5 Ways Healthcare Leaders Can Cultivate And Sustain Trust From Frontline Employees
In healthcare, “trust” is not just a lofty descriptor. It’s a critical component on which the entire system rests. From nuanced decision making to taking life-or-death action, without trust, the healthcare system we all know may look much different.
While the trust between patients and medical professionals is one pillar, internal trust between employees within an organization is another. And yet, despite the importance of this foundation, just 56% of employees say they trust their employer, per Dayforce. Nearly the same is true of employers when asked about those they lead.
Yet from employee retention and team morale to patient safety, this two-way trust is simply non-negotiable.
Here are five ways leaders can build and maintain trust with their employees.
1. Encourage feedback
Your frontline employees are just that — on the frontlines interacting with the patients your organization serves. They see the good, bad and ugly, and are the individuals utilizing the systems and processes put in place under your watch.
This means they know what works — and what doesn’t. And they likely have useful ideas about how to make your operations run smoother. Yet less than half of employees surveyed (45%) in the Dayforce report said their employer actively collects feedback. Of those employers that do, only a third of employees opt to share feedback often.
As a leader, it’s on you to request feedback on a regular basis. From routine employee surveys to empowering the leaders you serve to ask for feedback, town halls and more, the more you encourage all employees to speak up, the more you cultivate a culture that promotes it as well.
2. Be visible
Expecting trust but not putting in the effort to nurture it is a recipe for, well, distrust. From the C-suite to managers at all levels, your leadership needs to prioritize interacting with your frontline employees.
Do this in a way that feels authentic to you. Maybe it’s sharing lunch with the doctors on shift or shadowing an administrative team for half a day. Perhaps it’s taking meetings at your system’s various medical sites or simply doing a lap around the hospital each morning before diving into your workday. The key is to organically connect with your employees.
3. Lean on middle-level managers
While being visible is important, you can’t be in all places at all times. That’s why you have to lean on your various managers to help you bridge the gaps. By having quality relationships with those you directly lead, the result is empowered managers who have strong relationships with their reports.
When relationships are built on trust, this means you can glean better insight into what’s really going on at the ground level. Further, it allows you to have thoughtful conversations around perceptions and how you can collectively address those while also driving the organization’s overall mission.
4. Demonstrate empathy
Empathy is one of the cornerstones of quality leadership. The vast majority of employees believe empathetic leadership boosts morale and is key to nurturing an inclusive workplace. Empathy can also result in greater creativity, efficiency, innovation and job satisfaction.
When employees feel engaged in their organization and trust in their leaders, it fosters comfort and honesty. The reality of healthcare is that it offers little to no room for error. Mistakes can lead to the worst possible outcomes. When trust is lacking, it leads to a culture of hiding and covering up.
Healthcare systems are reliant upon transparency. Employees need to be able to trust that they can come to their leaders with mistakes and issues without repercussions — and employers need to believe their employees are forthcoming. Leading with empathy encourages employees to share necessary information.
5. Promote mentorship
A McKinsey study found that 69% of frontline workers report low mentorship. This can lead to employees feeling stuck and directionless in their work. From valuing a workplace of learning and growth to implementing a formal mentorship program, giving your frontline employees ongoing guidance keeps them engaged and improves their performance.
Trust is essential within healthcare organizations
Trust between frontline employees and senior leaders is extremely important, as those who ultimately suffer from misaligned teams are the very patients your organization serves.
For healthcare leaders, building and maintaining a culture of trust yields positive outcomes for all involved: It helps employers achieve their objectives, it supports employee retention and it results in high-quality care for individuals.