation: Consistent, meaningful recognition matters more than grand gestures.  The value of the recognition is worth more than any bonus or gift itself. No matter how many years they have been working for the practice they recognition in front of team members is something that is meaningful to them. 

• Professional Growth: Opportunities for advancement and skill development attract and retain top talent.  This starts with having clear job expectations and clear payrate ranges.  Without these two components, it will be impossible to meet the needs of your team members.  Professional growth means different things to different people, make sure you ask what it means to your employees on an individual basis. This is great to keep in their employee file and revisit regularly.  

• Supportive Leadership: Leaders who foster a positive environment and encourage teamwork create the conditions for engagement to flourish.  This does not mean the leadership has to say “yes” to every request, but creating opportunities to help the team thrive is key.  Listening is sometimes more important than the follow-up actions when it comes to challenges within the practice. 

Matt’s Tip: 

A practice that holds regular team meetings to discuss goals and challenges, celebrates small wins, and offers mentorship opportunities will see higher engagement than one that relies solely on annual reviews and no team goals. 

Enhancing Leadership Effectiveness: Styles and Strategies

Every organization has leaders, but not all leaders are equally effective. Leadership styles vary—transformational, servant, charismatic, situational, autocratic and more—and each brings unique strengths. 

How do you optimize leadership? 

Begin by understanding your current leadership landscape. Use feedback tools like surveys and exit interviews to gather honest insights. Encourage open communication, active listening, and inclusive decision-making. Leadership isn’t just about giving orders; it’s about building trust and empowering others. No matter what your native leadership style is, make sure you understand the full picture of the team you are overseeing. Taking time to understand the leadership styles of all Leaders in the company will allow you to each play to your strengths during both good times and challenging times.  

Empowering Staff: 

Great leaders create opportunities for staff to take ownership of their work. This means setting clear goals, providing autonomy, and aligning professional development with individual aspirations. Positive reinforcement—regular, constructive feedback—helps staff grow and stay motivated.  

Matt’s Tip:  

A leader who invites input on new processes and recognizes individual contributions will inspire greater loyalty and initiative than one who makes decisions in isolation. 

Building a Culture of Accountability and High Performance

Accountability is the backbone of a high-performing team. It starts with clear expectations—every role should have a well-defined job description, boundaries, and measurable goals (KPIs). It continues to amaze me how many medical practices do not have accurate and updated job descriptions for their employees, any yet the leaders are concered that the employee is not meeting the job roles.   In these situations, it is important have a clearly defined job description with clear roles/responsibilities.  Additionally, I recommend implementing team based Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that everyone on the team is responsible for reporting to the managers.   By uniting the team members in a unifying goal, the team will hold each other accountable in some ways to help support the practice. 

Feedback as a Norm: 

Feedback shouldn’t be reserved for annual reviews. Make it a regular, constructive part of your culture. Encourage dialogue around expectations and tasks, and be open to new ideas for improvement.  Positive and Negative feedback is important for managers and leaders to provide to team members. The more regular this occurs, the better the chances of improvement towards the goals of the practice.  

Addressing Performance Challenges: 

When issues arise, address them promptly and objectively. Determine if the challenge is a training issue, provide support, and create mutually agreed-upon action plans. The goal is to help employees succeed, not just to point out shortcomings. 

Matt’s Tip: 

A manager who meets with a struggling employee to discuss specific challenges, offers targeted training, and sets clear milestones is far more likely to see improvement than one who simply documents poor performance. 

Practical Tools to Reduce Turnover

Turnover is costly, but potentially preventable in many cases.  You can’t overcome challenges like employees who move away or leave for personal reasons, but if an employee leaves due to business-related challengs then there may be opportunity to improve. Reducing Turnover starts with a team-based approach to goals—celebrate achievements, raise expectations, and implement standardized recognition programs.  Many employees spend more time at work with their “work family” then they do with their actual family so recognize this and work towards ensure the “right people” are in the “right seat” within your organization and more importantly ensure everyone is working towards the same goals.  In many cases, it is better to be proactive in the hiring process and review process to ensure a proper fit than to be surprised by a notice for an employee quiting due to not being happy with the role, compensation or team members.  

