7 Tactics for Successfully Driving Health Care Team Engagement

In today’s rapidly evolving health care landscape — where patient outcomes and safety are non-negotiable top priorities — health systems and their staff are under constant pressure to balance competing demands. On one side is the growing expectations for personalized, high-quality care, and on the other, the urgent need to support a stretched and often overwhelmed workforce. And, of course, the former depends on addressing the latter. 

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and Press Ganey convened leaders from seven health care systems — including chief human resource officers, chief nursing officers and chief medical officers — to discuss their experiences and successes with a range of tactics to build team engagement. Seven key tactics emerged from the conversation:

1. Articulate a clear focus and defined roadmap. The first step in creating a positive employee and physician experience is defining clear, measurable objectives — and prioritizing what’s truly core and critical. Develop a roadmap to achieve those goals, and ensure leaders understand not only the plan but also their specific role in driving it forward. When leadership is aligned and invested, the work is elevated to a strategic priority and more easily reinforced by middle management and embedded across the organization. 
2. Connect work to purpose. Health care employees are more engaged when leadership places mission, vision and values at the heart of their strategy. Aligning performance goals to a purpose reinforces the connection between the day-to-day work and the “why” behind it. When employees see how their actions contribute to fulfilling the mission, they experience greater job satisfaction, deeper commitment and a more purpose-driven culture.
3. Establish clear behavioral standards. Accountability starts by setting clear expectations — not only around performance outcomes but also around the behavior standards that define how people interact. These standards should be tied directly to organizational values, with concrete examples of what they look like in practice. Just as important, behavior that falls short of those expectations should be addressed immediately. Tolerating behavior outside the standards gives people permission to ignore them. 
4. Visible leadership builds trust. Trust is the bedrock of effective health care — vital to the relationships between staff and patients and equally essential among colleagues and leaders to support strong, collaborative teams. Building that trust starts with leadership. Leaders who are visible, transparent and approachable and who consistently model the behaviors that align with organizational values set the tone for the entire culture. Their example fosters openness, accountability and psychological safety that cascades throughout the organization. 
5. Establish two-way communication. Clear, consistent communication is vital for any organization — but in health care where the environment is fast-paced, and the work is high-stakes, it’s essential. Messages need to be timely, relevant and aligned with organizational priorities. But truly effective communication is two-way.  Listening to your employees and inviting their input on improvement efforts fosters trust, strengthens engagement and leads to smarter, more sustainable solutions.
6. Create “FOMO.” In health care, strong communication and teamwork are essential — but keeping employees engaged can be a challenge. One effective tactic? Create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). When team meetings, communication channels and collaborative projects feel valuable, inclusive and energizing, people want to show up. Building a culture of excitement and engagement drives greater participation and fosters stronger team connections. 
7. Recognize that leadership is a skill. Effective leadership is the cornerstone of every successful organization. While some may view leadership as an innate trait, the reality is that it can be cultivated, taught and honed through intentional development. Managers at all levels need access to the right tools, training and support to grow their skills so they can lead with confidence, mentor effectively and foster collaboration. Leadership development is a strategic investment in organizational success.

Health care is fundamentally a human experience — people interacting with people. That is why investing in employee experience isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic imperative. A highly engaged workforce collaborates more effectively, drives better patient outcomes and strengthens performance across the board. When employees thrive, the entire system functions at its best.

Chris DeRienzo, M.D., is AHA’s senior vice president and chief physician executive, and president of AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust. Nell Buhlman is chief administrative officer, head of strategy at Press Ganey. 

Upcoming Event: The AHA and Press Ganey at the 2025 AHA Leadership Summit in Nashville will host a pre-Summit workshop, The Path to Sustained Excellence in Engagement, on Sunday, July 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This interactive workshop will explore how employee engagement drives safety, quality and the patient experience — and how aligning these efforts leads to meaningful, sustained improvement. Learn how top-performing organizations gather feedback, integrate data and take targeted action. Attendees will also have the opportunity to share challenges, successes and strategies for advancing performance. Registration is open.