How healthcare organizations can build resilience and agility

Healthcare by the numbers

With an overall index of 78 of 100, the healthcare industry mirrors the global industry average of employees’ and executives’ confidence in their organization’s capacity to remain resilient and agile. 

Now let's break down that average. More than half of our survey respondents were very confident in their organization’s resilience and agility, with 53% of employees and executives considering their organizations to be “strong” or “very strong” in resilience and agility. On the other end, 29% of respondents — nearly a third — rated their organizations as “weak” or “very weak.”

To understand the divide, we analyzed the attributes of highly confident organizations. What factors make an organization in the healthcare sector resilient and agile?

The attributes of agility and resilience

We found 10 attributes to be the most impactful when building resilience and agility in the healthcare sector:

1. We have a dedicated innovation unit whose focus is solely to innovate, with fewer constraints than the rest of the organization.
2. Our people understand and follow the vision provided by leadership.
3. We are regularly trained in new skills or capabilities.
4. Our risk tolerance is documented and shared, so employees know which risks they can take.
5. Our product teams are actively updating our products and services to adapt to the market or changing customer needs.
6. Our workforce has sufficient autonomy to act on threats and opportunities without executive leadership getting involved.
7. We gather ongoing data analytics on our products and services, so we understand how they are performing and how customers are using them.
8. We have effective change management processes to ensure new technologies positively impact the organization.
9. We have technology solutions that give people access to the right information at the right time.
10. We have voice-of-employee processes and tools so we can understand and adapt to our employees’ changing needs.

However, not all healthcare companies are fully leveraging these attributes. Of these resilience and agility drivers, 6 of 10 are well-leveraged: Leadership’s vision is followed, comprehensive employee training is a priority, continuous improvement is present, employees have sufficient autonomy, effective change management processes are followed and technology solutions promote information access.

But some of the most important factors are underleveraged. For instance, the most impactful attribute, having a dedicated innovation unit, is something many healthcare organizations have not yet invested in. Documented risk tolerance, service analytics and voice-of-employee process tools are also underleveraged drivers.

How underleveraged attributes impact resilience and agility

Healthcare’s most underleveraged attributes may be the most helpful in addressing some of today’s biggest challenges. For instance, current widespread staffing shortages, especially in the field of nursing, are likely to be continuing issues for the industry, with the World Healthcare Organization predicting a global shortfall of 15 million healthcare workers by 2030. Burnout is thought to be a leading cause of this shortage. 

Healthcare organizations may look to invest in voice-of-employee process tools to gather information about how their employees perceive their organization and adjust processes and policies according to employee needs. Investing in tools like this could help organizations mitigate staff burnout, increase employee satisfaction and boost retention.

While healthcare may be an innovative field in general — constantly discovering new treatments and evolving practices based on emerging science — we found that not many healthcare organizations have specific units dedicated to innovation. There’s a lot of technological innovation to sift through, and dedicated innovation units help organizations stay adaptable to change.

With technology evolving at breakneck speed, patients and potential employees will be looking to organizations on the cutting edge of innovation. Companies should be ready to pivot and adapt as these technologies continue to evolve. Embracing innovation is critical not only to the resilience of individual healthcare organizations but to the communities they serve.

Addressing barriers to resilience and agility in healthcare

• People — neglecting to see them as the challenge and solution: Recognizing the crucial role of people is essential for healthcare organizations. By fostering a culture that empowers healthcare professionals, organizations can tap into their expertise and drive innovation.
• Technology — treating it as the solution, rather than the foundation: Technology should be viewed as a foundational enabler, aligned with organizational goals. Strategic integration and adequate support can enhance resilience and agility.
• Alignment — failing to balance compliance with autonomy: Balancing compliance and autonomy is vital. Flexible frameworks that provide autonomy within defined boundaries empower healthcare professionals and promote agility.
• Goals — companies bouncing back but not forward: Resilience focuses on recovery, but true agility extends to proactive approaches. Shifting from reactive to proactive strategies involves embracing innovation and anticipating future challenges.

By addressing these barriers, healthcare organizations can enhance their resilience and agility. Valuing people, leveraging technology strategically, fostering alignment and setting forward-thinking goals are crucial steps toward thriving in a changing healthcare landscape.