According to a Qualtrics, employee satisfaction in healthcare ranks the lowest

According to Qualtrics' 2023 Healthcare Experience Trends Report, out of 27 different industries, healthcare came in last for employee satisfaction.

Only half of healthcare workers believe they are paid properly, 38% say they are at danger of burnout, and 39% say they are thinking about quitting their companies, according to a study of 3,000 healthcare workers across 27 nations. Hospitals have among the lowest customer satisfaction scores across all industries, according to Qualtrics' additional study of 9,000 customers.

Despite the fact that patients value digital healthcare experiences, the human aspect was deemed to be crucial in the study.

What's crucial to comprehend about healthcare today is the amazing individuals who continue to work in the field—individuals who are innately driven to support their teams and assist others. According to Adrienne Boissy, M.D., chief medical officer of Qualtrics, caring for people who may be suffering the worst day of their lives is already difficult.

Per Boissy comment, “I think healthcare environments start to go a bit sideways when employees don’t feel they are paid fairly, when time is spent doing menial tasks (like typing, completing forms, repeating information, or filling in the electronic health record at night when they should be spending time with their families), and when their values are conflicted in life and work."

Other businesses are attempting to unify their experience platforms, consolidate tech stacks, and obsess over their clients in ways healthcare has not yet, according to Boissy, a practicing neurologist at Cleveland Clinic.

With 79% of respondents stating they trust hospitals, the results give reason to believe that people are open to improved interactions with healthcare providers. Boissy underlined that little changes in how patients and staff are perceived may have a significant impact on morale.

She provides a list of straightforward technological advancements that can lead physicians to the patients who need their treatment the most while streamlining their workflow. Things like ambient listening, clinical note transcription, utilizing virtual care to boost scheduling flexibility, and alert and safety alarm prioritizing are "low-hanging fruit," added Boissy.

According to Boissy, for employees, they frequently feel unknown by the system they work inside. They are unsure whether their values coincide. Healthcare is missing opportunities to humanize at scale, such as recognizing birthdays and work anniversaries, setting the stage at onboarding to focus on caring for people, avoiding learning technology systems, pausing in silence and creating rituals to help staff emotionally decompress, and utilizing every chance to express gratitude to caregivers.

The report's four overarching trends demonstrated a precise blending of human and machine. People felt heard when their feedback was incorporated into hospital operations, and trust is built when memorable patient experiences are created, according to both patients and staff, who also noted that digitizing and humanizing every encounter made deeper relationships. Another essential strategy for hospitals to chart their own course for the future would be to learn from other sectors of the economy.

Regarding feedback, 61% of people said that healthcare professionals needed to listen to their concerns more effectively, while 69% believed the same about insurance firms.

While 26% of patients said that they would prefer self-service via their phone for making appointments, 36% stated they would rather speak to someone. 48% favored in-person care and 25% chose the phone when seeking minor medical guidance.

When it came to workplace efficiency, which looked at both the procedures themselves and the surroundings, the healthcare sector performed worse than the overall average. In other words, do managers assist in determining which tasks to prioritize? Do they take down obstacles? As a result, the solutions must give managers the tools they need to lead their teams to success, and the process itself requires ongoing review and testing.

Boissy argues that patients should have greater influence and control over their care: “We still build buildings without asking for meaningful patient input.”