Methods to Get Staff to Embrace New Core Values

The following question and answers come from posts on SHSMD’s online discussion groups.*
Join the conversation at my.shsmd.org.

Q. I have the task of working with staff to embrace our new core values and ingrain them into the culture. The challenge is taking the core values from posters, etc., and turning them into culture. Of course, we can't truly embrace these values if people are not aware of them. We have seven and they are not easy to remember:

  1. One team, one mission
  2. Go out of your way to brighten someone's day
  3. Own it, embrace it
  4. Care like crazy
  5. Motivate, elevate, appreciate
  6. Know the way, show the way, ease the way
  7. Find joy along the way

I am tasked with setting up one activity per month to bring these values to the forefront of our day-to-day life. Some examples of activities we’ve done include: a word search puzzle utilizing key words from the values, a crossword puzzle and BINGO. In all of these exercises, I left one value out and required staff to write in the value not represented. I am looking for any other ideas out there and appreciate all input.

A: I suggest for each of the seven values the below:

  1. One team, one mission – Wear the logo or corporate colors with pride. Send in selfie photos for posting on the intranet and social media. Create a drawing for a prize from submitted photos.
  2. Go out of your way to brighten someone's day - Caught in the act random acts of kindness day or week.
  3. Own it, embrace it – Encourage teams of employees to “own” a task or project, it can be internal or external in the community. Document what they did to improve upon the item or issue.
  4. Care like crazy – Encourage staff to practice showing extra special care and service to patients and to each other.
  5. Motivate, elevate, appreciate – Share your motivating quote, song lyric, etc., post on intranet, in a common area, and maybe on social media. Hold staff appreciation events like “Taco Tuesday” to “taco 'bout the values.”
  6. Know the way, show the way, ease the way – Set up a photo scavenger hunt.
  7. Find joy along the way – Paint rocks and hide them around campus.

A: These are great ideas. We are working similarly on this at our rural community hospital. I will expand on these ideas and implement. Thank you.

A: While our work has been related to service standards rather the core values, we have taken the five core themes and words and created fun art that was added to notebooks, coffee mugs and t-shirts. We also created a screensaver to see them all over as you walk through a hospital or clinic. The books are sent out to those who receive recognition for bringing the standards — and our brand promise — to life. The mugs are sold online and leaders often use them as gifts for new team members, milestone achievements or thank you gifts. Last summer we also took each of the five words and created colorful t-shirts. There is one for each category with an artsy font and brief definition on the front, and our logo and tagline on the back. We knew the shirts would add color to our brand palette but had no idea how in demand they would be. We sold them in specially priced bundles of all five initially. We sold out and restocked twice. It is pretty fun to see the shirts each time I am in a hospital on a casual or dress-down day.

A: Perhaps for the “Find joy along the way,” you ask staff to submit cards (or something else) describing what brings them joy and share the results with the entire hospital. Because there are a few values to remember, try focusing on one each month.

A: We created new values just prior to the pandemic. They are: It Starts with Me, Leading the Way and One Great Team. One Great Team really became the mantra throughout the pandemic. One way we worked to get our teammates to remember and embrace the values is through something we call, “Values Superstars.” Teammates submit names of another teammate who they feel is living our values. We feature our Values Superstars internally and on social media.

*The answers to the above question are excerpts from MySHSMD discussions. In some instances the responses have been edited for grammar and/or brevity purposes for Community Connections.

Please visit MySHSMD to read the detailed thread and connect with the responding members.

Image credit: istock.com/akinbostanci