To:Linda Smitherson, Vice President, Strategy and Innovation, North York Health Centre

Topic:Promoting Healthy Workplace Culture & Psychological Safety at North York Health Centre

Background:

We recently collated the findings from our 2021 Employee Engagement Survey. While the organization performed well in most areas, and the findings indicate that staff and volunteers are happy with the organization overall, there are areas for improvement. One such area is with respect to themaintaining a healthy workplace culture and the psychological safety of staff.The survey findings indicate that while staff are highly engaged, they are approaching the point of burnout and do not feel that the current state is sustainable. They also reported feeling uncomfortable sharing their feelings with their leaders for fear of being perceived negatively or being ignored.

Proposed Activities and Recommendations for Promoting Healthy Workplace Culture:

We are proposing that the strategic plan be revisited and amended to include"maintaining a healthy workforce and promoting sustainable growth"as additional strategic priorities. In addition, we recommend that the senior leadership team respond to these survey findings by pivoting, prioritizing and investing resources in the promotion healthy and psychologically safe workplace. This recommendation would align with the organization's recruitment and retention strategy. As we know a healthy workforce is not only happier and more engaged, but more productive. While this recommendation will involve the investment of resources, we believe that the return on our investment will be well worth it for the organization's culture, growth and sustainability.

Current Strategic Plan Components:

Values:Compassion, respect, excellence, integrity,growth and sustainability

Strategic Priorities:

• Research, Learning and Development
• Putting Patients First
• Promoting Health System Integration
• Maintaining a Healthy Workforce
• Promoting Sustainable Growth

Next Steps:

We are recommending the amendment to the strategic priorities, as well as the prioritization and investment in the promotion of a healthy workplace culture and psychological safety. Upon acceptance of this recommendation, we will share a detailed proposed plan for the implementation of ACTIVITIES.

Refer to the briefing note provided below to answer these three questions

1. If you were a senior leader in this organization

• • a) Would you accept this recommendation to prioritize the promotion of a healthy workforce and workplace culture? Why or why not?
  • b) Should preventing burnout be a strategic priority? Why or why not?

2. What are this organization's values?

• • a) How do the values inform/impact its culture?
  • Is a healthy workplace culture important for implementing an organization's strategic plan? Why or why not?

3. You notice that team members are not getting along and there is increasing conflict within your team.

• • a) It is likely that the team is at which stage of the team development cycle?
  • b) What are the other stages and what typically happens at each stage?