How can living your brand on the inside turn things around on the outside?

With the Affordable Care act gaining traction as current data suggests as many as 9 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through exchanges, hospitals across the country are preparing to take a hit. With a new paradigm for healthcare delivery that has fewer patients needing hospital care at the same time hospitals must be staffed and ready to care for anyone who needs specialized hospital care, organizations are squeezed. How can a hospital negotiate lean balance sheets and lean staff with the requirements to provide safe, cost-effective care that assures optimal outcomes and patient satisfaction?

Look inside. An organization’s brand, well defined, embraced and engaging staff at all levels, can mean the difference between a hospital barely surviving in a chaotic environment and one that is thriving and able to adapt nimbly to change. Research shows that organizations that take on the unpleasant reality of hospital challenging operations realize extraordinary success when hospital staff, managers and those on the front lines of patient care are happy, empowered and engaged in living your brand.

How can an organization achieve this? We have seen success where hospitals can strike that emotional cord that unites employee’s dedication to excellent performance to the organization’s mission, its values and purpose – its brand.

A few tips:

Start from the top – employees respond when they see their managers – and their managers – hospital executives “walking the talk”.   The best organizational cultures are those were there is a shared bond based on duty to the patients and customers, where everyone takes responsibility for going out of their way to provide assistance necessary to anyone within the walls of their organization – including other employees.

Develop talent and skills by drawing out staff passion – organizations of have inspired leadership know how to motivate and engage…how do your organization’s superstars cultivate accountability, responsibility and leadership… let them help design plans, programs and communications that can help overcome resistance and turn around a culture.

Say thank you – acknowledge anyone and everyone who does something, even one thing well. We have seen profound change in individuals, departments and entire organizations when individuals demonstrate simple acts of courtesy, like saying please and saying, writing, showing thanks…

What do you want your organization’s brand to stand for? If you can define it you can live it and it can make tough times not only survivable, but thrive-able.

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