Is Poor Leadership Holding Back Your Healthcare Team?

Recently,?we asked our LinkedIn followers?what kind of changes would attract them back to an employer they’d previously left, and the results surprised even us!

A whopping 94% of respondents in our network said a change in leadership was most likely to tempt them back to work for an old employer, with just 6% saying that improved pay or benefits would attract them. While we expected leadership to score highly, we weren’t quite expecting 9 out of 10 people to agree!

Speaking to healthcare professionals every day, poor leadership is a pretty common reason we hear for people wanting to move jobs, and some of the people our recruitment consultants place are looking for new roles purely to escape a bad boss. In such a fast-paced and intense industry, the effect poor leadership can have on morale cannot be underestimated.

Frontline health workers face incredible challenges every single day, and the knowledge that departmental and site leaders are empathetic, committed, and responsive to feedback can make or break their resolve. Fatigue, burnout, and related mental health issues can all be caused by poor leadership in high-stress roles.

These morale problems can quickly begin to affect staff retention, as unsatisfied team members begin searching for new jobs or are snapped up by head-hunters. Even worse, if these poor leaders are involved in the hiring process, they could actively put off potential new hires.

So how can healthcare employers avoid poor leadership affecting their staff? Our research shows that communication, transparency, and education are the best ways to ensure leaders are both effective and accountable.

Investing in Development

First and foremost, investing in your team’s education and training, particularly for leadership roles, is key to ensuring an effective work environment, and retaining your best team members. Leadership competencies are like any other skills in that they need practice and ongoing learning to stay sharp. Leaders in your business should be supported to hone their leadership skills throughout their tenure, which will help build their confidence as well as improve their teams’ performance. What’s more, supporting your team’s professional development will often result in better hires for your management positions, as the best leaders will actively seek out an organisation that can help them develop their abilities.

Communication

Fostering effective communication is about more than just regular meetings and monthly newsletters, it is a two-way street and requires a way for team members to raise concerns in an environment where they know they will be taken seriously. Listening is just as important as keeping your teams in the loop and acting on their feedback is the best way to ensure they feel respected and valued.

Transparency

Educational programmes and feedback mechanisms are all well and good, but if your staff don’t know how to access them or find them confusing, they will not engage. That’s why building a culture of transparency is vital. Studies have repeatedly shown that transparency around policy, pay, and procedures improve both individual performance and team cohesion as well as helping to build trust and buy-in across all levels of your business.

Achieving this can often be challenging, but it’s well worth it for the rewards your business will reap. A good place to start is ensuring all your employees understand grievance and feedback procedures. This means if there are any problems in your team, they can be identified and addressed efficiently before they have a chance to grow out of control. Being pro-active as well as responsive is key to building transparency across your organisation.

If you’re a healthcare employer who wants to build a dynamic, diverse, and effective clinical team, Stroud Resourcing can take the headache out of hiring and help you find the perfect candidate for any vacancy. Whether it’s 1 role or 100, Stroud Resourcing sources the hidden heroes that will make a real difference to your business.?Contact us ?today to find out more