What Clients Say

I want to thank you for the incredible job you did presenting to over 400 of our senior most leaders in a virtual setting. I appreciated your flexibility in moving from an in-person delivery to an online format without a great deal of warning. And that you were willing to travel to our office to make it happen made it easier for us to manage. The fact that you made it interactive and got people to participate still amazes me. Your high energy delivery and your ease in front of the camera translated to both a comfortable and effective learning session. The proof is the many positive comments we received, thanking us for having you as a presenter. You’re the best!

Laurie A. Padron
Corporate Director, Talent Development
Memorial Healthcare System

 

Vicki worked with us on a webinar entitled “Using Connection and Recognition to Minimize Stress and Burnout” which drew rave reviews from clients, prospects and the Reward Gateway team. Vicki understands the value of connecting and recognizing employees and the positive results it has on employee engagement. Her experience in healthcare, working through trauma and crisis situations, gives her a unique perspective on how engagement impacts patient care, customer care and self-care. Vicki and her team are a pleasure to work with and we welcome the opportunity to further collaborate and share her experience with the Reward Gateway community.

Rachel Weeks
Head of Growth Marketing
Reward Gateway

 

It was a pleasure to work with Vicki and her team. Vicki was the keynote speaker for our ICAHN annual conference, this year in a virtual format. Because of the pandemic, we had to make many changes from our originally planned event. Vicki never missed a beat. In all our pre-conference calls she was positive and professional and had great ideas for a virtual presentation. Her ideas worked! She delivered a fantastic address that was enthusiastic, engaging, and interactive and offered take home messages the audience could use. Thank you Vicki!

Kathy Fauble, M.Ed
ICAHN
Director of Professional Education Services

 

When I came on board at my new facility I took your book, 6 Shortcuts to Employee Engagement, and incorporated it into our work. I do stoplight check-ins, we talk in our 1:1s about being more satisfied, energized, and productive. We call out at staff meetings a day that everyone felt like this so we can do it more, I have done the Satisfaction Snapshot twice with the team. Overall there is more teamwork and more engagement from the team. These are great tools and mindsets to do with your team. Be consistent and don’t let them fall back into old habits. This puts the ownership on the employees.

Elissa Almeter
Shriners Hospitals for Children St. Louis
Radiology Director

 

I have learned from you at a few conferences I attended. I have taken back to the team information learned. The positive thinking and leading under many challenging priorities, keeping operations consistent with the tools we are given, for example employee 1:1s. You are a fun, great speaker. You truly understand the tactics of leadership. Your ideas are excellent for developing your leadership skills or building on them. You are diverse in many areas of expertise and inspire others. Great job on leadership impact!!!

Jacqueline Benitez
Memorial Regional Hospital South
Director of Nursing

 

You were great on the webinar. Very natural in presentation style just like seeing you live.

Lois J. Book, EdD, MS, BSN, NPD-BC
Tampa General Hospital
Clinical Education Team Lead; Nurse Residency Coordinator

 

Even with a sophisticated vocabulary I lack the words that can adequately express how grateful I am for meeting Vicki Hess, RN, MS. Her presentation on engagement in healthcare impacted me on so many levels that after seeing her present at the 2019 ATD Conference, I invited her to speak at our annual leadership meeting. I couldn’t have asked for better reaction scores but what resonates the most is the buzz in the air weeks after our event. Vicki outlines everyday leadership actions and a shared vocabulary leaders can use with their teams, she provides resources and tips that stretch well beyond a main stage presentation – tangible, consumable information and activities. As someone that has personally struggled with engagement in the past, this is the book I would have wanted my leader to read. Thank you Vicki for all that you do and all that you are!

Lesley Murphy
DaVita
Sr. Manager – Training and Development

 

Vicki’s keynote was well received by our team – even those team members who had heard her before. We especially liked the interactivity and variety of stories and examples. Employee engagement is a timely topic for us and people left with tangible tools and ideas and are energized and excited about the future!

