Ideas That Work: Give Your Teammate a High Five

Practical pearls from your colleagues.

Have you noticed one of your co-workers staying late to help another colleague, or taking time to walk with a patient’s family member rather than just pointing them in the right direction?

If so, give them a High Five, a program OrthoTennessee designed for staff to recognize each other for their outstanding work. “The recognition should be centered around OrthoTennessee’s commitment statements,” says Jennifer Parrott, RN, OR clinical manager and sterile processing department manager at OrthoTennessee. Any time a staff member witnesses a colleague pursuing excellence, building trust or being an ideal team player (humble, hungry and/or people-smart), they simply fill out a High Five card by circling the finger corresponding to the commitment statement the teammate exemplified, along with writing the date of the event and a brief description. “Next, they give the card to their teammate, who then places it on their site’s High Five board,” says Ms. Parrott.

What is great about this program, notes Ms. Parrott, is that any staff member can fill one out — it’s not manager- or supervisor-based. “High Five nominees are entered into the facility’s monthly drawings for a chance to earn four or eight hours of PTO, and they are also highlighted in our monthly newsletter,” says Ms. Parrott. OSM