5 Keys to Cultivating a People First Culture

At Children’s Nebraska, our people are the heart of everything we do. They are the brilliant minds and compassionate hands carrying out our mission to improve the life of every child. As Chief People Officer, my passion lies in ensuring we are taking the very best care of our people, so they can continue to provide quality care to the children and families we serve.??

In 2023, we introduced and embraced our People First Promise, a statement that helps define our People First Culture:

“Children’s is where you can find purpose and joy in your work, where you can learn and grow, where you are part of a team that cares about you and your wellbeing, and where you belong.”

Built from team member feedback, this promise is grounded in five intentional pillars: Purpose, Joy, Learning & Growth, Wellbeing and Belonging. We asked people what influenced their decision to join Children’s and why they continue to stay with the organization, revealing these key pillars. These are also balanced with the expectations we have of one another at Children’s and our ICARE values: Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and Excellence.

From attracting and recruiting qualified candidates to retaining and engaging our current team members—and every step in between—we want everyone to experience and live out Children’s People First Promise.

I’m sharing five key elements we’ve been focused on and prioritizing to create an environment that nurtures engagement and energy within our team. We hope these insights can help you strengthen your own organizational culture.

1.???? Reinforcing Purpose

At Children’s, our purpose, the very heartbeat of our organization, guides us. We are more than just a company; we are a community driven by a shared mission and values—and we try to keep these front and center in our strategic planning, storytelling and everything we do. We want every team member to know that their work has purpose and that their contributions matter.

Through our Success Sharing incentive, team members have the opportunity to share in the success of our organization through a discretionary bonus – a unique differentiator that reflects Children’s investment in our people. The organizational performance objectives we set each year serve to measure our performance and inspire us to achieve excellence and continuously improve. The Success Sharing incentive is a reward for coming together as one team to achieve these objectives and serves as a simple reminder that we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves.

In 2023, 94% of team members reported being “proud to work at Children’s” and 95% said, “the work I do at Children’s is meaningful to me.” This feedback came from Children’s employee engagement survey, conducted annually. In 2023, we were thrilled to see that overall participation in the survey was at an all-time high, with 89%?of?our?workforce participating—16%?higher than the national benchmark for children's hospitals and 20%?higher than the healthcare average. We had remarkably high levels of engagement, with 3 of 5 items scoring above 90% favorability.

As we commemorate our achievements, we also maintain a keen awareness of the 5% of team members whose feedback indicates an opportunity for improvement. How can we further enhance their workplace experiences??

2.???? Prioritizing Joy

Did you know that, statistically, the average person spends a third of their life—approximately 90,000 hours—at work? We spend so much of our time in the workplace, making it imperative to find joy at work.

We are unwavering in our commitment to ensuring that each member of our organization finds genuine enjoyment and fulfillment in their work. Recognizing the profound impact of job satisfaction on overall wellbeing and productivity, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where every individual thrives.

In pursuit of this goal, we have implemented our pioneering online Sunshine Recognition platform. This platform not only simplifies the process of expressing gratitude and admiration for exceptional contributions but also integrates seamlessly with our organization's ICARE values, reinforcing our collective culture.

Since its launch in February 2023, our team members have collectively sent over 120,166 recognitions. Every team member of our organization has received at least one recognition, underscoring our steadfast commitment to nurturing a culture of appreciation and acknowledgment.

What are ways you are–or can be—encouraging proactive, intentional recognition among team members?

3.???? Offering Learning & Growth Opportunities

Learning and growth are integral parts of our culture, just as employee development and career advancement are fundamental aspects of our growth as an organization. We maintain a variety of programs that are designed to enhance the specialized abilities and skills of individual team members, foster next-generation leaders and encourage personal growth through continual learning.?

Notably, we’re investing in team members’ professional development, providing opportunities for continuous learning and supporting their journey to become the best version of themselves. We have several programs in place to uniquely support our team members, including

• Leadership development
• Paid certifications
• Nurse residency
• Medical Assistant career pathway
• Transition to pediatric nursing
• English language classes
• Tuition reimbursement and tuition loan repayment
• Public service loan forgiveness
• An employee referral program

Specific to leadership, we have a handful of unique offerings, each designated for people in different parts of their leadership journey.

