Our Promise Our Promise is a commitment by Horizon’s leadership team to continue improving the employee and physician experience. It was developed as an authentic, transparent program to help build trust with employees and physicians. Strengthening employee engagement directly improves patient experience and outcomes. The program is also intended to serve as a reminder that retention is a top priority for Horizon. You show up everyday to care for New Brunswickers. Our Promise is how Horizon is showing up for you. Our Promise will demonstrate Horizon’s progress in improving the employee and physician experience in four focus areas: Our Promise includes 19 initiatives developed in response to the feedback we heard from employees and physicians in our last Worklife Pulse survey. These 19 initiatives fall within each of the four Focus Areas. These include numerous initiatives that employees and physicians have identified as important to them, such as flexible scheduling, wellness hubs, enhanced security, mentoring and coaching. Our Promise Initiatives LISTEN & ACT RECOGNIZE & APPRECIATE HEALTH SAFETY & BELONGING LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT What you say matters at Horizon (1) Digital Screens Over the coming months, Horizon will add 275 new screens to our existing Digital Screens program in facilities throughout the organization, the majority of which will be internal-facing to share information with employees and physicians. All screens will contain a new content management system, creating opportunities for unique localized content, multiple authors, as well as attractive and easy-to-use content templates. November Update Digital screens for staff and physicians have now been installed at 12 Horizon facilities. This means thousands of staff and leaders now have a new and engaging mode of internal communications Planning is underway for more installations at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (Fredericton) and starting installations at Saint John Regional Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital (Saint John) and Ridgewood Addiction Services/Centracare. These final installs will occur in late November and December, meaning all Horizon hospitals will have digital screens for staff, physicians and the public before the end of the year! These screens will be used to provide important information regarding Horizon news and updates, employee recognition, upcoming events and other relevant material that is of interest to employees. To begin, this information will be developed by the Communications and Community Engagement team (on behalf of our many partners across the organization). Eventually, we will work in partnership with area-specific teams and departments to build local or network-specific content. (2) Listening Strategies Technology Horizon’s engagement team is working with independent research organization Perceptyx to conduct employee surveys that will be used to identify trends and reasons for turnover; assess the quality of work life at Horizon; recommend changes in policies, procedures and practices; and identify training and development needs. September Update Our listening strategies have launched — with many different opportunities to provide feedback throughout the life cycle as an Horizon employee. We offer candidate, onboarding, exit, and on demand surveys and are using this valuable feedback to guide decisions in improving the employee experience. (3) Continuous Conversation Technology We want to make two-way internal communication easier and convenient for our people leaders, employees and physicians. Horizon is exploring a cloud-based technology enabling our staff to access important information through an app and at home. This new technology includes a messaging system and internal social media platform for sharing our employees’ and physicians’ news and accomplishments. September Update The project charter is being finalized and a kick-off meeting is being scheduled. Several meetings with different vendors have taken place and a technology has been identified that meets our needs. (4) Flexible Scheduling Project As an organization of 14,000+ employees and physicians across 120 facilities, we are continuously thinking of new ways to improve employees’ and physicians’ work experience. November Update Over the next three months HR Operations will launch a pilot related to flexible work arrangements for permanent non-bargaining employees. As an employer of choice, Horizon wants to provide options to positively impact on engagement and retention of the non-bargaining workforce in addition to enabling work-life balance. New Initiatives! (5) Onboarding Portal HR Operations and Talent Acquisition are working on the implementation of a cloud-based onboarding system with the goal of supporting early employment and a positive candidate experience. This new portal will improve the candidate experience, increase visibility for those involved and create streamlined and efficient processes. Horizon acknowledges your value (1) Monthly Appreciation Initiatives We are committed to creating experiences, sharing appreciation and providing recognition to our employees and physicians. Our engagement team, in collaboration with managers, will provide a unique experience each month. September update The 2023 monthly appreciation initiatives are more than halfway completed! These monthly initiatives focus on bringing recognition and