Now more than ever, it’s time for CEOs to listen.

Employee engagement nationally is at an 11-year low, with 79% of employees disengaged. In this climate, cultivating the art of listening is not a soft skill, but a strategic imperative that separates CEOs who preside over disengagement from those who inspire resilience, spark innovation and drive lasting success.

Your organization is constantly generating a wealth of information, but it’s only valuable if you’re tuned in to hear it. In my 40-plus years of healthcare leadership, here are four things I have learned about this underrated skill.

1. Listening builds a culture of trust and retains top talent

Most team members don’t just work for a paycheck, especially in healthcare. They work for a purpose and a voice. When they feel ignored, unheard or dismissed, their engagement plummets.

At Hackensack Meridian, we have several strategies to make people feel connected, heard and motivated. A few years ago, we launched Stand Out, a platform that encourages weekly check-ins so leaders know what their teams are working on and enjoying — but importantly, what isn’t going well, too. It has improved engagement. Additionally, we launched Connecting with the CEO to reach thousands of team members who typically don’t come into contact with me. In these sessions, we encourage people to be candid; this is how we keep getting better.

When people ask me for specific examples on how listening has paid off, I share this story. A few years ago, I received a letter from a team member asking me to increase in vitro fertilization benefits. She made a very compelling case: Our coverage provided $10,000 for a single cycle of IVF, yet the actual cost is estimated to range from $15,000 to $20,000 and can exceed $30,000 if a donor egg is involved.

I dug in, worked with our HR and benefits team and expanded the benefit to $30,000. It was so satisfying to give this team member a shout-out when we announced the policy change. And to think of how many other people we helped is deeply fulfilling. In a similar vein, the network created doula benefits to support new mothers to improve maternal health outcomes — an idea that emerged from team members.

Hackensack Meridian was named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list this year, based on results from the Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey, with 85% of our team members saying it’s a great place to work.

2. Listening fuels genuine innovation and agility

Breakthrough ideas often emerge from the daily work of front-line teams, not always in the C-suite. Clinicians, nurses, scientists, researchers and others often find a better way to do their job. That’s why connecting with our teams is so important.

A large, prominent organization that has put this concept into practice is Nike — when the company decided to build an in-house creative studio, Icon Studios, in Shanghai. It wasn’t just decided by the board. It was shaped by a growing recognition that the most culturally resonant ideas often come from those closest to the market, not furthest from the consumer. By emphasizing a stronger local connection, marketing could become more authentic and innovative.

This same idea can translate to healthcare organizations in powerful ways, supporting our missions in care delivery and philanthropy. For example, while Hackensack Meridian has a network foundation, we decided to maintain individual foundation boards at most of our hospitals because these leaders have very close ties to their communities and know what people are willing to invest in to strengthen healthcare that’s close to home.

3. Listening can uncover blind spots and improve decision-making

I have created an environment where I encourage people to speak candidly. I call it “Jersey direct talk” because I want to hear the unvarnished truth. When the network launched nine years ago, we realized that we had to work to create a unified culture from two health systems. There were some stumbles along the way, but I encouraged leaders to look closely at what we were missing and how we could improve. Nine years later, our culture is stronger than ever.

It’s also important to note that you can’t make the best decisions if you don’t have as much relevant information as possible. Let me be clear, sometimes we have to make decisions with limited information. Or, as Jeff Bezos put it: “Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had.”

4. Listening can help the bottom line

I often quote communications expert, author and pastor Andy Stanley when I remind our teams and leaders to be engaged listeners: “Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” And eventually, they leave.

That cost, as we all know, is staggering and — in many instances — unnecessary. The average cost of replacing a staff nurse is $61,110, and for physicians, that figure can climb much higher when considering lost revenue during vacancy periods and onboarding time.

The bottom line? Listening is a profound form of respect. It shows that you value your team’s perspective and builds a strong foundation of trust. It’s at the core of a strong culture, and that benefits everyone.

Robert C. Garrett is CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest health network with 18 hospitals, more than 500 patient care locations and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

The post Hackensack Meridian Health CEO: Your system is talking. Are you listening? appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.