Employee engagement

Employee engagement is the connection employees feel towards their work, their teams, and their organisation. Engaged employees feel connected to their teams, love their jobs, and have positive feelings about the organisation because they:

• know they will be recognised for their contributions
• see opportunities for professional growth and career development
• understand when organisational change happens and why
• know our values are at the centre of how we work and interact with one another
• find alignment between their values and goals and that of the organisation.

Employee engagement goes beyond job satisfaction; it’s about creating an environment where staff members feel connected, motivated, and committed to their work. Engaged employees are happier and more productive which results in:

Trust in leadership	Supportive management	Meaningful work	Positive environment	Growth opportunity
Mission and purpose	Clear and transparent goals	Autonomy	Flexible work environment	Training and support on the job
Continuous investment in people	Coaching	Diverse teams	Respectful workplace	Facilitated talent mobility
Transparency and honesty	Investment in development of managers	Empowered teams	Culture of recognition	Self-directed, dynamic learning
Inspiration	Aligned performance management	Down time	Fair, inclusive, diverse work environment	High- impact learning culture

At Metro North, we are committed to putting our people first. As an organisation, we aim to foster a culture of employee engagement, where each employee feels valued, empowered, and inspired to do their best work. To achieve this, we strive to create an inclusive and supportive culture, where employees know they are valued through a strong sense of belonging, recognition, and professional growth. The Working together – Strategy for Inclusive Employee Engagement 2022-2024 sets out how we propose to enhance staff engagement efforts across Metro North.

Employee engagement is a complex concept, and a combination of the following measures can be used to provide a more comprehensive understanding of engagement levels.

1. Employee engagement surveys
   One of the ways Metro North Health engages staff to reflect on their workplace culture is to provide everyone with the opportunity to Have Your Say. The Best Practice Australia Analytics (BPA Analytics) Have Your Say survey has been developed to understand peoples’ experiences and perceptions of their work, manager, team, and organisation. Other surveys include the annual Working for Queensland Survey, or locally run pulse surveys which is a brief and regular set of questions sent out to employees.
2. Employee lifecycle surveys
   1. First Impressions entry survey: Onboarding helps ensure new employees receive the best start possible. The first impressions entry survey aims to find what newly appointed staff think of our onboarding process. What is their first impression of our culture? What is their outlook for the future?
   2. Last Impressions exit survey: Exit surveys provide people the opportunity to reflect on their experience working for Metro North, both positive and negative. This feedback provides unique perspectives and insights to inform future improvements.
3. Absenteeism: Monitoring sick leave and work relayed injury or illness.
4. Employee retention and turnover: Analysing the rate at which employees choose to stay with the organisation.
5. Performance metrics: Assessing individual and team performance and reporting, including clinical incidents, and RiskMan reporting.
6. Employee recognition and rewards: Tracking the frequency and effectiveness of recognition programs such as the Shout Out Portal and other awards given to staff for their achievements or contributions.
7. Patient reported experience measure: PREMS, compliments, and complaints.

Workplace culture is the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of the organisation. At Metro North Health we value high performance, teamwork, integrity, compassion, and respect. Values in Action is our way of working, the way we work helps us to achieve what we strive for.

Values influence people’s experiences of work, which is:

• the way people show care for one another,
• the emphasis on employees’ safety, wellbeing, and support,
• the focus on innovation, learning and growth,
• demonstrated leadership and behaviours.

As a result, workplace culture plays a big part in influencing peoples’ levels of engagement, that is, how committed they are to their workplace.

Employee engagement is not the responsibility of our senior leaders alone. A better workplace is everyone’s responsibility, every individual staff member contributes to the environment of those around them.  We all have a role in making Metro North a great place to work and investing in improvement strategies to increase employee engagement, enabling MN32 future workforce initiatives.

The role of employees

Taking charge of your own engagement

Employees are our voices on the front line and our main line of sight into the employee experience. Metro North Health rely on employees to:

• provide honest, candid, and actionable feedback about what is and isn’t working
• brainstorm new and creative solutions that address their concerns
• own their performance and development
• engage in meaningful relationships with their teams and managers.

