This post is Part III in our Employee Engagement Series. Click here for Part I or here for Part II.

Click here for our helpful infographic on employee engagement stats and why they matter to your LTPAC organization.

Throughout your long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) organization, there should be individuals at every level driving employee engagement and cultivating sustainable change. 

Employee engagement is not a quick fix for any issues you may be facing. It takes time and effort and most importantly, it takes a commitment from all stakeholders, especially management. The change to an engaged workforce must be a deliberate, consistent, ongoing process that inherently becomes a way of doing things. 

Your leadership team must first have the insight and tools needed to drive change. Having talented leaders on the team is helpful, but we all know that a good management team is more than the sum of its parts. Good leaders are important, but they cannot act alone. Effective teams must work together.

When LTPAC department managers come together as a team, amazing things can happen. The combination of leadership styles, competencies, viewpoints and talent provides the group with a broad perspective necessary to see the big picture. It allows a collaborative effort to define the priorities of the organization to ensure sustainable change. However, teams do not become effective spontaneously. Team building is a process that requires deliberate attention and consistent, thoughtful care.

Effective teams work together to establish:

• Vision, strategy and goals
• Team processes
• Role clarity
• Interpersonal relationships
• Individual performance

I recommend that LTPAC decision makers start with a commitment to make an investment in comprehensive assessment tools. A good example is The Birkman Method. It helps leaders develop an awareness of their individual behavior and how others interpret it. It is important for leaders to have the ability to manage and lead in a way that is well received by others, and to effectively communicate during high-pressure moments. Leaders must be well-attuned and aware of themselves and their environments, which can have lasting impacts on those who look up to them, as well as to the group as a whole.

Building a leadership team that has the depth to fully understand the importance of creating and sustaining an engaged workforce is never easy. But if you start with the basics, it is achievable.  

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