Here’s How Your Care Team Recognition Can Drive Better Patient Outcomes

As mission-driven caregivers work tirelessly to deliver quality patient care each day, burnout and compassion fatigue can easily undermine their best efforts. 

So, what can healthcare organizations do to address talent retention and inspire resilience?  

Amy Feeder, customer-experience program manager at Fairview Health Services, and Jon Tanner, senior product director at NRC Health, discussed practical approaches to implementing a team-recognition strategy during a recent Becker’s Healthcare Podcast.

Together, they’ve seen better quality and safety outcomes at the bedside when caregivers are feeling engaged, less stressed, and supported; however, they admit that keeping teams engaged can be a challenge. 

“Being able to share patient stories and recognize everyone who’s part of an experience can go a long way to spark resilience,” says Feeder. “You see outcomes just far surpass what you expect throughout all the different performance dimensions.” 

Tanner agrees, noting that when healthcare was more relationship-based and providers saw the same patients repeatedly, they would often receive that intrinsic reward on the next visit or down the line, knowing that things were improving and being able to adjust as needed. 

Now, patients are visiting a variety of retail-based care, urgent-care, and emergency-care facilities, where regular providers are not able to see them repeatedly.  

“Taking recognition through patient feedback and sharing that along to the frontline is part of closing that loop and helping them get a lot of that intrinsic reward, in terms of why they’ve gone into healthcare in the first place,” he says. 

Their insights, combined with innovative tools like NRC Health’s Compliment Sharing, offer a roadmap for organizations looking to stand out in the talent market. I’ll highlight a few ways healthcare organizations can implement recognition programs to transform both staff morale and patient outcomes.

Interested in learning more about our Compliment Sharing tool? Contact the team at NRC Health.

Healthcare professionals dedicate their lives to serving others. However, the emotional toll of their work can lead to disengagement and turnover. 

Feeder explains, “Better quality and safety outcomes happen at the bedside when caregivers are engaged, less stressed, and supported.”

Recognition plays a pivotal role in creating resilience and combating burnout. Sharing patient stories and acknowledging the contributions of every team member can reignite a sense of purpose. 

“You see outcomes just far surpass what you expect throughout all the different performance dimensions,” Feeder adds.

Healthcare organizations like M Health Fairview have found NRC Health’s Compliment Sharing to be a useful capability to send real-time patient feedback directly to the care team members. 

Compliment Sharing makes it easy to show patient appreciation by automatically identifying positive feedback and empowering organizations to build positive workforce engagement. 

Tanner notes that one of the best practices NRC Health sees among partners is a drive toward patient-to-care-team recognition, which can also help boost peer-to-peer recognition, helping drive staff retention and morale. 

Tanner emphasizes the importance of closing the feedback loop, especially in today’s fast-paced healthcare environment, where providers may not see the same patients repeatedly. 

“Taking recognition through patient feedback and sharing that along to the frontline helps them get a lot of that intrinsic reward—why they went into healthcare in the first place,” he says.

1. Start with patient feedback 

Tanner suggests adding a simple question to surveys: “Is there anyone you would like to recognize?” 

This approach has proven effective in gathering meaningful patient compliments that can be shared with care teams.

At Fairview, Feeder notes that this question initially raised concerns about whether patients would remember names or job titles. 

However, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s amazing to see what patients remember and want to share, and being able to share that with the care team makes a huge impact,” she says.

2. Decentralized recognition

To ensure recognition reaches the right people, organizations must decentralize feedback. 

Feeder explains how Fairview uses a tiered management strategy where daily huddles begin with “shoutouts” or recognitions.

“Sharing patient stories and acknowledging the staff who played a role helps each team member connect back to purpose,” she says.

Tanner emphasizes the importance of democratizing feedback. “Leaders can only pull out so many compliments and forward them to so many people. But peers and frontline staff know who David or Sean is, and they can share those patient compliments more effectively.”

3. Get creative with recognition programs

Recognition doesn’t have to be formal. M Health Fairview’s children’s patient family advisory council, for example, created an impact award to celebrate staff contributions. 

One recent recipient was a nutrition team member who addressed the lack of gluten-free snack options in emergency-department waiting rooms. Their efforts not only improved patient satisfaction but also inspired other teams to seek ways to enhance care.

4. Highlight positive feedback

Tanner notes that 76% of patient comments are positive, yet many care teams perceive feedback as primarily negative. Compliment Sharing can automatically identify those comments that take the form of compliments and make it easy to share them out broadly. 

By focusing on what patients already think teams do well, organizations can reinforce positive behaviors and build engagement. 

“When organizations show that patient feedback is about understanding what matters to patients and building relationships, it helps re-instill the behaviors teams are already amazing at,” Tanner says.

Tanner says that many NRC Health partners have a challenge getting their care team to engage in patient experience, feedback, and data. 

A strong recognition culture helps retain and attract employees. Organizations that prioritize employee experience and celebrate their teams’ contributions build a reputation as great places to work. 

Feeder highlights the importance of including all staff members in recognition efforts, from environmental services to nutrition teams. 

“Every single one of us makes a difference. Recognizing these often-overlooked roles fosters a sense of unity and shared purpose,” she says.

Failing to implement a recognition strategy can have serious consequences. Staff may feel undervalued, which can lead to disengagement and higher turnover rates. 

Tanner warns that without a focus on recognition, patient experience feedback may be viewed as “bad news,” causing care teams to tune it out.

Tanner adds that NRC Health has increased the likelihood of teams engaging in the entire spectrum of feedback, including areas where they need improvement. If organizations don’t get that recognition strategy in place, showing that patient-experience feedback can be used broadly beyond just scores, he says, they risk everyone disengaging from that feedback. 

“The vast majority of care-team members are extremely mission-driven individuals,” Tanner says. “They’ve chosen an insanely difficult career dedicated to serving others, and they’re doing their best in a system that’s not always built to serve them. I think recognition’s an amazing way to try and put some smiles on the faces of people who could use it right now.”

By leveraging patient feedback, decentralizing recognition, and celebrating all team members, organizations can create a culture that fosters resilience, improves patient outcomes, and attracts top talent. 

As Feeder aptly puts it, “Don’t underestimate the power of a handwritten thank-you. It can make all the difference on a challenging day.”

For organizations looking to take their recognition efforts to the next level, tools like NRC Health’s Compliment Sharing provide a scalable solution to show appreciation in real-time. By prioritizing employee experience, healthcare organizations can build stronger teams and a brighter future.

Interested in learning more about our Compliment Sharing tool? Contact the team at NRC Health.