Now more than ever, it is crucial to listen to your employees. With a pandemic that has swept your talent and employees into a world they could not have pictured in 2019, it is time to understand what your nurses and staff need from you moving forward. Keeping your employees happy will not only allow you peace of mind, but a more successful business as well. Once you recognize that feedback from your employees is important, it is time to find the best way for them to give it.

Not everyone communicates in the same way and this can be particularly true when it comes to uncomfortable conversations. If one of your nurses is experiencing mental health issues, they may fear coming to you for resources. Provide multiple paths for feedback including an anonymous online submission, an open door policy, or adding a section for this to your annual review. This should be a way for employees to tell you what they are happy with, unhappy with, what they need from the company, and anything else that is on their mind. Without providing multiple lines of communication on the issue, you might lose out on hearing from a group of people who would have otherwise spoken up.

Absorb the feedback. Each person that provides you thoughts on their feelings and needs about the company should be taken as seriously as the next. Take time to contemplate what that person is happy or unhappy with and think about how your company can improve from their opinion. Can you offer them what they need? If not, why not? Has something been tried in the past that your employee is suggesting? Consider all of this before reconnecting with the employee.

After consideration of the employee’s feedback, regroup! Meet back up with your employee or reach out to them in the same way they reached out to you. Provide a solution and if you do not have a solution, explain why things are done the way they are. Understanding the reasoning behind things, can often be enough to satisfy an employee.

If the feedback was anonymous, you have a couple of options. You can sit on the information and see if you notice a trend among feedback or reach out to your entire staff. Reaching out to the entire staff, will show employees the importance of their happiness.

Taking the time to make your employees feel heard and appreciated, will go a long way in your company’s success. Reducing employee turnover and maintaining talent will save you both money and time while also creating a culture that new talent will want to be a part of.