Robust programs like these are a differentiator for our organization, helping us attract and retain the very best people to carry out our mission. We don’t want Children’s to be a pitstop in someone’s career journey; we strive to make this a destination workplace where team members have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.?

In our 2023 employee engagement survey, “I intend to stay with Children’s for at least the next 12 months,” was the most improved?question, scoring at 85%. That’s?up 22%?from our 2021 survey and ranking above benchmarks for other children’s hospitals and healthcare organizations. The same percentage of team members feel they have opportunities to develop their skills, abilities and strengths at Children’s. This data is meaningful to us, reinforcing that our investments matter to our people and are making a difference.

What new investments can you make in your people to ensure team member growth and loyalty?

4.???? Investing in Wellbeing

The holistic wellbeing of our team continues to be a top priority. I strongly believe that when you invest in?the wellbeing of your people, there’s a positive domino effect—positively impacting quality and safety, patient experience, clinical outcomes and strategic growth.

In recent years, we have invested in and implemented comprehensive programs focused on supporting team members’ emotional, social, financial, physical and community wellbeing.?We are working to meet people where they are, supporting them in new and unique ways. In 2022, we?shared?a confidential survey organization-wide to help us?understand the needs and social factors affecting our?people.?

From these insights, we?developed?a?targeted?plan?and?programming?to address various social determinants of health for our team members. We’ve provided necessary support in areas like economic stability, food, transportation and childcare.?Children's has pursued intentional partnerships with local organizations like Habitat for Humanity of Omaha and Omaha Chamber of Commerce to bring valuable resources to team members.

Other people-centric programming includes the addition of Children’s first-ever facility dog, Howie, who’s dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing of the team. Our “Chief Morale Officer” is available to all team members, clinical and non-clinical.

We launched a paid community volunteering program, BeInvolved, to empower team members to use their time and gifts to support partner non-profit organizations throughout our community. The program aligns volunteer opportunities with Children’s priority impact areas, including financial stability, food security, healthy housing and pediatric mental health and wellness . In 2023 alone, team members volunteered a total of 2,353 hours.

Finally, we’ve extended our?tuition reimbursement benefit?to include eligible team members’ dependents and spouses pursuing an educational program that falls into one of our identified critical workforce pipeline positions: high-demand health care roles with a limited supply of qualified candidates.

Meaningful programs, like these, helped us become the only health care system in Nebraska to be named a 2023-24 gold recipient of Mental Health America’s Bell Seal Award for Workplace Mental Health. But our work isn’t finished – we remain committed to continuous improvement when it comes to the wellbeing of our team members.

This work is important across all industries. How are you working to meet team members where they are? What are the key ingredients of your wellbeing strategy?

5.???? Fostering a Culture of Belonging

At Children’s, we embrace the unique strengths and differences of all of our people, cultivating an inclusive environment of respect and trust where we all belong. We aim to have a workplace where every voice is valued and every perspective is essential.

As you look to understand what makes your team members feel a sense of belonging and inclusion, you can start by looking inward. What makes you feel seen, heard and valued?

We’re investing in programs that foster a sense of belonging, like employee resource groups (ERGs), required and optional training opportunities, professional development opportunities, volunteer experiences and inclusivity in our benefits offerings. ?As a recipient of the IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy & Leadership) Award in 2023, we are eager to keep the momentum going in 2024 and beyond – continuing to grow and evolve our DEIB offerings at Children’s.

As an organization, our success is deeply rooted in the purpose, joy, wellbeing, growth and belonging of each team member. These five pillars of our People First promise define our commitment to one another every day, helping us succeed and be the very best for the patients and families we serve.

To learn more, visit ChildrensNebraska.org. To explore career opportunities at Children's, visit ChildrensNebraska.org/Career-Opportunities.

Janel Allen is the Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Children’s Nebraska. Janel is passionate about enhancing the organization’s People First culture and fostering a culture of purpose, belonging and growth to increase employee engagement and achieve organizational success.

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