This year’s March took place on April 28^th at Lenoir-Rhyne University, and for the first time included all of the Unifour – Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties. With an average premature birth rate of 12.6% for the combined counties, this event is crucial to both our area and as the March of Dimes’ biggest fundraiser. Since its inception in 1970, March for Babies has raised more than $1 billion. Money earned goes toward Research, Education, and Assistance: research into the prevention of premature births, education for healthy pregnancies, and assistance for families with newborns in intensive care.

The Jackson Group participated in the March with a team of walkers and fundraisers. Efforts for fundraising spanned all year with a ‘Blue Jeans for Babies’ day held every Friday. For $2 employees could wear jeans in support of the March of Dimes. A special $5 day once a month permitted not only jeans, but t-shirts and tennis shoes. Through this campaign alone TJG raised just over $1,000. This money allowed for us to provide a Spirit Water Station for walkers during the March. A total of $2,191 was donated through TJG and our family and friends.

With the March over for 2012, we are already looking forward to 2013. Blue Jeans for Babies continues at the office and next year we’ll be out again marching in the hope that all babies are given a healthy start.

As of early April 2012, the Rounding Pad™ has been,  or is in the process of being fielded in trials by several hospitals and healthcare systems. In addition to those undergoing trials with the service, some hospitals have begun to move forward with full employment of this tool.

To recap for those who may be unfamiliar, the Rounding Pad™ utilizes an Apple iPad to provide those conducting rounding a tool for quick data entry during visits with patients.  The pad is configured to trigger automatic email alerts to key people within the organization if a particular topic area receives a low score. This enables the key personnel to take timely action to rectify any patient-perceived problems with care or service.  Those using the device can also pull up a dashboard report at any time, thus allowing quick analysis of both high and low performing units and topics. The versatility of the Rounding Pad™ is perfect for any healthcare organization looking to improve or maintain positive consistency in the areas of patient satisfaction and customer service.

To obtain more information about the Rounding Pad™, or if you are interested in receiving a proposal, visit this link. You may also contact The Jackson Group via telephone at 800-554-0373, or email us at info@thejacksongroup.com.

The competition spanned from March 10th to March 29th, starting with a morning game of disc golf at Glenn C. Hilton, Jr. Memorial Park. Games also took place at the Catawba Science Center (scavenger hunt and field day), Pin Station ( bowling and billiards), Neill Clark Recreation Center (soccer and musical chairs), and the Highland Recreation Center (fitness challenge and two ball). Additional events included kickball, pulling a fire truck, rock paper scissors, trivia, and a 5K foot race.

L. P. Frans Stadium hosted the final day of games and the awarding of trophies. Teams gave a final push to move ahead during dizzy bat, t-shirt slingshot, distance/accuracy hitting off a tee, and speed pitching. A panel of judges also judged team t-shirts. At the end of the day The Jackson Group took 3rd place and The City of Hickory earned 1st.

It was a great time for employees to enjoy each other’s company, get to know new people from our area, and play games. The Jackson Group did take first place in several individual events: disc golf, indoor soccer, trivia, and dizzy bat.

A big thank you to everyone who made this year’s Challenge possible, and to all the teams that participated!

Involvement Gap

Through the eyes of employees and leaders employee involvement looks, feels and is something different at times. Ask a room full of leaders the question, “Do you involve your employees?”  Close to 100% of the leaders’ hands go up. Ask employees that same question.  They say, “Oh no, I don’t think so!”  Specifically, on the question “I am involved in decision–making in my department”, and the leadership work climate survey statement, “I involve employees…,” the leadership score on a five- point lickert scale is a high score of 91.9, versus the employee score of 67.7 on the employee work climate survey. According to The Jackson Group database, a large gap (24 points) is seen between leadership views on employee involvement in decision making and what employees believe. The gap is smaller on other involvement statements.  For example, with the statement “New ideas are welcomed in my department,” the gap between leadership and employee scores is 15.0.   Thus, it appears according to the database, employees perceive leadership involving employees more with new ideas.

Leaders believe they involve their staff in making decisions, so the mystery emerges in what drives these differing views of involving and being involved. Most importantly, what do leaders and employees need to do to narrow the gap? To begin, a comparison of the two views may offer a clue to narrowing the gap in perceptions and, of course, in actual practice.

Leadership View

Typical responses heard from leaders explaining roadblocks in “how they involve employees” include asking for input with no one speaking up; no one volunteers to serve on an organization wide committee. Leaders also describe employees who think they are not involved when a final decision is made that is different from what the employees suggested. Leaders tell of situations where employees think they should be involved, but the decision to be made is clearly a leadership decision.  Leaders many times indicate that employees “forget” when they were involved in decision making.  All these scenarios discussed by leadership describe where leaders lack the skills to establish an employee involvement plan and effectively implement the plan including communication, motivation of employees, and reward of employees for their involvement.  The employee involvement issue goes beyond one leader or one department. An entire organization must build a culture of employee involvement by having a focused plan that permeates all levels of leadership and all departments.

