Today is our final post in our 5 day series on our recent employee recognition success story. You can read the story of Grace Haven Assisted Living in its entirety in the Recognition Resource Center. Today we’re sharing the exciting results Grace Haven experienced after implementing an employee recognition program.

Recovery: Imminent

Within one week of the program’s implementation, the level of interest and optimism increased noticeably. The employee engagement survey given at the initial evaluation was repeated every 30 days and revealed steady improvement at each interval. The positivity grew over time, and after 3 months many Grace Haven employees expressed satisfaction with the improved culture.

Win 1: A Whole New Attitude Evolved
With the recognition programs in place, management met the goal of increasing positive feedback. The number of employees who felt recognition to be a priority at Grace Haven increased 47% since the beginning of the program.

After 60 days, 78% of staff had given recognition and 68% had received it. One respondent said of the program, “I’m impressed at the progress!” And recognition has made employees feel more comfortable about communication in general. Both managers and employees acknowledge that communication has improved and verbal recognition has become a common occurrence.

Win 2: Collaboration and Respect Increased
Before Shout Outs were implemented, only 26% of employees felt their coworkers were committed to quality work. After using the program for 60 days, that measurement increased to 63%. Teamwork and trust increased among team members, and many employees were pitching in where needed. The Shout Outs helped them show appreciation for and become more aware of each other’s contributions. One staff member told us, “I feel it made us closer; people you didn’t think cared, do.” Employee confidence in leadership also experienced a 66% lift.

Win 3: Attendance and Accountability Improved
The increased sense of teamwork led to employees putting a greater value on attendance. After just 30 days—and then again at 60—managers needed more Tokens of Appreciation because they had given so many attendance awards. 90% of employees received at least one token award in the first 60 days the program was in place. Since the start of the program, attendance has improved dramatically.

In just a few months, the Grace Haven team saw improvement in every area measured. Overall satisfaction increased by 66%, with 64% of staff believing that their work culture has improved since the start of the program.

Grace Haven Assisted Living Director of Resident Care had this to say about the changes:
I just can’t get over the change! I see smiles in the hallways and a true spirit of cooperation among most of the staff. And, our attendance issues are all but solved. Plus, giving recognition has been such a rewarding experience. Seeing the pride and satisfaction on the faces of the recipients not only tells me it’s making a difference, it makes me feel good inside, too!

Get a Case of the Positives

You don’t have to be in the caregiving industry or in a morale crisis to benefit from an employee recognition program.

Simple day-to-day acknowledgements improve communication, and expressions of appreciation make team members feel valued. Overall, staff members feel more satisfied with their jobs, increasing both engagement and retention. In addition, incorporating peer recognition into your program gives team members ownership as well as a greater appreciation for the work that others do in the organization.

The Grace Haven team discovered that implementing regular recognition into their routine was easier than they expected. With the right tools in place, the organization has transformed into a highly engaged, positive workplace where employees are proud to work.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Your culture plays an important role in attracting talent, retaining valuable employees, and succeeding as an organization. So what do you do if your culture is described as negative, employees are fighting, and turnover rate is double the industry average? We recently worked with a Michigan organization with these symptoms and helped them implement a strategic employee recognition program. After the program had been in place for merely 30 days, the organization experienced dramatic improvements.

Our most recent episode of Recognition TV shared the story of Grace Haven, the organization described above, and how they transformed their culture with recognition.  You can read the entire Grace Haven employee recognition success story on our website and watch the Recognition TV episode in our Recognition Resource Center.

After working with Grace Haven, we created a Prescription for Success that you can use in your organization to create a more positive and successful work culture. There are only seven steps outlined below that are simple and low-cost.

1. Form a team.
When we worked with Grace Haven, two recognition specialists dedicated their time to working on the project. You may be too busy to dedicate all your time to the recognition program, so recruit some help. Build a small team with a mix of employees and managers from several different departments. They will serve as your champions in their respective teams and serve as recognition liaisons for the organization.

2. Get employee feedback.
Gather employee feedback and measure employee engagement by administering an employee survey, holding focus groups, and conducting interviews with employees. You can download a copy of the Grace Haven employee engagement survey. Conduct the survey before the program start and at 30 day intervals after its implemented to create a baseline and measure your progress. Whenever you receive feedback on your work culture, it’s important to be open to listening to criticism. It will be the hardest part, but also the most helpful in turning around your culture.

3. Determine recognition program goals.
The data collection process provides valuable input into what areas of improvement you should focus on with your recognition program, and involving employees early on will make them feel like part of the process.  Some example goals include:
 Areas that need improvement
 Ways to improve those areas
 What behaviors do you want to reinforce
 Any culture issues

 4. Create programs that align with goals.
Your strategic recognition programs should be tied to your goals and objectives. At Grace Haven, we connected the programs to our goals of increasing morale, teamwork, and improving attendance. At this step in the process, determine what tools you want to include in your program. At Grace Haven, we used Shout Outs, the Pintastic Manager, and Tokens of Appreciation. Use your survey results and input from your team for reward ideas.

5. Communicate with your team.
Communication is key to a recognition program! You will want to keep employees updated on your progress and make information readily available. At Grace Haven, we attended multiple meetings and held a kick off the day the programs launched. Take the time to explain how the programs work, and how employees can participate. You’ll also need to do some basic training.

6. Implement your recognition program.
Now, use the program!  Your team needs to take the lead and be the champions by practicing recognition regularly and answering any questions from staff.

