A commitment to safety through open communication

To be trusted by patients and their employees, Mayo Clinic must be a safe place. Our Commitment to Safety is an ongoing effort to strengthen our culture and eliminate preventable harm. Our goal is to build an open work environment with shared understanding and clear expectations — one where employees feel safe speaking up with ideas or concerns, collectively learn from errors and respectfully work together to create safe place to work and receive care.

Mayo Clinic’s Commitment to Safety initiative relies heavily on employee participation. While safety and quality have always been vital concerns, this effort is a continuing recommitment to cultural practices that create a safe environment for our patients and ourselves. Success stories and impressive work-area initiatives are shared throughout the organization to recognize employees and inspire others, using communication vehicles like articles and videos in the employee intranet-based News Center; the Culture of Safety intranet site; and leadership meetings with management, supervisors and employees.

Many Mayo work areas have intranet sites that offer online tools (email boxes, blogs, etc.) for employees’ use to suggest improvements, cost-saving ideas or to share concerns, choosing to identify themselves or remain anonymous.