2. Create a communication plan
Effective and regular communication with relevant staff throughout all stages of implementing Caring for Healthcare Workers is critical for increasing and enhancing engagement.
Here are some ways to increase communication throughout your organization:
Ensure that your organization is prepared for distribution of an online survey
It is important that key organizational leaders and staff representatives understand the nature and purpose of the survey and how this quality improvement initiative will be of benefit to your organization and to Canadian healthcare.
Inform your staff about the online survey
Communicating with your staff openly and early in the process enhances participation, engagement and interest. It also gives staff time to ask questions or raise concerns. Organizations should aim to gather responses from as many staff as possible, rather than those only interested in particular issues.
Send reminders
Participation can also be increased by sending reminders to staff asking them to complete the survey if they have not yet done so. This is best done midway through implementing the survey, as well as two or three days before it closes..
Answer questions
To maximize staff engagement and participation in the survey, it is important to provide a contact person who can answer staff questions. The Frequently Answered Questions page is a good starting point and resource.
Provide incentives
Participation can also be increased by providing staff with an incentive (e.g., movie passes, coffee cards, etc.). For smaller organizations this may not be viable and minimal-cost incentives may be more appropriate. Minimal-cost incentives could be providing staff with time at work to complete the survey or encouraging friendly rivalry between work teams etc. to see who can have the highest completion rate.
Thank your staff
Send a thank you message to staff following the end date of the staff survey. This highlights your appreciation and acknowledges staff time, effort and opinions.
Ensure that your organization is prepared for distribution of an online survey
It is important that key organizational leaders and staff representatives understand the nature and purpose of the survey and how this quality improvement initiative will be of benefit to your organization and to Canadian healthcare.
Healthcare organizations and staff have the ongoing requirement to provide timely, safe and effective patient care; often while also contending with significant organizational change resulting from financial, policy or labour factors. These competing priorities can lead to staff confusion and overload which can be manifest as ‘survey fatigue’. In some cases, there may be a lack of trust that survey results will be communicated to all staff or will lead to meaningful action. For these reasons, it is very important that healthcare settings are mindful of organizational ‘readiness for change’. This requires thoughtful consideration about the timing, relevance and commitment of the organization to implementation of the survey. A useful tool to guide this process is the Measure of Organizational Readiness for Psychological Health (MORPH).
Inform your staff about the online survey
Communicating with your staff openly and early in the process enhances participation, engagement and interest. It also gives staff time to ask questions or raise concerns. Organizations should aim to gather responses from as many staff as possible, rather than those only interested in particular issues.
There are a number of ways to communicate information to your staff about the survey. This may be done via staff meetings, e-mails, mailings, newsletters, and notice boards. You may wish to communicate the following key messages:
- The survey is brief and should only require 15-20 minutes to complete.
- Senior management and staff leaders support the survey. This will encourage all staff to complete the survey.
- Staff feedback is critical. Staff are being asked to complete the survey because this organization is committed to ensuring the psychological health and safety of its workforce. Getting feedback from all staff, whether they provide direct care or are in administrative or support roles, is critical to the success of this effort.
- Participation is voluntary. All information from the survey is confidential. No personal information will be gathered. Results of the survey will be summarized with no identifying information included.
Healthcare organizations and staff have the ongoing requirement to provide timely, safe and effective patient care; often while also contending with significant organizational change resulting from financial, policy or labour factors. These competing priorities can lead to staff confusion and overload which can be manifest as ‘survey fatigue’. In some cases, there may be a lack of trust that survey results will be communicated to all staff or will lead to meaningful action. For these reasons, it is very important that healthcare settings are mindful of organizational ‘readiness for change’. This requires thoughtful consideration about the timing, relevance and commitment of the organization to implementation of the survey. A useful tool to guide this process is the Measure of Organizational Readiness for Psychological Health (MORPH).
Below is suggested text you can use to introduce and provide access to the survey. Feel free to modify content as needed. You may also wish to split the content over two emails for ease of communication. We suggest that the first email could introduce the survey and a second could be used to provide employees with the link.
One of [INSERT ORGANIZATION/PROGRAM NAME]’s important goals is to create and maintain a psychologically healthy workplace for all healthcare staff. We recognize that our staff are our most valuable asset. Paying attention to well-being helps individual staff and strengthens the organization as a whole.
In order to accomplish this, [INSERT NAME OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEADER(S)], in partnership and consultation with [INSERT UNION/HUMAN RESOURCES/OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, IF RELEVANT], we are asking you to complete a brief, online survey. This is completed anonymously on-line and will take 15-20 minutes to complete. No personal information is asked, and all responses are confidential. Our organization will receive a summary report which will be used to contribute to our efforts to improve workplace psychological health and safety.
Please click on this link to go to the survey [INSERT SURVEY LINK HERE]. The survey may be accessed from any computer, smart phone or tablet. PLEASE NOTE: Once you have started the survey, you will not be able to go back to complete it, so please give yourself enough time.
Please do not hesitate to contact [INSERT NAME/TITLE/NUMBER/EMAIL] if you have any questions at all.
With our thanks,
- Organizational Champion
- [INSERT SIGNATURE]
- [INSERT NAME/TITLE]
- Key Informant
- [INSERT SIGNATURE]
- [INSERT NAME/TITLE]