7. Encourage change.
Your recognition program is never complete, so regularly seek feedback from employees. Tweak things as necessary to keep the program enticing to employees. For example, a Grace Haven employee suggested that the rewards change periodically to remain a strong incentive for employees. Your constant attention to the program and willingness to make changes will maintain momentum in the long run and ensure long term success of your program.

Download the complete Grace Haven employee recognition success story.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

We’re gearing up for Thursday’s “Transforming Culture with Recognition” webisode by sharing the success story of Grace Haven Assisted Living. This facility improved its culture in 60 days with strategic employee recognition. Register for our Recognition TV webisode, and you’ll learn our prescription for success so you can transform your culture, too. 

Diagnosis: Recognition Deficiency

To get to heart of the discontent, Grace Haven supervisors and staff took part in an evaluation process that included interviews, focus groups, and an employee engagement survey. The survey, modeled after one given by The Gallup Organization, helped set benchmarks, as well as identify the key issues that needed to be addressed to reverse the steady decline in morale.

Issue 1: Insufficient employee recognition and performance evaluation
Through focus groups and conversations, we learned that the staff felt underappreciated and overlooked by managers. This was particularly true with the night shift, who had limited supervision and face time with managers. However, nearly all staff expressed a desire for both informal and formal job feedback. With the overriding management philosophy of “if you don’t hear from us, you’re doing fine,” employees were insecure and hungry for positive reinforcement and acknowledgment of their hard work.

Read the Grace Haven Success Story.

Issue 2: Lack of camaraderie
While the Grace Haven staff were mostly satisfied with their work and felt they provided exceptional care to residents, they were less likely to feel the same about their peers.

With no one—managers or fellow employees—acknowledging the commitment and dedication of these individuals it was difficult to realize the impact each was having on day-to-day activity or appreciate each other for their contributions to the organization’s goals. Staff did not feel they could rely on one another, and less than 30% felt satisfied with the overall care that residents received at Grace Haven.

Issue 3: Poor attendance
Absenteeism interfered with everyone’s schedules, requiring last minute shifts in responsibilities and mandates for staff to work overtime. Call ins were not only inconvenient and disruptive to everyone involved, they also affected morale, workflow, and quality of resident care.

Tune in tomorrow for part three, Prescription: Day-to-Day Recognition, or join our Blog Email List and have it delivered to your inbox. Sign up on the blog homepage.

Is the cliff hanger killing you? Download the complete employee recognition success story in our Recognition Resource Center. 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

In anticipation of Thursday’s “Transforming Culture with Recognition” webisode, we’re sharing the success story that Allison and I worked on earlier this year. Each day this week, we’ll post a different part of the story of Grace Haven Assisted Living and how they turned around their negative work culture. Register for our Recognition TV webisode, and you’ll learn our prescription for success so you can transform your culture, too. 

From hospitals to manufacturers; non-profits to Fortune 500s—the story’s the same: employee retention and morale are two of the most pressing issues managers and human resources directors face today. Want to learn how one organization turned their culture from hopeless to hopeful in just a few short months? Read on…

Part One: Condition: Critical

There are 36,000 assisted living facilities in the U.S., serving more than one million elderly patients. Across the country, these facilities are charged with employing staff in high-pressure positions that require responsibility, discretion, compassion, and flexibility.

In addition to these challenges, this industry also struggles with higher than average employee turnover, absenteeism, and low morale. Administrators at assisted living facilities must find practical and creative ways to keep staff engaged and satisfied so they can provide the superior level of service expected by residents and residents’ families.

No exception to this troubling statistic, Grace Haven Assisted Living in St. Johns, Michigan was feeling powerless after watching turnover soar and morale plummet beginning in early 2010. The company’s nearly 200% resident growth in a few short months had clearly put pressure on all staff, but a culture of dissatisfaction had been developing over time as well.

Poor attendance was disrupting the day-to-day workflow and creating animosity among the staff. Accusations of favoritism were prevalent and in-fighting was a regular problem between shifts. In addition, resignations were so frequent that it was difficult to maintain the level of staff needed to keep the facility running effectively—and the extra strain on the workers only amplified their problems. Management knew that simply increasing the number of employees was only part of the solution.

Tune in tomorrow for part two, Diagnosis: Recognition Deficiency, or join our Blog Email List and have it delivered to your inbox. Sign up on the blog homepage.

Is the cliff hanger killing you? Download the complete employee recognition success story in our Recognition Resource Center. 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Over the years we’ve had lots of customers tell us about the challenges they face implementing employee recognition in their organization. They know their organization would benefit from the positive reinforcement and open communication of employee recognition, but they have a difficult time convincing management to invest. We wanted to help our customers make a compelling case for employee recognition and implement it quickly and easily in their organization.

So we worked with a local assisted living facility, Grace Haven, to do exactly that.

Grace Haven’s fast-paced, ‘round the clock environment made it easy to overlook employee recognition. This lack of communication and feedback contributed to low employee morale, a negative culture, and tension between employees and management. The staff knew something had to change, but they didn’t know what to do.

We helped Grace Haven overcome their cultural challenges with a strategic employee recognition program. We assessed their environment, surveyed their staff, and identified three priority issues that could be easily addressed with recognition. Then we created strategic employee recognition programs that targeted each of the priority issues and evaluated our progress at 30, 60, and 120 days. The results are really exciting, and Grace Haven is a different facility today thanks to the employee recognition programs they implemented and continue to use today.

We’ve documented the entire process, and you can download the whole story in our Recognition Resource Center.

Our experience at Grace Haven outlined a process for others to follow, too. Employee recognition can be implemented quickly, effectively, and affordably if you know the right steps to take. Read our Success Story and get the information you need to make strategic employee recognition a reality in your organization.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.