Melissa Silver
HealthcareSource
Manager, Field Marketing

 

Vicki Hess’s employee engagement workshop was the most practical and usable LDI program we have ever had (and this was #48). Our leaders received so many tools to take away. They loved it. Everyone took lots of notes and they are already planning on implementing the ideas they learned.

Kathy Hull
Illini Community Hospital
President/CEO
 

 

I had the distinct pleasure of working with Vicki Hess during a 1-day workshop in November 2019. The focus of the workshop was engagement of staff and physicians in the quality improvement process.

Vicki is a dynamic speaker. She easily draws others into the discussion and makes them feel at ease sharing their experiences. Her choice of musical interludes helps to create a positive energy in the room. I am still humming, “You’ve Got the Power”.

Vicki has a wealth of knowledge which she willingly shares during her presentation and in her email follow up.

Our workshop attendees left the session feeling uplifted, empowered and equipped to transfer their newly acquired knowledge into actionable items.

I would highly recommend Vicki Hess as a speaker at your next event.

Myra M. Foley, BA, RN, CIC, WCC, CPHQ
Louisiana Hospital Association
Quality Improvement Specialist

 

“The feedback from our Directors Sub group was very positive and they also heard all positive feedback from their colleagues. Overall, everyone really appreciated the opportunity to spend time with Vicki and the opportunity to focus on ourselves and the techniques to find joy in our work everyday.”

Brenda Johnson
UM St. Joseph Medical Center (Foundation)
VP of Patient Experience

 

“We had the pleasure of having Vicki Hess, MS, spend the day with us today at our annual staff meeting. Vicki really helped drive home the importance of finding your professional paradise at work and our staff LOVED what she had to say. I’d highly recommend Vicki if you are looking to help your staff feel more invested in their well being and the well being of your practice.”

Jeff Hunnicutt
Highlands Oncology Group
CEO

 

“Vicki Hess is one of the most engaging and charismatic people in the industry. She is well-known in healthcare and adds true value. At our booth during a highly anticipated healthcare event, people were stopping from every direction to meet with Vicki and receive her book “6 Steps to Employee Engagement.” It is a topic that resonates with human resources professionals across all industries, and helped us meet with top prospects and engage with clients in a new way. Thanks, Vicki! “

Michelle Levine
AIG
Acquisition Strategies Manager

 

“Vicki presented at our Leadership Development Institute and was very well received by the leaders. She’s quoted as being “dynamic”, “a lively speaker”, “motivational” and “knows healthcare”. The vibe of the presentation was great and the takeaway tools provided by Vicki are very helpful. Also, Vicki’s staff and overall process for the consulting work leading up to the live speaking engagement was very professional. She validated our needs and customized her presentation accordingly. Overall a super professional that exceeded our expectations.”

Josephine A Castillo
Kaiser Permanente – South Bay Medical Center
Administrative Specialist

 

“Vicki presented the keynote at our Vizient/AACN Nurse Residency Program, and was so well received by over 400 nurses in the audience. Vicki’s message is fantastic, encouraging and energizing. Vicki and her team were a dream to work with during the planning portion of our meeting.”

Katie Davis, RN, BSN, MS-HSM
Vizient, Inc.
Director, Nursing Programs

 

“Vicki presented to my unit based shared leadership councils. She was an amazing and engaging speaker. Vicki did not just talk about Employee Engagement. She shared practical, hands-on, tips that we tried immediately! The front-line staff were extremely complementary and shared their excitement about learning more. Several units have continued learning through Vicki’s website. I would highly recommend Vicki as a speaker and coach to leaders at any level of an organization. We all left the session feeling empowered to try new techniques. Thank you!”

Julie Holt
The Christ Hospital
Chief Nursing Officer

“We’ve worked with Vicki several times because she is so comprehensive in her product delivery and her extraordinary talent as a speaker and coach.  She spends extensive time getting to know her clients’ needs and the climate of the organization.  Her approach is no-nonsense and provides easy tactical practices that can be incorporated into any manager’s schedule.  Plus, she has multiple ways to stay in touch to reinforce these practices after an event.  No company or manager can afford to ignore the satisfaction and engagement of their associates when there is such competition for talent in today’s market.  The return on investment is high when working with Vicki because she provides the guidance and tools that managers need to improve and sustain engagement. Most importantly, her message is compelling so leaders want to take action.”

