Case Study: Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Feb 21, 2018 • Focus Area: Innovation & Technology • Program: Catalyst

Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Research has shown that a happy, satisfied workforce increases staff productivity. And in a health care setting, that translates into patient satisfaction. In our 2017 cycle of Catalyst, Alameda Health System began piloting a solution to increase staff satisfaction.

At Alameda Health System’s Highland Hospital, low morale was evident in poor employee engagement scores, absenteeism, and frequent staff turnover. In an effort to better acknowledge people, the Highland Hospital team developed a solution called “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed.”

Project Profile

Alameda Health System’s Highland Hospital is Oakland’s historic county hospital, committed to caring, healing, teaching, and serving all since 1864.

Organization	Highland Hospital, Alameda Health System
Issue	Workplace happiness is often overlooked in favor of other priorities, such as care quality and patient safety. This can trigger low morale and staff burnout.
Solution Tested	“No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed” is a way for staff to acknowledge and show appreciation for their coworkers.
Stage	Implemented on full scale at one site.
Financial Investment	$
Partners	Clinic staff: medical assistants, nurses, eligibility clerks, and providers Clinic management: practice manager, nurse supervisor, medical director Organizational leadership: department chair, chief ambulatory officer

Key Challenges

The project team developed a survey to investigate the causes of staff dissatisfaction. It found:

Low Morale

Staff survey results showed low engagement scores, demonstrating that they weren’t enthusiastic about their work or their workplace.

Burnout

Staff burnout was leading cause of absenteeism and turnover at the hospital.

Lack of Support

Staff reported a lack of teamwork and encouragement to pursue professional development.

Testing “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed”

After deploying human-centered design techniques to identify the source of dissatisfaction, the project team focused on one area: staff not feeling recognized for their hard work.

So the team developed a a solution called “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed” to acknowledge staff for going above and beyond what is expected. It promotes meaningful, in-the-moment exchanges and works like this:

Bins of Monopoly money are placed around the clinic and staff are encouraged to give the money out when they see someone doing excellent work.
On the money, that staff member writes their name, the recipient’s name, and a brief description of the good deed or work being acknowledged.
Each month, all clinic staff and providers gather to attend a recognition ceremony, where numerous staff are awarded with small prizes and their good deeds are read outloud to the group.

Project Timeline

(click image to enlarge)

Date	Milestone
February 2017	“Have you received praise for doing good work in the last seven days?” The baseline score for this survey question was 38.5% agreed with the statement.
July 2017	Launch of prototype for No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed. More than 200 Monopoly bills were distributed in one month.
August 2017	First recognition ceremony for No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed.
September 2017	Second recognition ceremony.
October 2017	Third recognition ceremony. Responses to survey question “Have you received praise for doing good work in the last seven days?” improved to 54.3%. A new survey to evaluate program found that 78% agreed that it improves morale in clinic.
November 2017	Fourth recognition ceremony.
December 2017	Fifth recognition ceremony at first annual clinic holiday party.

People participated in the experiment

78%

Of staff agreed that the project improves morale in the clinic

54%

Of staff reported having received praise for doing good work

Lessons Learned

The most meaningful exchange between staff is recognizing each other in the moment for great work they’re doing.
People are hungry for ways to acknowledge each other and just need a meaningful way to do so.

Next Steps

Seek out ways to keep “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed” fresh and exciting.
Conduct ongoing measurement to ensure that the project is still meaningful for people and continues to
accomplish its intended goal.
Possibly spread to other areas of the hospital.

Key Resources

Team Survey

The project team developed a survey to get staff feedback about the pilot.

Download

Learn More

Interested in learning more about this project ? Contact Dr. Blake Gregory, Medical Director at Highland Hospital.

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Case Study: Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Project Profile

Key Challenges

Low Morale

Burnout

Lack of Support

Testing “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed”

Project Timeline

Lessons Learned

Next Steps

Key Resources

Team Survey

Learn More

Three Ways to put Human-Centered Design Methods to Work with Staff and Colleagues

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Center for Care Innovations

Case Study: Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Cultivating Workplace Happiness

Project Profile

Key Challenges

Low Morale

Burnout

Lack of Support

Testing “No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed”

Project Timeline

Lessons Learned

Next Steps

Key Resources

Team Survey

Learn More

Related Resources

Three Ways to put Human-Centered Design Methods to Work with Staff and Colleagues

Newsletter Email Sign-Up: Form #1