How Employee Engagement Matters for Hospital Performance

Managers increasingly understand that employee engagement is a prerequisite for high performance. This article examines how job, work environment, management and organizational factors influence levels of engagement among healthcare employees. Original data come from the Ontario Hospital Association–NRC Picker Employee Experience Survey, involving over 10,000 employees in 16 Ontario hospitals.

The article provides a clear definition and measure of engagement relevant to healthcare. In addition to identifying the main drivers of engagement, findings shows that a high level of employee engagement is related to retention, patient-centred care, patient safety culture and employees’ positive assessments of the quality of care or services provided by their team. Implications of these findings for healthcare leaders are briefly considered.