​A few years ago, I was in my office reviewing the results of a recent employee satisfaction survey. The report contained data trends and colorful graphs associated with the questions asked in the survey. However, there was something missing. There was almost no usable information contained in the report that would explain “why” staff were rating various questions the way that they did. There was nothing usable to address employee perceptions of their work environment and satisfaction levels.

With this in mind, I decided to create something different where staff engagement would be high and the information they provided could be useful in making improvements. I began thinking about the two-minute drill during football games. The two-minute drill is a two-minute period at the end of the first half and end of the game that compels teams to take quick action.

Next, I took the two-minute drill concept and applied it to a mandatory all-staff meeting. I made this concept interactive with the staff.

Before the Meeting

Before the all-staff meeting, I wrote down 10 questions that I wanted feedback on from the employees. Here is a sample of questions that I have used:

• How can we reduce turnover? Increase staff retention? Why do you think employees leave?
• How can we improve communication? Between departments? Within a department? Between shifts?
• How can we improve our relationships with residents and their families?
• How can we improve teamwork?
• How can we improve the quality of care and services we provide?
• How can we improve orientation and training? Staff skills and competency?
• How can we improve employee attendance and reduce staff absenteeism?
• How can we show more appreciation and recognition to our staff?
• How can we create a more positive work environment?
• How can we create more accountability for the jobs we do?
• How can we improve customer satisfaction?
• How can we better organize employee workloads or assignments?
• How can we achieve better regulatory survey outcomes?
• How can we reduce our operating expenses?
• How can we increase our census and revenues?
• What can the management team do to better support our team?
• How can we improve the appearance of our facility? Resident rooms?
• How can we provide more/better feedback to staff on their performance (30-60-90 days and annual performance evaluations)?
• How can the facility better meet your personal and professional needs? 
• How can the facility give more voice or involvement in decision making?
• How can the facility further show a commitment to our employees?
• How can the facility show more value to our employees?
• How can we develop or increase the level of connectedness between everyone? How can we bond together as a team?
• How would you describe the “culture’ in our facility?
• What do you need regarding your work schedule? What are your work schedule needs?
• What do you need to do your job well?

During the Meeting

Once you have decided which questions to use, write one question on a large piece of paper or posterboard. Hang or post them on the walls around your all-staff meeting location. Make sure each paper posted has only one question written at the top and that each station has markers.  Repeat until all 10 of your selected questions are posted.

To keep the meeting light and active, consider providing food and drinks or using a stopwatch and whistle.

Once you have these items all in place, divide all the employees attending the meeting into 10 teams. This includes department managers as well. You will then assign each team to one of the questions. Once the exercise begins, each team will have 2 minutes to write all of the ideas, thoughts, solutions or changes they can think of regarding that question. Each team will then rotate to the next question. This continues until all teams have answered all 10 questions. 

Before you begin, let staff know that you want feedback on the questions listed on the flip charts. Ask them to keep their responses professional but honest. Inform them that you will be working with each department manager to address any identified concerns or requests by developing an action plan for follow-up. Please make sure to let them know that there will not be disciplinary action or retaliation for their responses. Thank them for their honest feedback

If you are prepared, all of this can be accomplished in less than an hour. After this exercise is completed, you may want to leave the questions up for a little while to give other employees who were assigned to work during the meeting to have a chance to respond.

I can assure you that you will receive useable feedback from your staff and engage a large number of them through this exercise. This is an excellent way to also validate any employee concerns and engage them in finding good solutions to improve their work environment. 

After the Meeting

Once the feedback is gathered, write an action plan to address concerns or implement solutions. I recommend using the following format for each question. 

This exercise will also be an excellent QAPI project for your facility. As you make progress with your action plan, make sure that your QAPI meeting minutes reflect discussion on any progress made.

Lastly, have fun and involve your staff and department managers in responding to the needs or perceptions that your staff have in your facility.

Consider using this format every six months to measure your progress through staff feedback. I have had many employees tell me how much they appreciated the chance to provide constructive feedback.

Mark Trangsrud is a retired skilled nursing home administrator with experience in for-profit, nonprofit, and public sector settings, rural and metropolitan markets, and in various size facilities. He has practiced for over 41 years and has been licensed in 8 different states as a nursing home administrator as well as serving on the South Dakota and Colorado Health Care Association Boards. He can be reached at Metrangsrud57@msn.com.

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