We Can See Clearly Now: Shared Governance Transparency

Purpose:
Our Shared Governance culture is to listen and incorporate the voice of our workforce. Sharing multi-Council data is challenging. Our purpose was to create a process for easy accessibility of information and also increase nursing satisfaction through information and communication transparency.

Significance:
As an organization our goal is to engage staff to be invested in decision-making. Magnitudes of decisions are highly dependant upon the communication flow throughout Councils and among staff. A key element to making this a reality is a structure for access and transparency to Council activities.

Strategy and Implementation:
Information from our Shared Governance Councils was previously disseminated in multiple ways, which created inconsistency in staff having access to real time data. This made it challenging to receive timely feedback from staff. Since all nurses already had access to our organization's Intranet, using it in our strategy seemed a logical solution. We developed a process for Council co-chairs to load relevant Council information onto a user-friendly nursing shared drive in an efficiently organized manner. By linking this shared drive to the existing Intranet, we were able to ensure that staff had access to current data. Information includes NDNQI quality data and NDNQI nursing satisfaction data. Each nursing unit has multiple computers where nurses can conveniently access Shared Governance information at any time. An added bonus is participation in our organization's “Going Green” campaign.

Evaluation:
Access and transparency have heightened awareness and relevance of our Shared Governance structure. Council reporting has been streamlined and more meaningful interactions among staff are happening. The success will be measured by the number of site “hits” and increased staff satisfaction scores

Implications for Practice:
As an ANCC Magnet® recognized organization we strive to support nursing practice and enhance clinical excellence. Our Shared Governance council structure helps to give voice to our staff and guide their practice for evidence-based care. Our commitment to transparency enhances nurses' participation.