1. What makes you want to jump out of bed and come to work?
2. How do we build a culture that supports that?

Two years later, PVHS collaborated with Colorado State University to identify key staff requirements, which became the framework for its semiannual Employee Culture Survey. The requirements are:

• Teamwork and cooperation
• Safety in innovating
• Listening to each other
• Respect and fairness
• Enthusiasm
• Feedback and accountability
• Resources and participation

It’s hard to find anything unusual about this list. What is unusual is the systematic approach PVHS used to identify these requirements and how it has continued to refine the list–and what it means–ever since.

As with customer requirements, it’s easy to assume you know what is required to engage and satisfy your employees. Such assumptions are dangerous. PVHS knows what its employees require and it acts on that knowledge to improve both engagement and satisfaction.

Workforce engagement is a PVHS core competency and is measured on its semiannual survey. In 2007, PVHS was as good as or better than the top 10% nationwide in four survey questions on engagement and in the top 10% on 11 of 16 attitude areas.

Based on results, it’s clear PVHS knows what its employees want.

To find out more about Poudre Valley Health System, read its award application summary.

To read more about employee engagement, click on these articles:

• Engaging Employees to Improve Performance
• What Drives You?
• Workforce Well-Being
• Increasing Employee Satisfaction in a Time of Decline
• Why HR Needs Baldrige