Review of Brian’s Customized Employee Engagement Program
ACHIEVE PHYSICAL THERAPY: I attended the Chicago PPS conference in 2017 where I saw Brian Hartz give his presentation “Money Isn’t Everything: Entrepreneurial Ways to Increase Employee Engagement.” At the time, my company was struggling with staff burnout and was stuck in a <2-year cycle of staff leaving for another job. We needed to figure out ways to keep our staff happy but had quickly realized increasing compensation was not enough to satisfy them and was not sustainable for the business.
When I heard Brian talk about his innovative idea to create an engagement strategy in which staff members earn a trip/new experience together by accomplishing personal and professional goals, I knew this was something I wanted to try at our company. I reached out to Brian in 2018 and he was more than willing to help me figure out how to make this work for my team.
Over the last 2 years, Brian has worked with me to trial 3 different variations of his team building strategies. He helped me figure out the basic structure, ideas to earn points, and how to use different points categories to not only make the staff feel supported but also help the company be successful. In our first two attempts, we struggled to create the staff buy-in that we wanted. Therefore, even though the prize was one they all claimed to want, participation wasn’t great.
We relied heavily on Brian’s feedback when developing the most recent point challenge this past summer, Brian’s insight on balancing productivity standards, marketing ideas, and self-care strategies was extremely helpful in making our latest game the most successful variation yet. I am thrilled to report that 16 of our 21 staff actively participated in the challenge and earned a ski trip together this past February. What is even more exciting is that I saw my team step outside of their comfort zones and push themselves to do more than they had in the past. We saw huge growth in personal achievements, self-care, community outreach, company marketing efforts, testimonials and reviews from patients, and overall productivity.
The excitement the team had around the ski trip became more palpable as each person earned the trip and the date got closer. We just returned 2 weeks ago and witnessed some pretty amazing things:
Our staff CHOSE to hang out together the entire time.- Five people got to try an activity they never had before.
- There were no cliques or drama that ruined the fun.
Everyone genuinely enjoyed each other’s company and created memories that they are still talking and laughing about weeks later. This comradery will surely last well beyond the team building challenge and foster a strong company culture.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Brian’s staff engagement ideas. Not only has it helped our company culture, marketing efforts, overall productivity, and staff retention (we had 85% staff retention in 2019), but it is now a recruiting tool we can use to attract talented people and set us apart from other companies. These employee engagement strategies are now going to be a permanent part of our company and I am so grateful to Brian for the guidance he provided to make it work for us. If you are struggling to keep staff engaged and motivated, Brian’s help may be just what you need to change things for the better.
Kathy Monterio, Head of Operations, Achieve Physical Therapy
ELLIOTT PHYSICAL THERAPY: Darryl and I first learned of Brian Hartz’s Employee Engagement Program through the Physical Therapy Private Practice Special Interest Group. It peaked our interest because our company philosophy at Elliott Physical Therapy embraces both community service and a strong company culture.
As a company, we were already involved in many community events and charitable giving and offering company outings but the Hartz Employee Engagement Program melded the two together and gave our team focus and clarity. We often found our team and ourselves frustrated at the end of events because expectations were not met and communication around those expectations left our team members feeling confused.
Last year, we piloted the Hartz Employee Engagement Program before Thanksgiving with a trip to the beautiful Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire as Our Earned Trip in late March. The results of the program were felt throughout the company. It created a buzz within our clinics as staff creatively embraced the challenge by giving blood, simple acts of kindness, working out together, organizing food and clothing drives and much more. Our patients were as excited for the trip as we were! They eagerly wrote reviews, shared testimonials and pictures to showcase us and our company. It was so positive and really clarified what we had always wanted from our team but struggled to communicate.
Working with Brian was also extremely helpful. He had check ins with our leadership team periodically to gather feedback around what was working and any constructive feedback we had received from our team throughout the process. He shared how his team tracked points and handled similar issues
We all bonded on our earned trip. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our team and they all knew that they had truly earned it which made it more special. We would highly recommend the Hartz Employee Engagement Program to any company that believes in supporting the communities that they service and wants to build a strong company culture that empowers its employees.”
Patti & Darryl Elliott
Elliott Physical Therapy, Massachusetts
CYNERGY PHYSICAL THERAPY: I attended the PPS conference excited to learn how I could help continue to grow my practice. After attending Brian’s talk on employee engagement, I felt super charged and excited to return to work and develop the program with my team. I was pleasantly surprised at how little I had to do! Our support staff immediately took the lead and our team members were so excited to participate in activities and opportunities to do good in our community.
We organized and participated in so many community events, such as food drives, homeless shelter volunteering, volunteer opportunities with sporting events in the community and we also highlighted company marketing such as online reviews and social media posting. Our employees got points for continuing education and attending inservices hosted by our clinics and other team building events. At the end of a 6 month period, all employees were successful in achieving their point goals!
As a reward, all employees and their family members enjoyed an expense-paid three day trip to the Atlantis in the Bahamas. The fun began at the airport (where we all wore team gear) and it didn’t stop for the entire trip! I know our team grew stronger and closer in the days since returning from our trip and we are already working on next year’s reward travel. It was an amazing experience and our team is so much stronger as a result of the different experiences we shared in different venues. It was worth every penny! Thank you Brian!
Cynthia Gormezano, PT, DPT
Cynergy Physical Therapy, New York City
Reviews from Private Practice Section of the APTA National Conference
“Brian was great. My favorite course I attended throughout the weekend. I love his model for getting his employees engaged and hope to follow his example”
“Brian was an EXCELLENT speaker! Great ideas and a VERY critical topic for ALL practice owners. We all want happy, engaged employees without breaking the bank. This is such a great way to improve employee inspiration while marketing your practice! I would love to have a copy of the “points system” book. Thank you, Brian for all of the great ideas!”
“I liken going to conferences to that of playing golf. You play 16-17 holes of poor to average golf and you question why you keep on investing your time and money. However, all it takes is one good drive or one good hole and it makes it all worth continuing. The presentation by Brian Hartz was just that for me. His course was one of a select few that made PPS Conference worth my time and money. Innovative thinking that creates ideas to get staff not only engaged in their work, but also engaged in the profession and community. I’m sure to use these strategies to help my employees get involved and motivated, creating a culture similar to Hartz PT. GREAT JOB!”
“Brian was an excellent speaker and had fantastic ideas on how to engage staff. He obviously cares deeply for his employees and understands that focusing on them creates the culture of long term stability that we all strive for. I would love to hear him speak again.”
Reviews from the Combined Section Meeting of the APTA:
“Best presentation of the weekend! Need to have him back for more”
“This was the best course I took for new business ideas to utilize in the clinic. Brian was a highly engaged speaker as well!”
“Brian was very engaging and I really liked the ideas he presented. It was one of the few lectures I walked out of excited and with a clear idea of how to apply the topic immediately in my management of my staff.”