The caring community

Keeping in touch with employees helps this organization thrive in a tough market

(Michele McDonald/Globe Staff Photo)

WINCHESTER - Anne Lang, head of human resources at Winchester Hospital, pulls out a simple, black box and flips it open. Inside is a small but telling stack of reasons why this 229-bed community hospital is the state's top place to work.

At Winchester, Lang and other managers keep index cards listing how employees prefer to be rewarded: in a meeting, in the hospital newsletter, personally, with chocolate or sports gear. Senior managers started the tradition in 2005 to meet its 2,600 employees' yearning for a more formal system of rewards, big and small.

"It was in response to our employee survey results," said Lang. "Every two years, we do a formal employee survey. They said, 'You know, you could do a better job on recognition.' "

The cards help managers give what Lang calls "spot awards," small gifts worth up to $25 to mark good work. "If someone did a really good job on a report or project, and I know they really like 'Grey's Anatomy,' I'll write a thank you note - there's always a thank you note - and I'll leave a little 'Grey's Anatomy' poster or a CD," said Lang. "The point is to be thoughtful."

That's the kind of extra step the 96-year-old hospital, the highest-ranked large company, continually takes to attract and retain a staff whose work is the key to patient care and fiscal strength. Operating just miles from big-name teaching hospitals, squeezed by rising costs, and outgrowing its main campus, Winchester's survival depends on its ability to be an attractive employer.

And by most measures, Winchester is a remarkable place to work. Nearly 100 percent of surveyed employees say they're proud to work for the hospital, and 100 percent believe the organization is going in the right direction. Over time, the hospital has defined itself as an enterprise that cares as deeply for its staff and 700 affiliated physicians as for its patients - a strategy that may pay off during the economic downturn.

"I've seen growth and transition, but I don't feel like we've ever lost the heart of the hospital as a caring community," said Kathleen Beyerman, director of nursing staff development and of the hospital's Community Health Institute.

Down in a cramped basement hallway one recent morning, dietitian Virginia Cassidy was telling two dozen food and nutrition employees about a patient who gained needed weight thanks to extra helpings of tomato soup and custard. "She's doing much better now, particularly because of us," reported Cassidy.

This was one of the guest services department's twice-daily "huddles," a brief but crucial moment for all to trade notes.

And it represents just one of many strategies that hospital leaders - from chief executive Dale Lodge to junior managers - use to promote communication hospitalwide. Managers, including Lodge, carry out regular "rounds" to hear both patient and staff feedback, even on overnight shifts, and Lang says she follows the biannual employee surveys "like a hawk," helping to draft follow-up action plans.

Listening to staff ideas is also central to the hospital's success as a workplace. In 2006, Donna Sherrill, now a director in the nursing division, began giving oncology patients feedback cards upon discharge to learn how to improve care - an idea now instituted hospitalwide. A few years ago, a group of nurses worked with the hospital's child life specialist Cathy Robinowitz to bring in dogs for a visit, a twice-weekly program that usually soothes workers' stresses as much as patients'.

"The whole mood on the unit changes," said Beyerman, who visits regularly with her big, friendly, mixed-breed dog, Amigo. "We have to pull ourselves away from the staff to get to the patients." Two nurses are planning to study how staff benefit from the canine visits, which are managed by a nonprofit.

It's always a challenge to create passion and pride in workers. "You should know your employees, grow them, inspire them, and reward them - those are the keys to driving engagement," said Julie Gebauer, a managing director at consultant firm Towers Perrin.

Companies with higher engagement have better retention and financial results, according to Towers Perrin. At Winchester, 93 percent of surveyed employees say they don't want to leave in the next year, and 75 percent agree their pay is fair.

To stay competitive, Lodge and his staff face multiple challenges. Annual adjusted admissions have risen 35 percent since 2000, to 46,350, but have slowed recently as strapped consumers cut back on healthcare. The hospital, which has projected operating revenue of $263 million this year, plans to spend $150 million in the next two-plus years on needed capital work at its main campus and satellite facilities. Massachusetts hospital payroll and benefit expenses are rising nearly 8 percent annually. Labor shortages abound.

But Lodge, who combines warmth with tough metrics, is trying to keep his eye on the ball: attracting and keeping good staff and medical affiliates. "Our reputation is very dependent on being able to attract very talented individuals," says Lodge.

One sign Winchester is succeeding: According to its own employee surveys, 98 percent of affiliated physicians and 97 percent of employees would recommend the hospital as a place of treatment for their friends and family. "That's the figure I'm most proud of," says Lodge.