Employee View

Typical responses heard from employees are “sure leaders ask for input, but we never see suggestions implemented or hear why they are not.” According to some employees, certain leaders give negative feedback when suggestions are made.  There is a sense among employees that many times a decision has already been made when leaders ask for feedback. Or leaders act like the decision is not made, but communicate in a manner that makes employees think a decision has been made already. Further confusion exists when employees are unsure of when they should be involved in providing an opinion. Employees question the reward for being involved in teams when pressure to perform is high in most organizations. Employees ask “What is the pay off for all the extra time spent working on a decision–making team?”  “What are the rewards?” is also asked by many.  Another observation by employees includes senior employees with the mindset of “we tried that years ago and it did not work” or peer resistance to change.

In The Jackson Group database, around 93% of employees indicate “being involved” in decision-making is either “very important to them or somewhat important to them.”  From The Jackson Group research on the database, data supports employee involvement as a key to employee engagement and influences whether employees feel positive about their work area.  It is clear that employees want to be involved in finding solutions in their work unit, but may not know how to go about being involved effectively.

Creating an Incubator for Involvement

Prior to taking the first step to enhance employee involvement, Senior Leadership must have a strong commitment to and hold the belief that employee involvement, at all levels of the organization, will ultimately contribute to the continuous improvement and success of their organization.  Senior Leadership should provide the necessary resources in staffing and financing for the employee involvement initiatives in order to see a return on investment. Further, Senior Leadership must hold all leadership accountable for meeting employee involvement objectives.

Step 1:  Establish support from Senior Leadership.

Step 2: Conduct baseline employee survey to measure views of employee involvement by organization and assess readiness for employee involvement initiatives by department.

Step 3: Senior Leadership and department leadership team makes decision to use internal or external resources to develop a system to enhance employee involvement.

Step 4: Develop Employee Involvement Plan with a multidisciplinary leadership team.

Step 5: Implement plan with a small group of departments.

Step 6: Assess effectiveness of pilot departments and revise plan accordingly.

Step 7: Implement plan organization wide with first steps in communication showing the success in pilot departments.

Step 8: Monitor plan and communicate successes while reevaluating and making changes to plan as needed.

Step 9: Measure employee views by completing employee survey (one year following implementation).

Barriers to Involvement

The following areas may be roadblocks or obstacles to address:

- Lack of thorough planning including readiness for implementation

- Insufficient communication on details of plan and, most importantly, the need for employee involvement and expected outcomes

- Insufficient training of staff to work on teams, monitor processes, etc.

- Leadership not “closing the loop” on employee involvement

- Leadership not clearly establishing boundaries on which employees can be involved in making decisions

- Failure to allocate time and resources for involvement and not understanding the return on investment

- Lack of information / data for team to make decisions

- Lack of “buy in” by department leadership team or team has not been sufficiently developed to have the skills to lead employee involvement efforts

- Failure to measure results and show financial return on investment

- Insufficient reward and recognition for involvement successes

- Leadership team expectations for departmental teams to function “perfectly” the first time and leadership “second guessing” the team

- Leadership mentality of involvement that means leadership makes the decision and then seeks input or conducts meeting after decision is made

All organizations have areas that will stumble on these expected obstacles so the most important initial decision is to select the right pilot departments. Start off with good training, keep it relatively simple, reward successes and communicate the achievements of leaders and department teams. As the initiative is implemented organizationally, Senior Leadership must hold all leaders accountable for the Employee Involvement Plan.

Impact of Employee Involvement

It has been well-known for years that employee involvement is tightly linked to employee satisfaction.  In considering the return on investment for the time and efforts required to successfully involve employees, leadership should keep in mind other factors where successful employee involvement may return dollars to the bottom line,  such as employee engagement, productivity, cost savings on improvement in processes, turnover, safety, and customer satisfaction.  An example of savings was documented by the Veterans Health Administration.  This organization began their “High-Involvement Work Systems” (HIWS)  in 2003 in an effort for health care leaders “to reduce cost of service and attract and retain highly dedicated competent patient care and support employees.”  Their efforts produced, according to their report Effects of High-Involvement Work Systems on Employee Satisfaction and Service Costs in Veterans Healthcare, more satisfied employees, less organizational turmoil, and lower service delivery costs and realized $1.2 million in savings for the average VHA facility.  The study involved 146 VHA centers and saved almost $176 million dollars nationwide.  Their outcomes demonstrated, and they noted in their report, that HIWS had a long-term impact. By investing in “people centered practices,” they had a positive influence on financial performance and improved the quality of the work environment.

In planning for a strategic initiative in employee involvement, leadership should, in their action planning, be sure to set up metrics to monitor the success of involvement efforts financially and also consider the return on investment with human capital.

