Achieving accreditation will require some changes in the culture of your organization and those changes may not be well-received. To make a culture change, top leadership must embrace and demonstrate the change and communicate it clearly and regularly to all staff. This sends a message to middle management and front line staff that there is a “new normal.” Here are some specific ideas that might help, especially with part-time staff and long-term employees who are looking toward retirement.
 
Communicate benefits and expectations. Seek clear understanding and communication from department leadership about why accreditation, quality improvement (QI), and performance management are important and how leadership expects full-time and part-time staff to engage in these processes. This can help verify or adjust expectations, especially among part-time staff. It can also help supervisors carry out their roles, delegate work responsibilities, and hold employees accountable. 

 

Connect participation to evaluations. The department might consider adding some activities that support accreditation to all employee job duties. Participation would then be rated as part of each employee’s performance appraisal. Thus, engagement in accreditation activities will gain a new level of importance and value and will help standardize the culture change. It will also provide a way to recognize and reward the contribution of employees who give time and energy to advance the department’s accreditation efforts.

 

Be inclusive. Ensure that part-time staff members receive the same communication and educational opportunities as full-time staff about accreditation, QI, and performance management. This can take special efforts, since their work schedules may cause them to miss regular meetings, announcements, celebrations, and other opportunities to engage in the process. 

 

Offer opportunities for growth and achievement. Opportunities to develop new skills or actively participate in a positive change process are often self-motivating. Does the department’s accreditation effort include opportunities for part-time staff to learn new skills that would be meaningful to them? Is there an identified opportunity for improvement about which a long-term employee would feel motivated to complete before they separate from employment? Include such staff members in training sessions and as members of local teams that develop improvement plans for their programs. 

 

Value their contributions. The talent, wisdom, expertise, and relationships of long-term employees are valuable resources to support accreditation readiness activities and documentation collection. Ask them what they see as the greatest assets they have to offer to the process or identify those assets based on past performance. Discover specific areas where the expertise of these employees could be used to help make informed decisions. Engage with them directly in a consulting or advisory role.