June 11, 2009

What ‘x factor’ do you need in your staff

I read somewhere about the differences in nurses that had 'the x factor' and those that didn’t. It turned out the difference was a very simple one. X factor nurses had empathy. The study discovered that an ‘average nurse’ would say "this won't hurt a bit" when they gave an injection. An x factor nurse on the other hand, would say something like "this will hurt a little bit, but I'll be as gentle as I can". Patients reported feeling less pain while receiving the needle from the nurse that admitted it may hurt a bit and more pain from the one that said it wouldn’t hurt at all. So it seems empathy can make a nurse an ‘x factor’ one.

*What does ‘x factor’ look like in your industry or workplace?
*What qualities do you need your staff to have to achieve x factor?

Share your answers (and the nurse story) with your team and let them brainstorm their ideas on it. Come up with a list and examples of what x factor in your business and industry looks like and work out how you can all put it into practice.

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