Connie Saunders is a senior consultant with The Jackson Group, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in physician, employee, and patient satisfaction surveying and management consulting.

The final paragraphs of the article “Spreading the Word” begin by saying “Media production is important in Catawba County, and Jackson Group Interactive LLC, a Hickory-based video and multimedia production company, is renowned for its work.” After giving JGI a wonderful introduction, the article goes on to explain how JGI co-founder, Alan Jackson, came about with the idea to create The MESH.

In case you haven’t heard yet, The MESH is a site of online programming featuring local talent, professionals, and personalities talking about their interests or areas of expertise. One show, “I’m With the Band” spotlights local musicians while “Stepping up Service” is a discussion on the importance of customer service. Whatever your tastes, from celebrity gossip to the latest gadgets, there is a show for you.

As Business North Carolina points out, The MESH is also a Featured Podcast Provider with Apple iTunes. Mary Margaret Baker, MESH director, is quoted “iTunes is one of the largest international online stores for music, movies, and books, so it’s nice knowing that all of the content we are producing here in western North Carolina will be featured on their store and available to all of their visitors.”

If you haven’t checked out The MESH, all of the shows can be found online at theMesh.tv. Shows can also be downloaded directly via iTunes, where you can subscribe to your favorite show. The complete article about Catawba County can be found in April’s issue of Business North Carolina.

“CAHPS Cast” is a monthly discussion show focused on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider Satisfaction survey process.  For healthcare organizations, the CAHPS survey process has become an important tool to gauge patient experiences.  It has also become a tool for consumers to use to compare

organizations when making healthcare decisions.  This free program discusses the different aspects of the CAHPS survey process, updates and changes, and how organizations are using it to improve their service.  The hosts of this program are Alan Jackson, President of The Jackson Group, and Janette Jones, Director of Patient Satisfaction Surveying.

The Jackson Group is proud to be a partner with The MESH, a new media online broadcasting network dedicated to providing unique and engaging online content to viewers around the world.  You can learn more about The MESH by visiting it’s web site at www.theMESH.tv.  The MESH is a production of Jackson Group Interactive, a subsidiary company of The Jackson Group; all shows & podcasts are open to the public, and you can “subscribe” to any of the shows through Apple iTunes.

The Jackson Group, Inc. proudly announces the recent addition of Michael Dowd, as a Business Development Associate for the Healthcare market.  Mr. Dowd will be responsible for new business development, relationship management, and strategic planning with healthcare organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

In his tenure with national patient satisfaction survey firm Press Ganey, Michael has worked with numerous hospitals to impact satisfaction measures and improve the patient experience.  He has consulted with organizations to develop targeted marketing programs and messaging, worked in the creation of effective corporate identity programs, and consulted in the area of asset acquisition and management.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Walsh College as well as a Master’s Degree in Information Management & Communications. Originally from Michigan, Michael currently resides with his wife and step-son in Cary, North Carolina.  All are avid hockey fans and supporters of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Since 1976, The Jackson Group, Inc. has been providing innovative survey and consulting services to the healthcare industry.  Survey options offered by The Jackson Group include employee, customer satisfaction, and community perception surveys, as well as special needs assessments.  The company recently began offering its services to a broader range of industries with the addition of its business services division.  The Jackson Group is dedicated to its mission of “Helping organizations manage well, serve well, and communicate well.”

Meadows Regional Medical Center has been a client of The Jackson Group’s for six years, over that time conducting a Medical Staff survey, several Employee surveys, and ongoing Patient Satisfaction surveys.  Meadows won the Laureate Workplace Excellence Award in 2008, 2009, and now in 2011.  The organization continues to perform in the upper quartile of The Jackson Group’s patient and employee healthcare databases.

This award is given to each healthcare organization that has demonstrated excellence in the workplace using the criteria designed by The Jackson Group and exemplified in the client’s Work Climate (Employee) Survey results.  The client must have a high response rate on the survey, and must also show evidence of workplace excellence by meeting or exceeding the established criteria related to their workplace and demonstrating excellence in such things as communication, employee involvement, commitment and perception of departmental leadership.

Congratulations to Meadows Regional Medical Center for their continued focus on providing a positive work environment for their employees!

The Rounding Pad™ utilizes an Apple iPad to give those conducting rounding a tool for quick data entry during patient visits.  The pad is configured to trigger automatic email alerts to key people in the organization if a particular topic area receives a low score.  And those using the device can pull up a dashboard report at any time for quick analysis of both high and low performing units and topics.

For more information about the Rounding Pad™ and to see screen shots of the survey and reports, please visit this web page.  If you are interested in learning more about the Rounding Pad™ or to receive a proposal, please fill out a Contact form by clicking this link, calling The Jackson Group at 800-554-0373 or contacting us by email at info@thejacksongroup.com.

You can read the full case study by clicking this link.  Thank you to KershawHealth for being a partner with The Jackson Group on your patient satisfaction efforts!