Listening and Living Your Values: 

Solicit feedback through surveys, suggestion boxes, and open discussions. Make sure your mission statement is more than words on a wall—use it to guide hiring, firing, and daily decisions. Acknowledging challengs and working on a solutions openly will show the team that you are listening and working towards a solution. 

Career Development: 

Provide clear pathways for advancement, standardized job descriptions, and transparent pay ranges. Offer flexible schedules and benefits that address the diverse needs of your staff.  It is also OK to acknowledge that if an employee wants to advance they will need new skills, certificates or training.  For example, if a receptionist wants to grow and become part of the billing team, then provide the steps they need to transition careers which may require online courses or training before they are eligible. 

Matt’s Tip: 

A practice that promotes from within, offers tuition reimbursement, and allows flexible PTO will retain more employees than one with rigid roles and limited growth opportunities.  Create a standard goals form for each employee and revisit this form every 3-6 months to optimize their expectations while also discussing those opportunites for growth within your organization. 

Real-World Example: Insights from a Large Multi-disciplinary Medical Practice

To illustrate these concepts, let’s look at anonymized findings from a recent staff survey at a multi-specialty medical group with 73 employees. The survey included clinical and operational staff, providers, and managers, and focused on engagement, leadership effectiveness, and opportunities for improvement. 

Engagement & Leadership Scores 

• Average staff engagement score: 7.1 out of 10 

• Average leadership effectiveness score: 7.5 out of 10 

Highest engagement areas: 

• Staff pride in their work  

• Feeling their role impacts team success  

• Being part of a supportive team  

• Looking forward to work most days  

• Comfort raising concerns or ideas to supervisors  

Lowest engagement areas: 

• Belief that everyone is held to the same standards of accountability  

• Communication from company leadership  

• Feeling informed about decisions that impact their work  

• Understanding company challenges, goals, and objectives  

• Internal team communication  

Highest leadership areas: 

• Knowing the right person to contact for operational/administrative matters  

• Managers having time/resources to support staff  

• Leadership motivating staff to reach their potential  

• Respect among leadership  

• Leadership modeling expected behaviors  

Lowest leadership areas: 

• Transparency and fairness of leadership decisions  

• Feeling safe speaking up about problems, even if it involves leadership  

• Understanding leadership roles and responsibilities  

Common Strengths 

• Staff feel proud of their work and believe they make a difference. 

• Most feel part of a supportive team and look forward to coming to work. 

• Supervisors are generally approachable and provide guidance. 

• Staff know who to contact for help and feel motivated by leadership. 

Recurring Challenges 

• Communication from upper management is inconsistent. 

• Not all staff feel informed about decisions or changes. 

• Accountability standards are perceived as uneven. 

• Some staff feel uncomfortable raising concerns, especially about leadership. 

• Team communication and collaboration across departments can be improved. 

How This Practice Is Responding 

Based on the survey, leadership is working to: 

• Improve communication channels and transparency. 

• Standardize accountability and recognition programs. 

• Invest in management training and cross-department collaboration. 

• Create more opportunities for staff to share feedback and ideas.

Action Plan for Success

To put these strategies into action: 

1. Survey your employees to understand their needs and perspectives. 
2. Define your leadership team and clarify their styles. 
3. Create clear job descriptions, expectations, and KPIs for every position. 
4. Set benchmarks for success and reinforce them with positive feedback. 
5. Build teams around shared goals and celebrate wins. 
6. Consistently follow up and adapt to the evolving needs of your organization. 

Conclusion

Maximizing staff engagement and leadership effectiveness is an ongoing journey. By focusing on communication, recognition, growth, and accountability—and by regularly listening to your team—you can build a resilient, high-performing organization that delivers exceptional patient care and drives your practice’s success. 

Ready to take your leadership team to the next level? 

Contact me at [email protected] or visit DoctorsManagement for support and resources. 

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