Today we are very pleased to have David Jarrard, President and CEO of Nashville Technology Council member company Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock, give us a sneak preview on some of the compelling discussion we will be having at our upcoming Naked Hospital event on August 26th at The Factory at Franklin. We sold out last year, so be sure to register now to reserve your spot!
Facebook is changing the way we run hospitals. Or, it ought to, if we want to keep our best people, provide the best care, and remain, you know, in business.
Here’s a proposition from the world of the obvious: The “new normal” of information transparency has changed the way we live, how we work together, and what we expect from each other.
It’s also changing the way effective leaders lead today.
At the upcoming Naked Hospital conference, I suspect you’ll rightly hear how healthcare “reform” has made attaining information transparency especially urgent to America’s hospitals — even as it strains rusty IT systems and the sanity of CIOs. Quality of care and quality of balance sheets all hinge on success here, and it impacts just about every operational decision.
But while transparency is changing the healthcare industry, it’s also worth considering how transparency is changing us.
An example: In its 2010 Pulse Report, Press Ganey reported on its survey of 235,000 employees at 383 hospitals. Among its findings:
“Gen X employees (born between1965 to 1983) want frequent and real-time conversations and Gen Y (1984 or later) wants to continuously receive real-time information. They both want to be involved in decisions. Gen X employees place more importance on managing themselves while Gen Y employees have high expectations for full participation and collaboration.”
Sound familiar? It’s a short path between the power of social media (where dialogue and transparency and collaboration is king) to the expectations of today’s workforce. Those Gen X and Gen Y employees want a relationship with leadership; they want engagement; they want information and honesty; they even want some measure of control.
The good news: When hospital leadership engages with these employees in this way, the results can be astounding. We’ve seen hospitals transformed by the power of real transparency and honest engagement with their workforce. A comatose workforce can become an army of leaders and advocates. Market share shifts. Satisfaction scores rise. Votes come in.
Wait…they want some control? Yikes. This can be a very scary proposition for hospitals, by nature conservative and skeptical. But the successful “naked hospital” – the ones that truly embrace transparency in every aspect – will tap a powerful resource that can transform their organization.
How powerful? Ask your Facebook friends.
