Marissa Chachra, a senior advisor with Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock, a healthcare public affairs firm in Brentwood, Tenn., and Chicago, shared tips to boost the connection between hospital executives and employees in a recent blog post.
1. Get a commitment from leaders. “Internal communications will not thrive until there has been a commitment made by your C-suite to be aggressive with communicating what is happening at your hospital,” Ms. Chachra said.
2. Create two-way communication. This may include an “Ask the CEO” email account or drop-boxes throughout the hospital where employees can share written questions. This will let the CEO get a taste of the issues that concern or interest employees the most.
3. Don’t share the “lite” versions of hospital news. Hospital employees want to feel engaged and in-the-know about their organization. “Therefore, be sure you are sharing your accomplishments, changes in the market and the strategic initiatives that have been put in place to make sure you overcome any challenges that may exist in your effort to become the preferred provider in the region,” said Ms. Chachra.
4. Don’t abide by too many rules. Ms. Chachra doesn’t recommend weekly restrictions on how many times the C-suite should reach out to employees, and she believes employees should be the ones to decide what they do and don’t read. “So don’t let sending out a good newspaper article on your hospital be stopped because you’ve already sent out one memo for the week,” she said.
Learn more about Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock.
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