Overview
Our vision is to be the best place to receive care and the best place to work in healthcare.
To this end, we strive to create exceptional work experiences for our caregivers, in which they feel safe, valued, supported and empowered to voice ideas and concerns. Our caregiver engagement initiatives are an important aspect of our workplace culture and support our efforts to attract and retain top talent.
Our Caregiver Experience Strategic Framework includes listening, leader and team development, take action and accountability, all of which are centered around our caregiver culture.
- Listening — Coordinate an intentional and continuous process to listen, learn, share and act on what matters most to our caregivers across the enterprise.
- Leader and Team Development — Support the development of leaders at all levels and create highly effective teams throughout the global enterprise.
- Take Action — Bring actionable strategies to the forefront using a simple process, based on what matters most to our caregivers.
- Accountability — Ensure all caregivers are set up for success to understand expectations, take action and collaborate to care for each other, our patients, the organization and community.
- Culture — Elevate our caregivers’ “why” because their everyday matters.
Cleveland Clinic engages caregivers through a variety of initiatives and platforms. Our intranet, recognition program, surveys, listening sessions, leader rounds, town hall meetings and team huddles provide caregivers opportunities to share feedback, offer process improvements and ideas and recognize their peers.
Caregivers can also join our Wellness Champions, green teams, career journeys, employee resource groups and more.
Caregiver Listening and Surveys
Listening to our caregivers is essential for shaping the Cleveland Clinic experience and attaining our vision to be the best place to receive care and the best place to work in healthcare.
Our Caregiver Experience and Pulse surveys are open to all caregivers across the enterprise, and leaders actively encourage all caregivers to participate. Through these surveys, caregivers offer valuable feedback on organizational communications, workplace culture, safety measures and opportunities for continuous improvement. Caregivers also provide key insights on engagement, feedback on leader-caregiver relationships and reflections on the function and viability of teams.
We ensure the anonymity of caregivers who take the survey, and several internal teams work together to provide comprehensive and relevant insights on team-based developments and needs. Leaders and teams review these insights and aggregated results to develop tailored strategies for improvement. Additionally, our survey vendor provides data that shows how our results compare to industry peers, which enables us to better understand and address broader engagement trends in healthcare.
In 2022, 63% (or more than 42,000 caregivers) participated in our Caregiver Pulse Survey — and 76% of respondents indicated they would recommend Cleveland Clinic as a good place to work. Earlier that year, we administered our first Leader Pulse Survey, in which 82% of our leaders participated and 93% of them indicated they would recommend Cleveland Clinic as a good place to work.
We also administered our first-ever Benefits Preference Survey at U.S. locations in 2022 to hear from caregivers about what types of benefits and offerings matter most to them. We learned that 90% of our U.S. caregivers rated our benefits and health plan as high value.
Other surveying efforts include surveys we administer during our New Caregiver Onboarding program to understand how to best support new caregivers as they learn and grow in their new roles.
Additional listening efforts
Cleveland Clinic continuously listens in ways that complement technology and help enrich understanding through deeper, meaningful dialogue and human connection.
In 2022, we held more than 40 focus groups to encourage connection and better understand the experiences, best practices and support needed for our caregivers to thrive at Cleveland Clinic. Following these sessions, we used qualitative coding to aggregate all comments into themes and sub-categories. We continue to use these themes to drive innovation and take action on what matters most to our caregivers.
Participant comments:
- “I really liked providing input into such an important topic.”
- “It was a lovely experience where I felt heard.”
- “This pushed me to make sure my team is aware of available resources.”
- “This was a wonderful opportunity to be heard and feel valued. I am so grateful for all the offerings Cleveland Clinic has to promote their caregivers’ well-being.”
- “I felt very comfortable sharing and appreciated hearing other leaders' experiences.”
- “It was a positive and safe space for leaders to share positive or negative information about the pandemic.”
- “People poured out their hearts and no one judged. They were able to see they were not alone, and I think they left feeling better.”
Engagement Essentials
In 2022, we introduced a development program to specifically support leaders with the lowest leader and team engagement scores in recent Caregiver Experience Surveys. The six-month series offered one-hour, virtual sessions and addressed topics that impact workplace culture and engagement, including trust and respect, communication and listening, well-being, recognition and gratitude, inclusion and belonging.
Upon conclusion of the series, followed by the 2022 Caregiver Pulse Survey, 70% of leaders who participated improved their overall engagement scores by an average of 0.4 on a 5-point scale.
Participants shared the following feedback about the program:
- “It was great information to use not only at work, but in your personal life as well.”
- “Great refresher and focus on actionable next steps.”
- “Great tools and way to continue to learn any new strategies or techniques to incorporate in your day to day.”
- “Information that can be used daily.”
Due to the program’s success, we have made Engagement Essentials available to all leaders.
