Open communication is key
He says healthcare employers need to strengthen their human resources departments to make it easier for employees to apply for jobs, and to evaluate where they are happy working. Smith says employers need to take a "back to the future" approach to recruiting young talent, looking at what worked in the past-such as bursary programs encouraging students to pursue a healthcare education and career.

Smith says no student graduate, with a big student loan wants to be hired on a casual basis, working several jobs to make ends meet. So Smith's organization is starting to hire more full-time workers. He says that makes for a stronger staff.

Good employer-employee relations also help. Sheila Goldgrab, owner and resident of Goldgrab Leadership Coaching, helps healthcare companies across the country improve their workplace cultures.

"All gets talked about," says Goldgrab. "It's holistic. We talk about change in the workplace, challenges of low morale and health and well-being."

Goldgrab works with managers, teaching them how to be good coaches and mentors to their employees, rather than managers with a boss mentality. "The way people are as managers has a lot to do with the health of healthcare providers," she says.

Managers with a boss mentality tell employees what to do and lecture them; managers with a coach mentality aren't experts in all areas and listen to employees and ask them questions. That's a "good thing," says Goldgrab. "Organizations change so quickly, it's hard to believe any boss is an expert."

Goldgrab works with managers, teaching them how to be good coaches and mentors to their employees, rather than managers with a boss mentality. "The way people are as managers has a lot to do with the health of healthcare providers," she says.

Managers with a boss mentality tell employees what to them; managers with a coach mentality aren't experts in all areas and listen to employees and ask them questions. That's a "good thing," says Goldgrab. "Organizations change so quickly, it's hard to believe any boss is an expert."

Goldgrab's clients include executives from hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and health departments-and
they are plentiful. "I'm busy. I have a full practice," says Goldgrab.


"The way people are as
managers has a lot
to do with the health of
healthcare providers.

Focusing on workplace health should take priority, says Andrea Baumann, co-director of Nursing Effectiveness, Utilization and Outcomes Research Unit,
McMaster University.

"We have to invest in the workplace environment," says Baumann. "Our product is healthy people. We're about making people healthy, not making money.
We want to invest in people who will
provide more care." Although she emphasizes the importance of investing in healthcare workers and their health, Baumann says that doesn't necessarily require spending more moneyequires restructuring and reorganizing, she says.

"You have to look at the entire environment and begin to make changes. No one thing is going to make a difference."


CHM