Employees can and should experience the benefits of being more engaged in their work. When staff are engaged at work, they have a sense of contribution and meaning, and can leave work with an energy gain as opposed to an energy drain. Engagement builds strong and lasting work relationships and friendships, fosters career development and career advancement, while contributing to our overall wellbeing.

The role of executive leadership

Organisational leaders are the top promoters of an engaged culture. Metro North Health depend on leaders to:

• set the tone
• share a vision
• communicate change
• update the organisation on progress.

The role of managers

Managers create an environment where employees can thrive and truly be engaged. Metro North Health depend on managers to:

• build relationship of trust with each employee
• serve as a sounding board for employee feedback and suggestions
• recognise and celebrate individual and team success
• provide continuous performance feedback
• help employees develop and grow
• ensure behaviours align with the Metro North values.

With such a wide-ranging list of things that can influence engagement levels, it can be difficult to know where to start, and what will have the most impact. It might help to think about what you can do firstly to help your team, and secondly to understand and improve your own management style to:

• help individuals and the team become more engaged, resilient and effective
• behave in an engaging way.

The following actions will help to ensure that individual employees, and the teams they are in, stand a better chance of being engaged with both their work and the wider organisation.

Bring the right people in

Values based recruitment ensures we are attracting, selecting, and appointing the best candidate. Values Based Recruitment (VBR) coaches are volunteer staff trained to assist hiring managers throughout the recruitment process. The literature on job design and engagement indicates that a good job-person fit is essential. This suggests that job descriptions should be accurate and that person specifications should be clear about the type of person who is being sought – not just skills and experience, but attitudes.

Give good quality inductions

Research indicates that the first few weeks in the role are crucial. Onboarding ensures new employees receive the best start possible. New joiners who are welcomed, are given a good induction, meet their line manager and new team members straight away, and are equipped with the right resources from day one, are far more likely to feel engaged and positive about their role. Both to demonstrate how important and valued the newcomers are, and to explain the organisation’s commitment to its values, a senior leader should attend all induction sessions.

Be clear about expected behaviours

Values in Action is our way of working – translating those values into behaviours in the workplace shapes the culture of Metro North and is vital to create a unified and engaged workforce. As an organisation Metro North values respect, integrity, compassion, high performance, and teamwork. Our values represent who we are and what we care about. Most of our staff have a clear understanding of the Metro North Values through values-based recruitment, however, existing staff (often long-servers, who may have seen many ‘initiatives’ come and go) will need reminders about values-based behaviour too.

Values in Action Foundations training is available in TMS or email MNvalues@health.qld.gov.au.

Clearly communicate the Vision and Purpose

Unite people with a clear sense of purpose, what you want to achieve for your team, your patients and the organisation.

Communication is key in any organisation. It is important to ensure that all employees are informed of any changes or initiatives that are taking place. This will also help to build trust and develop an environment of openness.

Give all employees a voice

It is important that individual employees and teams feel they have an opportunity to voice their views, offer opinions and suggestions, and input into decisions that affect them. Involving employees in decisions can help to develop a sense of ownership and connectedness.

To ensure that there are mechanisms to enable employees to have a voice consider: staff forums (both physical and virtual/on-line), a comment board or suggestion box, team briefings to gather opinions to feed back up the management chain, one-to-one drop-in sessions with team members.

Set clear goals

Goals should be tangible and achievable, and they should also be meaningful and in line with the organisation’s overall goals. This will help ensure that employees clearly understand their role and can work towards achieving their goals.

Promote and encourage participation in health and wellbeing initiatives

Some relatively simple techniques, based on the principle of ‘positive psychology’, can help to boost employees’ resilience, coping mechanisms, and awareness of self and others. This is very important in health, where jobs and situations can be extremely stressful, and resources are constrained. More information is available on the Staff Wellbeing page.

Be generous with praise and recognition

Most people work very hard and want to do a good job. Giving praise and recognition for a job well done takes very little effort but is hugely appreciated. This will help to create a culture of appreciation and motivate employees to continue to strive for achieving achieve. Promote the staff Shout Out Portal with your team to acknowledge and thank a colleague or team member.

Provide professional development

Professional development is an important part of any employee engagement toolkit. Providing employees with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge further will help keep them engaged and motivated.