Awards and Recognition
To become the best place to work in healthcare, Cleveland Clinic must cultivate time, space and resources for every caregiver to encounter positive experiences, every day. This happens when caregivers connect with each other, thrive in their role, recognize opportunities for development and expand their horizons to innovate and lead.
Caregiver Celebrations
Caregiver Celebrations, managed by the Caregiver Office, is the online recognition and rewards program for Cleveland Clinic caregivers. The program features different types of digital and/or printed awards all caregivers can send to each other at any time to express appreciation for positive experiences at work. Managers can also nominate individuals and teams for quarterly or annual awards, respectively, through Caregiver Celebrations.
Caregivers working at all U.S., Toronto and London locations have access to Caregiver Celebrations. The total number of awards sent across the enterprise is typically a metric Cleveland Clinic uses to measure progress on our executive Objectives and Key Results.
Since the inception of Caregiver Celebrations in 2010, caregivers have received over 2 million awards. In 2022, caregivers sent 203,825 awards, a 6% increase over the number of awards sent in 2021.
Caregiver Celebrations features several types of recognition, including the awards listed below.
Everyday awards
Awardees receive an e-certificate via email, on which their managers are copied. As of 2022, Everyday awards included:
The Appreciation Award highlights an individual’s or team’s everyday support of Cleveland Clinic values (i.e., Safety and Quality, Empathy, Teamwork, Integrity, Inclusion and Innovation) and/or outstanding efforts that make a positive impact on the patient or caregiver experience.
The Philanthropy Award recognizes individuals and teams who have made a significant philanthropic impact on our organization through their own personal commitment, or by engaging colleagues and encouraging others’ philanthropy. By doing so, recipients extend their impact on the organization beyond their roles and responsibilities.
The Sustainability Award, which was added to the program in 2022, recognizes individuals for their commitment to energy efficiency, waste reduction, reuse, recycling, green transportation, water stewardship and climate action at Cleveland Clinic facilities, in addition to encouraging others to practice sustainable behaviors. Recipients support a healthy indoor environment in which all caregivers, patients and visitors can thrive.
The Teaching Award recognizes individuals for their skill in, and enthusiasm for, teaching students or other Cleveland Clinic colleagues. Recipients support others’ personal and professional development, as well as their ability to thrive at and outside of work.
The Wellness Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate a commitment to living a healthy lifestyle and inspire others to achieve fulfillment in ways that best meet their own needs. By practicing regular mindful and physical activity, as well as eating balanced, nutritional meals, recipients contribute to a culture that prioritizes well-being for their team.
An eCard, which acknowledges caregivers’ birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, observed holidays and more. Senders can also use eCards to send colleagues a simple “thank you.”
Excellence awards
Quarterly Excellence Awards recognize individuals and teams for outstanding performance within their institute, division or hospital. Recipients consistently demonstrate the Cleveland Clinic values and focus their everyday behaviors and actions on making a difference in the lives of patients and other caregivers.
Managers and professional staff nominate individuals and teams for quarterly Excellence Awards. Awardees receive an e-certificate via email, on which their managers are copied. Individual winners receive a certificate and desktop award. Team winners receive a framed certificate and desktop award to share.
Caregiver awards
Annual Caregiver Awards recognize and celebrate the best of the best individual and team award recipients who exemplify Cleveland Clinic values and/or outstanding achievements in continuous improvement, empathy, philanthropy, patient safety and experience, well-being and exceptional compassion and concern for others. The CEO Awards, presented during the annual Caregiver Awards event, celebrate the top individual or team Caregiver Award recipients.
Managers and professional staff nominate individuals and teams for the annual Caregiver Awards. Winners are selected by a multidisciplinary group of Cleveland Clinic leaders. They receive an e-certificate via email, on which their managers are copied, in addition to an invitation to a celebratory, in-person event at main campus. Individual winners receive a monetary award, framed certificate and a desktop award. Team winners receive a monetary award, framed certificate and desktop award to share. All winners are featured in a digital flipbook, like this one.
Service awards
Service Awards celebrate caregivers’ longevity with Cleveland Clinic and their dedication to our patients, fellow caregivers and the communities we serve. Service Awards are recognized on a monthly basis, when caregivers achieve milestone service anniversaries (i.e., every five years, starting on the fifth year of service). Awardees receive a printed notecard at home, in addition to an e-certificate via email, on which their managers are copied. Monetary awards and gifts associated with certain milestone service anniversaries are delivered to each year’s recipients in December. All recipients for each year are featured in a digital flipbook, like this one.
Other recognition programs
In addition to Caregiver Celebrations, many institutes, divisions, and hospitals provide caregiver recognition programs to reinforce our values. Examples of these include the Nursing Excellence Awards, Sones Innovation Award, Information Technology Week Awards, Environmental Services Awards, Speak Up Award, Patient Safety Award and more.
