{"id":{"repo_id":"tdl","oai_identifier":"oai:tdl-ir.tdl.org:2104/13758"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/tdl/oai:tdl-ir.tdl.org:2104/13758","repository":{"repo_id":"tdl","name":"Texas Digital Library","base_url":"https://tdl-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Senior leaders’ perceptions of an employee engagement program in a medical school department : a single case study.","abstract":"Health care organizations face challenges in retaining employees due to the high demands of their work environments, constant changes in the industry, and workforce shortages. There is also an increased need for skilled employees as the need for health care expansion increases. These challenges have led to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and limited career advancement opportunities The resulting disruptions to operations increase organizational costs, weaken workplace culture, and impair patient care outcomes. One way to support health care industry employees is by implementing thoughtfully designed employee engagement programs. These programs can create a collaborative and inclusive environment that fosters trust, builds resilience, and promotes retention. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the perceptions of senior leaders in an operations and facilities management department at a medical school in a large university in the midwestern region of the United States regarding the impact of the department’s employee engagement program on employee retention. The three data sources for this study were a questionnaire, interviews, and a focus group. I aligned these data sources with the three dimensions—physical, cognitive, and emotional effort—of Kahn’s (1990) work engagement theory, which was the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of this study revealed six themes regarding employee engagement as perceived by senior leaders. First, senior leaders perceived engagement programs as essential for recognizing and motivating employees to participate actively, resulting in increased physical effort. Second, they perceived professional development and training as crucial in encouraging employees to exert increased physical effort. Third, they perceived team collaboration and active communication as essential in motivating employees and increasing their engagement and cognitive effort. Fourth, they perceived supportive leadership practices as essential to increase employee engagement and cognitive effort. Fifth, they perceived that a strong workplace culture supporting psychological safety enhances employee emotional effort and job satisfaction. Finally, they perceived participation and performance management as essential to supporting employee growth, retention, and emotional effort. These findings have implications for senior and executive leadership in operations and facilities management, employee engagement program designers, other campus department leaders, and employees within the medical school.","abstract_html":"Health care organizations face challenges in retaining employees due to the high demands of their work environments, constant changes in the industry, and workforce shortages. There is also an increased need for skilled employees as the need for health care expansion increases. These challenges have led to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and limited career advancement opportunities The resulting disruptions to operations increase organizational costs, weaken workplace culture, and impair patient care outcomes. One way to support health care industry employees is by implementing thoughtfully designed employee engagement programs. These programs can create a collaborative and inclusive environment that fosters trust, builds resilience, and promotes retention. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the perceptions of senior leaders in an operations and facilities management department at a medical school in a large university in the midwestern region of the United States regarding the impact of the department’s employee engagement program on employee retention. The three data sources for this study were a questionnaire, interviews, and a focus group. I aligned these data sources with the three dimensions—physical, cognitive, and emotional effort—of Kahn’s (1990) work engagement theory, which was the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of this study revealed six themes regarding employee engagement as perceived by senior leaders. First, senior leaders perceived engagement programs as essential for recognizing and motivating employees to participate actively, resulting in increased physical effort. Second, they perceived professional development and training as crucial in encouraging employees to exert increased physical effort. Third, they perceived team collaboration and active communication as essential in motivating employees and increasing their engagement and cognitive effort. Fourth, they perceived supportive leadership practices as essential to increase employee engagement and cognitive effort. Fifth, they perceived that a strong workplace culture supporting psychological safety enhances employee emotional effort and job satisfaction. Finally, they perceived participation and performance management as essential to supporting employee growth, retention, and emotional effort. These findings have implications for senior and executive leadership in operations and facilities management, employee engagement program designers, other campus department leaders, and employees within the medical school.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rockwell-Hopkins, Melissa, 1968-"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Shelton, Ryann N., 1987-"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05","date_published":"2025-05","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:19:27Z","subjects":["Employee engagement.","Employee disengagement.","Employee attrition.","Workforce retention.","Health care organizations.","Leadership."],"languages":["en"],"rights":["No access - Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu","Baylor University theses are protected by copyright. 