Compassion Fatigue Solutions

Yesterday, (January 14th, 2009), the Globe and Mail published the results from the 5th annual survey of "the best small and medium employers in Canada" by Queen's School of Business.

I was very curious to read more on the key elements that made these companies the best, and my hunch was confirmed: Among the top companies, the focus is on empowering employees, rewarding effort and encouraging growth among staff by supporting ongoing training. Flexible work hours are also encouraged and hierarchy discouraged (some of our hospitals a ways to go on some of these points...)

"At top-ranked Protegra [the company who won best employer award], employees are encouraged to participate in goal setting and decision making at monthly staff meetings. [...] At top companies, not only do employees have a say in setting direction, they are also given wide berth to run with their ideas."

I am fascinated by these findings as they are exactly what we recommend to minimise compassion fatigue and enhance wellness among helping professionals. The top strategies for health care organizations wanting to mitigate the impact of compassion fatigue are related to offering flexible work hours, providing staff with positive feedback, supporting continuing education and genuinely inviting staff to contribute to the direction and manner in which the organization is progressing in the future.

So, I'm sure many of you are wondering who came in the top five? Here they are:

Number 1: Protegra Inc., Winnipeg (IT and business consulting)
Number 2: Miele Canada, Ontario (Appliance maker)
Number 3: Gibraltar Solutions Inc., Mississauga (IT and consulting)
Number 4: ISL Engineering and Land Services Inc. Edmonton (Engineering)
Number 5: Hood Group, Edmonton (Engineering, construction and environmental consulting)

More on this at globeandmail.com/smallbusiness

If you are interested in exploring this issue some more, I would highly recommend that you read the book "Maverick" by Ricardo Semler. Semler owns a large successful manufacturing company in Brazil and this book chronicles how he dismantled the entire corporate structure of his company and reaped the rewards tenfold. He also describes how he obtained the help of his staff to weather through a severe recession in Brazil in the early 90s. It's a highly readable book, I would recommend it to any manager interested in exploring this further.