By Nick Jacobs

The fundamental needs of your workforce revolve around their ability to be heard, their access to leadership and recognition of their contribution to your organization. This particular list is not a complex list. It is not an impossible list. It is not an expensive list and it is not, above all, uncommon sense. Once again it is the MOST common of sense.

Back to the old book, I'm OK. You're OK. It involves a non controlling approach to management, the Golden Rule, common sense, adult to adult interaction, as opposed to the parent to child interaction that is typically embraced in many healthcare venues.

How can you engage your workforce? First, ask your employees "what they think." Ask them all the time.
Tell your staff that you love them . . . Seriously, take time every week to write something nice about one of your associates/employees. Like Colin Powell says in his presentations, a great deal of his time was spent recognizing those with whom he worked, those individuals upon whom he counted to be successful as a leader. WRITE THEM RECOGNITION NOTES.

If you're a Planetree Hospital, take some time to hug them, or, in our case, send the massage therapists to the floors to give neck or foot massages, too.

MAKE ROUNDS. Be out there. Be visible. Ask for their input and take time to recognize them for that input.

If you follow these simple suggestions, your life should continue to improve.