appreciation to mind for all Horizon staff. (2) Enhanced Bravo! Awards Program This fall marks the return of the Bravo! Awards to celebrate Horizon employees and physicians’ incredible work and to ensure they feel valued, appreciated and part of a team. Twenty Bravo! Award recipients will be selected quarterly, recognizing individuals living our values. September Update We are excited to soon begin work with our website developer on the next phase of our Bravo! program upgrades. This work includes the return of The Bravo! Awards. We are very excited to bring these many new changes to staff and the public who use our Bravo! program! (3) One-Year Recognition for New Hires Horizon has introduced a one-year pendant that recognizes the completion of one year of service for our new hires. In addition to recognizing the first year of an employee’s career with Horizon, these pendants are a symbol to welcome and support our new Horizon colleagues. Ensuring our new hires feel connected and part of the team is a priority at Horizon. September Update Our new 1-year Years of Service pendant was launched in May. Recognizing these career milestones is important and we look forward to seeing more 1-year pendants on staff ID badges across Horizon! In October, we are hosting our first annual New Hire Mingle. (4) Innovative Solutions As an organization of 14,000+ employees and physicians across 120 facilities, we are continuously thinking of new ways to improve employees’ and physicians’ work experience. September Update Our 2023 pilot of bringing food trucks for our facilities was a great success. We hope to do this again next year. We continue to encourage employees and physicians to share with one another innovative ideas on how recognition and appreciation can take place at Horizon. NEW* (5) Professional Services Awards of Distinction The Regional Professional Advisory Council (RPAC) supports the recognition and celebration of professional services at Horizon. The Professional Services Awards of Distinction recognize team members who demonstrate attributes of professionalism and exemplify Horizon’s mission, vision, and values. The committee seeks nominations in six Awards of Distinction categories: Excellence in Patient Care, Mentorship, Rising Star, Unsung Hero, Lifelong Learner and Dream Team. NEW* (6) Awards of Distinction in Nursing Horizon’s Nursing Quality and Professionalism Committee celebrates the work of members of Horizon’s nursing team who make a difference every day, from providing patient care to supporting their colleagues, with the seventh annual Awards of Distinction in Nursing. Awards will be presented in four categories for Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses: Clinical Practice, Leadership, Mentorship and Nursing Novice. New for 2024, we will present Awards of Distinction in Nursing for Patient Care Attendants! Awards will be presented during National Nursing Week in May. Horizon cares about your wellbeing (1) Psychological Health & Safety Framework Creating a psychologically healthy and safe work environment is necessary and a priority for Horizon. After administering the “Guarding Minds” survey, we have identified areas of opportunity and are moving forward with a framework that will empower everyone at Horizon. September Update After completing a comprehensive environmental scan, we are consolidating research and evidence in best practices to create a framework to support and empower everyone at Horizon. (2) Respectful Workplace Policy Horizon believes maintaining a safe, healthy and respectful workplace is paramount and requires a culture of shared accountability and cooperation. We will launch a new policy and education module to ensure we do our part to improve the workplace environment. September Update The new Respectful Workplace Policy has been approved. Senior leaders, managers and Human Resources team members have been trained on the new policy and the process used to prevent, report, and respond to allegations of workplace harassment. Work is currently underway to update the Respectful Workplace: Making It Happen e-learning module to reflect the recent changes made to the policy. The new training will be made available to staff in the coming weeks and will be added to the mandatory 5K training that is completed on an annual basis. We believe that the approval of the new Respectful Workplace Policy is a critical step towards achieving our goal of providing a workplace that is free from harassment. (3) Wellness Hubs Horizon is embracing a culture of mental health in the workplace by launching Wellness Hubs in each of our four regional hospitals. We have also hired four full-time Wellness Coordinators to support employees, physicians and leaders and promote wellness services and resources available to staff. September Update Our regional Wellness Hubs are now fully operational, staffed by our area Wellness Coordinators – regardless of our employees’ role or where they work, employee wellness is important to us! (4) Enhanced Security Project To decrease response time to workplace violence incidents, increase safety in high-risk areas and enhance de-escalation of workplace violence, Horizon is launching an enhanced security pilot program in five locations. These pilots will be evaluated for security improvements across Horizon. This enhanced security officer presence will complement our existing tools. September Update Positions have been posted