Building A Culture of Connection, One Voice at a Time

By Kathleen Silard, MS, BSN, RN, FACHE – President and CEO, Stamford Health

At Stamford Health, we have learned that building a great workplace is not only about recognition, it is about creating a culture where all our employees feel they belong, are supported, and can grow. That kind of culture doesn’t happen by chance; it takes years of listening and learning and being open to navigating changes together. Our five-year journey as a Great Place to Work Certified™ organization has offered meaningful insights into not only attracting and retaining talent, but fostering an environment where people are connected to their work and encouraged to advance their career.

Our culture was not built through one initiative or moment. It has been shaped over time by listening deeply, acting with intention, and upholding our vision of being the most trusted healthcare partner for the communities we serve. For us, frameworks like Great Place to Work™, Magnet, and Planetree have helped guide that journey and brings a different lens to that vision. Whether it is fostering appreciation, elevating clinical excellence, or keeping people at the heart of care, they help us build a workplace where purpose and connection thrive.

We care deeply about our people and take pride in making sure everyone feels seen, valued, and heard. As a nurse and leader in healthcare for 40 years, I have learned that when you feel good about the work you do – and the organization you do it for – you show up with purpose and passion. I always say our staff is our most precious resource, which is why creating a culture of engagement has been a priority since I became President and CEO in 2018. Since then, we have focused on three things to build our culture and they are steps I would encourage any leader considering this work to take:

1. Focus on listening to every employee.

Our annual engagement survey is accessible and meaningful, and it helps build trust in the process. Our executive team reads every comment, engages in honest conversations, and builds action plans based on what we hear. There’s something powerful about hearing directly from our people about what’s working, what’s not, and where we can do better.

2. From there, implement policies and changes that reflect their feedback.

For us, many of those changes have been around our Total Rewards package, such as providing better than industry-average yearly salary increases, a Paid Time Off (PTO) package that surpasses our competitors, offering no-copay mental health services for employees and their families and adding a floating holiday for all staff to observe personal celebrations. Even our decision to implement a new electronic medical record system was driven by employee and physician input.

3. Empower your managers.

We identified that staff relationships with their direct manager is often the single most important component in their engagement. Our leaders play a key role in this process by encouraging participation, sharing results, and supporting team-based action plans. Since 2021, we have seen significant progress in how staff communicate with their managers and have learned that teams who engage with their feedback and revisit their goals throughout the year see engagement scores that are 40% higher than those who don’t. That’s no coincidence.

But those aren’t the only takeaways we have gleaned from this work. Our annual engagement survey also helps us understand how we’re building a culture of inclusion, measure the impact of major changes like the post-COVID-19 staffing crisis and new technology systems, and celebrate enduring strengths like our pride in service, sense of purpose, and welcoming environment. These insights helped shape our Employee Value Proposition, The Stamford Promise, which is grounded in what matters most to our employees.

While our engagement scores have remained steady, a notable achievement in today’s workforce climate, this year we will focus on combining engagement data with other insights to better understand the full employee experience. We are offering targeted support to leaders and teams who need it, while celebrating the many success stories that reflect our culture.

We are also learning from other organizations who have faced similar challenges and found ways to grow. Our long-term aspiration is to earn a spot on the GPTW Best Workplaces in Healthcare™ list. Not for recognition alone, but because it would mark real progress in making Stamford Health a great place to work for all.

Despite the challenges of recent years, I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished. We have remained independent, financially strong, and nationally recognized for quality – all while staying true to who we are. To stay grounded in our values and keep us moving forward, we will keep listening to our teams, investing in our employees’ development, empowering our managers and positioning our Total Rewards package as both a recruitment and retention tool. We will never stop working to make Stamford Health a place where people feel they matter and belong.