Perpetuate common goals
While bringing many people together to network and cross-pollinate ideas at an event like the all-leadership meeting has its
advantages in and of itself, in order to truly reap the benefits, it
must be part of an overall, year-round communication strategy
that emphasizes common goals.
“We look at it as a strategy, not an event,” Schlichting says.
“What do we do to follow up? How do we continue to help people communicate messages and support their work?”
The leaders at Henry Ford Health System look at communication and motivation in the same light as any other company
strategy. It takes a systematic approach to achieve success.
“We think communication and engagement of our work force
is absolutely critical to our success,” she says. “It’s one of the
most important elements in key performance areas, whether
it’s quality, customer service, community outreach, our academic mission, leadership strategies, financial results or
growth. It’s all about how we connect with the people in the
organization and how they connect with who we serve.”
Those seven key performance areas are what Schlichting
calls the “seven pillars” on which the health system is built.
Those seven pillars form the basis for operating the system, so
it’s critical that employees are focused on and familiar with
them.
“We have a diagram that shows our seven pillars,” she says.
“Each of them has a strategic aim and specific strategic priorities that our board approves. We describe the seven pillars as
the ‘Henry Ford Experience,’ which is performance excellence
in all that we do, in each one of our seven pillars.
“We talk a lot about what supports those pillars, our values
and vision and mission. Our framework really comes from a
process that allows us to integrate across the system a common
understanding of the seven pillars of performance. It gives us a
common vocabulary, a common way (to) look at the overarching goals of our system. It’s really created a lot of support and
integration and alignment that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”