David Page
The Journal Record

Norman- Six years ago, employee satisfaction at Norman Regional was in poor health.

The hospital participated in a national survey of health care providers conducted by Press Ganey Associates Inc. and received the survey results in early 2001.

When Norman Regional ranked in the 14th percentile nationwide in employee satisfaction among health care employers, the hospital's management began searching for a cure.

"We started an aggressive program to get better," said Carolyn Shockey, human resources director at the medical facility with 2,300 employees.

A management team conducted meetings with each department and asked employees for suggestions to improve morale.

Employee satisfaction improved quickly, Shockey said.

Norman Regional climbed to the 68th percentile in a Press Ganey survey in June 2001. After that survey, the employee satisfaction bar was raised at Norman Regional.

"At that point we started the process all over again," Shockey said. "We went back to the employees and asked them again what we could do."

Employee satisfaction continued to increase. Norman Regional's employee satisfaction was ranked in the 92nd percentile in April 2002 and in the 99th percentile in 2003.

Employee satisfaction has remained high- Norman Regional was ranked in the 95th percentile this year.

Now, Shockey said, other hospitals and organizations are eager to hear the Norman Regional success story and implement some of the same processes.

Shockey will travel to New York in November to serve on a panel answering questions about how to improve employee satisfaction. She will also tell Norman Regional's employee satisfaction story in October at a meeting of the American Society of Hospital Human Resource Administrators in Nashville.

Employee satisfaction is now a continuing goal at the hospital.

"We are continually working to make Norman Regional the employer of choice for our employees," Shockey said. "As we've worked toward that goal, we also have made a place that family members and friends feel better about coming here, and physicians enjoy practicing her."

Continuing efforts to maintain high employee satisfaction levels include communications and a team effort.

"If every manager and director had not taken the time to pass along suggestions and implement them, it would not have happened," she said.

Feedback also helps Norman Regional maintain a healthy employee satisfaction level.

"We have to tell them why suggestions were not implemented," Shockey said. "We also have to go back to the employees and tell them this is why this happened.  You made the suggestion. It closes the loop."

Shockey has been working in human resources for 20 years, including the last six years at Norman Regional. She has a master's degree in speech communications from the University of Oklahoma.

Communication with employees was important in improving employee satisfaction, she said. Through comments, hospital leaders learned many employees did not have accurate information about programs, benefits, processes and other key functions. They also never heard about many of the positive activities in other departments.

Employees started receiving e-mails from hospital leaders. Headings included "Did You Know" and "Positive Perceptions." The e-mails included general information and positive feedback about experiences at the hospital.

Norman Regional found that other indicators increased along with employee morale.

Patient and physician satisfaction also improved. Employee turnover decreased. The hospital's financial indicators increased-the cost of advertising for new employees was reduced by 50 percent because most of the new hires are made after referrals by existing employees.

"Improved morale affects our bottom line," Shockey said. "We have made Norman Regional a very stable hospital financially for the community at a time when many hospitals are struggling. This shows clearly that employee moral affects the bottom line."