Using & Creating Innovation to Drive Employee Engagement 

Shari Hughson, RN, BScN, MBA, appears at the 4th Annual EMS Leadership Summit.

With has the mind of an entrepreneur, the spirit of an adventurer, & heart of a nurse, she has owned 6 health care companies and won numerous awards including: Canada’s 50 Most Influential Business & Entrepreneur Female Leaders by SME Canada in 2021, First Nation Health Authority National Honor for impacting the mental health of an entire community, and CIBC Entrepreneur of the Year before age 30. Shari is the Chief Innovation & Operating Officer at Wayfound Mental Health Group and a faculty member at Queen’s University in Leadership, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, specializing in healthcare.

In this session Shari examines the importance of external innovation for organizations to foster an innovative culture, as well as the mental health crisis within the healthcare and public safety personnel industries. She outlines various methods for organizations to access external innovation, such as considering evidence-led practice, independent research, person-centered design and continuity of care. Shari also highlights the various benefits of digital mental health services, such as increased affordability, accessibility and scalability, as well as better prevention and early detection. Additionally, organizations can create an innovative culture by aligning leadership, providing innovation training, and recognizing and rewarding employees. Lastly, she explores the need for connection and empathy in order to heal and change, and how digital products can be used to detect and prevent mental illnesses.

This content emphasizes the significance of external innovation for organizations to improve their operations and foster an innovative corporate culture. It further focuses on the mental health crisis in the healthcare and public safety industries, which necessitate creative and innovative solutions to ensure personnel well-being. It supplies advice on different methods for companies to access external innovation, as well as suggests how to create internal innovation processes.

Additionally, it underlines the benefits of digital mental health services, such as increased affordability, scalability, accessibility, and improved customer satisfaction. This also stresses the necessity of internal innovation in order to address embedded trauma and operational injuries, while enhancing engagement and wellbeing in frontline workers which eventually leads to a more innovative corporate culture. To create an innovative culture, organizations should ensure that their leadership is well-aligned, provide appropriate training and resources, recognize and reward employees and promote transparent and non-judgmental communication. Furthermore, mental health problems necessitate innovative and empathetic leadership to offer successful solutions and digital products can aid in early detection and prevention of mental illnesses. Finally, it suggests that peer groups should be integrated into services and organizations to provide support and discussing/sharing stories can be a part of a beneficial survival system.

1. Assessing Fit and Shifting to an Innovative Culture: External and Internal Innovation for Employee Wellbeing (00:00 - 08:48)
2. Innovative Digital Mental Health Services: Potential Benefits and Risks for EMS Personnel (08:49 - 17:33)
3. Utilizing Innovation to Enhance Engagement and Wellbeing in Public Safety and Healthcare (17:34 - 26:43)
4. Enhancing Employee Engagement and Innovation Culture While Overcoming Apathy and Burnout (26:43 - 35:02)
5. Improving Engagement Equals Enhancing Wellbeing: How to Foster a Culture of Innovation in the Workplace (35:02 - 42:42)
6. Innovative Leadership: Connecting Humans to Healing Mental Health Symptoms through Digital Interventions (42:43 - 50:46)
7. The Power of Connection: Reversing Trauma Injury with Peer Support Networks (50:46 - 55:24)

Learn about Wayfound Mental Health Group's Before Operational Stress program: