Shawnee Mission Health Recognized for Employee Engagement

Adventist Health System (AHS), which includes Shawnee Mission Health (SMH), has been named a 2017 Gallup Great Workplace Award winner. This marks the seventh consecutive year that AHS and its facilities have received the award, which recognizes organizations for their extraordinary ability to create engaged workplace cultures.

"We are proud to be part of an organization that values its employees. At Shawnee Mission Health, we have an outstanding workforce that is among the best I have seen. Our employees are the reason we earned our highest rating in customer satisfaction and fantastic quality outcomes," said SMH President and CEO Ken Bacon.

According to Gallup, organizations with highly engaged workforces can grow at a rate that is 4.3 times greater than their competitors. Gallup's research links employee engagement to various performance outcomes, finding that companies in the top quartile have higher productivity, fewer safety and quality incidents, lower absenteeism and lower turnover.

SMH Director of Human Resources Lana Deason, who has worked at SMH for more than 12 years, believes the focus on engaging employees has been pivotal to fostering a positive culture and work environment.

"At Shawnee Mission Health, we strive to cultivate an encouraging, motivational and uplifting environment for our employees. It not only benefits our clinicians, physicians and staff, but patient care is impacted in a positive way as well," said Deason.

To be considered for the award, organizations must administer an employee engagement survey to at least 50 respondents that represent a census of the organization, receive a high, qualifying response rate and earn a qualifying score on Gallup's Q12 employee engagement survey. A panel of Gallup workplace experts evaluate applicants and assess them against criteria established by a comprehensive workplace study.

"The world's top-performing organizations help lead the global economy by engaging their workforces," said Jim Harter, Ph.D., Gallup's chief scientist of workplace management and well-being. "Gallup's Great Workplace Award winners understand the importance of employee engagement by making it a vital part of their organization and using it as a driving force to create real business outcomes."