and we are actively recruiting for the best candidates. The sites for the pilot have been selected and schedules are prepared for pilot. Training sessions for new hires are booked. (5) Improved Physical Environment Across Horizon, our Facilities, Engineering and Property Management team has been replacing and upgrading furniture in break rooms, waiting rooms, patient rooms and cafeterias to improve the physical environment where our employees and physicians work. This project is ongoing and will be fully implemented in the coming months and planning is underway for additional upgrades to walls, ceilings, flooring, lighting and more. September Update New furniture roll-out continues across Horizon and refurbishment in various areas of our facilities ongoing. (6) Safe Patient Handling Our front-line health care workers will benefit from a new education program to promote safe patient handling across Horizon. This will ensure staff are safely lifting and handling patients, decreasing injury and absenteeism related to lifting. September Update With lead trainers established across New Brunswick, this innovative training is now being offered to health care workers across the province! (7) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Framework Horizon is committed to becoming a place where everyone has a role to play, belongs, and is included. We will be implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training for all employees and physicians this fall and have eight initiatives that will be launched related to DEI in the next two years. September Update We have three projects underway in our DEI initiative: DEI training, a buddy system pilot project and the development of our psychologically safe feedback mechanism to report incidents of racism or discrimination. New Initiatives! (8) RecharjMe Cabins The wellbeing of our staff is a top priority for Horizon, and we are thrilled to share an innovative new service for staff coming in December! In partnership with Vitalite and EM/ANB, with support from the Department of Health as a People Pillar Project, we will have 19 RecharjME cabins installed across New Brunswick, 9 of which will be in Horizon facilities. These cabins will be bookable via an app and offer a relaxing rest experience with a massage chair, audio tracks including meditation sessions, thermotherapy and specialized lighting systems! (9) Pet Therapy Coming soon! In partnership with Volunteer Services and Saint John Ambulance, our Employee Wellness team is bringing Pet Therapy to our Wellness Hubs for staff! This exciting new offering is anticipated to begin in early 2024 and we are thrilled to bring this valuable service to our staff. Stay tuned for more! Horizon believes in your potential (1) Mentoring & Coaching Implementing mentor and coaching options for employees across Horizon has been identified as a key growth area. A new nurse mentor program has launched and a buddy system for internationally educated employees across Horizon is being piloted this summer. Additional initiatives will be announced in the coming months. October Update Mentorship opportunity for new managers is being developed as part of the New Manager Orientation Program. Target launch is late fall or early winter. (2) Flexible Learning Our learning and development team has changed their delivery model for education programs. They are committed to providing opportunities to learn and develop in ways that best meet our employees’ and physicians’ needs, from daytime OR evening sessions to online OR in-person courses. We want to be flexible and recognize that as a health care organization, we operate 24/7. October Update Evening sessions for Basic Life Support (BLS) recertification as well as Communicate with H.E.A.R.T. are now available to staff. Additional sessions will be added for other facilities. (3) Leadership Development In addition to Horizon’s two leadership development programs, Cornerstone and Leading One Horizon, all managers and supervisors now have access to Skillsoft Percipio to expand their leadership knowledge and skills. Additional leadership development programs will be added for individuals new to Horizon management roles in the coming year. October Update A new Manager Orientation Program and new front line leadership project are currently under development. (4) Performance Development (Phase 1) Horizon’s new performance development system supports employees’ ongoing learning and development needs. Periodic conversations throughout the year will lead to an annual performance summary, with development plans created by the employee and the manager that outline concrete next steps, resources, timelines and expected outcomes. October Update Phase 1 has been fully implemented. Phase 2 (technological integration) is in progress. Video Our Promise Recap Respectful Workplace Policy Improved Physical Environment Flexible Scheduling Wellness Hubs Safe Patient Handling Our Promise Ambassador Program Our Promise Ambassador Program is critical in bringing Our Promise to life! Our goal is to ensure that all employees and physicians know this program and how to get involved to shape it. Our Promise Ambassadors will build excitement about the program and help spread the word to other employees and physicians. We will continue seeking employee and physician feedback on the program through them, test and learn new, innovative initiatives to improve the employee and physician experience.