The Gift of Feedback: Employee Voices Matter

This year, UMass Memorial Health once again conducted its caregiver survey — a survey that has been administered across the health system every two years or so since 2016 — in partnership with Press Ganey.

“Every time we conduct this survey, we view feedback as a gift,” said Eric Dickson, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer at UMass Memorial Health. “It helps shape the work ahead to improve the quality and safety of our care, as well as the experience of our caregivers.”

The 2025 Caregiver Survey — completed by 64% of employees over a three- week period — focused on engagement, resilience, well-being, diversity and inclusion, safety culture and nursing excellence. Providers and non-providers completed versions tailored to their roles, helping the organization understand every part of the workforce.

Third-party vendor Press Ganey conducted the survey to ensure anonymity and to keep individual responses confidential. UMass Memorial received only aggregate results at the system, entity and department levels.

The Results

“We were delighted to receive an unprecedented 4.04 engagement score (out of 5) on the non-provider survey, placing us in the 80th percentile ranking compared with other New England organizations,” said Tod Wiesman, Chief Human Resources Officer at UMass Memorial Health. “By comparison, our 2022 Caregiver Survey engagement score was 3.78 — or 34th percentile (below the regional average) — so this marked a giant leap forward in caregiver engagement.

“Understanding how employees feel about their workplace is vital to measuring engagement, safety and well-being efforts,” continued Tod, who champions this recurring survey as a guide for Human Resources and the organization as a whole. “As with every survey, we’ve learned from our caregivers where we’re doing well, as well as areas to improve.”

The feedback from the caregiver survey showed significant progress. Compared to other health care organizations nationally, UMass Memorial saw the most improvements in staffing as a result of addressing a sizeable staffing gap following the pandemic; respect; and effective communication between work units. In addition, survey results revealed that the organization continues to see improved scores reported by caregivers feeling physically, mentally and emotionally healthy.

The survey also identified several areas that need more focus: Recognition remains a priority, as some caregivers reported feeling less satisfied with the recognition they receive for their work since the last survey. Respect, while well improved since 2022, is an area that still needs focus.

And while safety and quality scores have improved, delivering safe, error-free care to patients continues to be a priority, too.

20,000 Voices Strong, Paving What’s Next

Senior leaders, managers, and caregivers received the survey results. Managers learned how to access and interpret their results, compare them with the previous survey, and communicate the findings clearly to their teams. Then together, with their teams, they will create action plans to strengthen areas that need improvement. “This process reflects our practical approach to improvement, starting with our own teams and the things we most want to change,” Tod explained.

“We’re incredibly proud of our 20,000 caregivers, and the ongoing feedback they share to help UMass Memorial Health provide the best possible experiences for both caregivers and patients,” said Dr. Dickson. “These survey results reflect our caregivers’ dedication to their work, to each other and to our mission. With their input guiding our post-survey action- planning plans, we will continue growing and improving to achieve our True North goal: to become the best place to give care and the best place to get care.” •