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These challenges have led to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and limited career advancement opportunities The resulting disruptions to operations increase organizational costs, weaken workplace culture, and impair patient care outcomes. One way to support health care industry employees is by implementing thoughtfully designed employee engagement programs. These programs can create a collaborative and inclusive environment that fosters trust, builds resilience, and promotes retention. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the perceptions of senior leaders in an operations and facilities management department at a medical school in a large university in the midwestern region of the United States regarding the impact of the department’s employee engagement program on employee retention. The three data sources for this study were a questionnaire, interviews, and a focus group. I aligned these data sources with the three dimensions—physical, cognitive, and emotional effort—of Kahn’s (1990) work engagement theory, which was the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of this study revealed six themes regarding employee engagement as perceived by senior leaders. First, senior leaders perceived engagement programs as essential for recognizing and motivating employees to participate actively, resulting in increased physical effort. Second, they perceived professional development and training as crucial in encouraging employees to exert increased physical effort. Third, they perceived team collaboration and active communication as essential in motivating employees and increasing their engagement and cognitive effort. Fourth, they perceived supportive leadership practices as essential to increase employee engagement and cognitive effort. Fifth, they perceived that a strong workplace culture supporting psychological safety enhances employee emotional effort and job satisfaction. Finally, they perceived participation and performance management as essential to supporting employee growth, retention, and emotional effort. These findings have implications for senior and executive leadership in operations and facilities management, employee engagement program designers, other campus department leaders, and employees within the medical school."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Senior leaders’ perceptions of an employee engagement program in a medical school department : a single case study."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Shelton, Ryann N., 1987-"],"dc:creator":["Rockwell-Hopkins, Melissa, 1968-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-02-10T23:07:18Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Health care organizations face challenges in retaining employees due to the high demands of their work environments, constant changes in the industry, and workforce shortages. There is also an increased need for skilled employees as the need for health care expansion increases. These challenges have led to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and limited career advancement opportunities The resulting disruptions to operations increase organizational costs, weaken workplace culture, and impair patient care outcomes. One way to support health care industry employees is by implementing thoughtfully designed employee engagement programs. These programs can create a collaborative and inclusive environment that fosters trust, builds resilience, and promotes retention. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the perceptions of senior leaders in an operations and facilities management department at a medical school in a large university in the midwestern region of the United States regarding the impact of the department’s employee engagement program on employee retention. The three data sources for this study were a questionnaire, interviews, and a focus group. I aligned these data sources with the three dimensions—physical, cognitive, and emotional effort—of Kahn’s (1990) work engagement theory, which was the theoretical framework for the study. The findings of this study revealed six themes regarding employee engagement as perceived by senior leaders. First, senior leaders perceived engagement programs as essential for recognizing and motivating employees to participate actively, resulting in increased physical effort. Second, they perceived professional development and training as crucial in encouraging employees to exert increased physical effort. Third, they perceived team collaboration and active communication as essential in motivating employees and increasing their engagement and cognitive effort. Fourth, they perceived supportive leadership practices as essential to increase employee engagement and cognitive effort. Fifth, they perceived that a strong workplace culture supporting psychological safety enhances employee emotional effort and job satisfaction. Finally, they perceived participation and performance management as essential to supporting employee growth, retention, and emotional effort. These findings have implications for senior and executive leadership in operations and facilities management, employee engagement program designers, other campus department leaders, and employees within the medical school."],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13758"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13758"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["No access - Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu","Baylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"dc:subject":["Employee engagement.","Employee disengagement.","Employee attrition.","Workforce retention.","Health care organizations.","Leadership."],"dc:title":["Senior leaders’ perceptions of an employee engagement program in a medical school department : a single case study."],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:19:27Z"}