Cone Health utilizes “iCare Values” which outlines the ethical behavior the organization strives for all staff to practice. Communication. Accountability. Respect. Empowerment. The culture encourages all team members to report their concerns and for management to help them feel safe and supported when doing so. The goal is to improve the process and not find blame in the staff.
Every Friday, MedCenter Greensboro gathers all the leaders to share patient success stories and to acknowledge the staff involved in those stories. In addition to the huddle, leaders can also send recognition through a program called CheerS. This program allows for recognition to be shared for a variety of reasons whether big or small and some awards hold monetary value if the employee’s achievement made a difference in the community. Recognitions are publicly viewed on the website and included in the employee’s file so that other hiring managers can see their success. Cone Health empowers staff to be thinkers and offer many training classes to improve soft skills as well as leadership training.
The organization also distributes an annual survey which is submitted anonymously to allow staff the opportunity to share their thoughts regarding the culture and its value. It is important to executives that employees feel that the culture is being honored and so taking the survey is STRONGLY encouraged. As an incentive, the organization holds prize drawings to give out every day until the survey link expires. Some offices chose to motivate their staff by hosting cook outs or games that involve dunking your direct leader into a dunk tank if the office gets 100% participation from their staff.
The entire system receives a huddle e-mail from a leader that will highlight one of the iCare values and the e-mail will include a historical fact of when that value was demonstrated and encourage staff to find ways to implement that value. On Fridays, a friendly joke is added to the e-mail because TGIF!
6 points- Comment on at least one classmate’s post. Do you agree or disagree with the way they have described the culture of the organization. Anything you would add that you have noticed about the organization? Is this an organization you would like to work for? Why or why not?