Martha McClung
Brightview Senior Living
Director of Vibrant Living

 

“We invest a lot of time and energy in training and conferences and when I hear how the learning is actually being applied it is such validation for the effort.  One of the things we loved so much about Vicki’s approach is that it’s actionable.   Just three business days after one leader returned from the conference she was able to put Vicki’s tools into action with amazing results.  That’s huge!”

Andrea Griesmar
Brightview Senior Living
Senior Vice President of Operations

 

“Vicki presented a full-day employee engagement workshop for our nursing leaders in January 2018. For the rest of the year, the leaders participated in the Engagement Excelerator Virtual Coaching Program. We recently received our 2018 employee engagement survey results and we improved in every single domain. The data shows that those leaders who had the highest participation level in the virtual coaching program had the highest percentage of staff taking the survey and the best outcomes for engagement. We highly recommend Vicki’s workshop and virtual coaching program.”

Claire M. Zangerle, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC
Allegheny Health Network
Chief Nurse Executive

“I heard Vicki speak at a conference several years ago, and she was the first person that came to mind when our organization identified a need to provide tools to our leaders for enhancing Employee Engagement. Her “prescription” for success was just what the doctor (or nurse practitioner) ordered!!! She did an organizational assessment to get a better understanding of our baseline, came on site to do a kickoff for our nursing leadership team, then followed up with the vignettes provided in her Engagement Excelerator series. As a long term nurse executive, it is a breath of fresh air to have someone come in and provide me with new tools to put in my Employee Engagement toolbox. The key to success is using the tools, embracing the change, and living the strategies. Thanks Vicki!”

Jackie Martinek, MSHA, BSN, CENP
UAB Hospital
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
UAB

 

 

 

Vicki returned to speak at Talent Symposium for the second time after four years. Clients loved her just as much this year as they did the last time. She came with updated information to share with HealthcareSource clients, but the same energy and engagement that captured everyone’s attention her first time presenting. Vicki truly connects with our audience and understands their challenges, she can speak their language and they love it. Her message resonates with everyone in the room – from clients to exhibitors, and staff – everyone walked away with actionable takeaways. Vicki is hands down, the best keynote presenter to take the stage at Talent Symposium and we look forward to working with her for many years to come.

Andrea Chadis
HealthcareSource
Senior Manager, Events & Client Programs

 

 

 

We’ve gotten nothing but really, really positive feedback about Vicki Hess’s leadership workshop about employee engagement. She really understood our organization before she presented. This was a key in making connections with our leadership team. The audience learned a lot and left with real tools they could use today, all while being entertained. Vicki is personable, knowledgeable, and understands the world of engagement better than anyone I have seen. The sessions were a success and now we are starting the Engagement Excelerator Virtual Coaching Program to keep the momentum going for the next 12 months.

Marilou Murphy
Owensboro Health
Dir, Learning & Development & Lean

 

 

 

During our leadership lecture series this fiscal year, Vicki Hess presented “Engagement Strategies in Healthcare” twice to our Hospital System Leadership team. Vicki did research about our organization beforehand and shared relevant, evidenced based strategies for moving our teams toward full engagement through a practical, interactive, real-world, workshop. One attendee remarked “this is one of the best lectures we’ve ever had here!” As an RN, Vicki’s clinical credibility resonated with our clinical leadership and her sense of humor engaged everyone. Vicki was easy to work with and we would enjoy the opportunity to invite her back again in the future!

Jennifer Lapidus
Huntsville Hospital
Leadership and Curriculum Development Manager, Corporate University


We invited Vicki Hess to present for the second time at our Spring Education Meeting. Her topic, “The Employee Engagement Survey Results are In…Now What”was well received by the group with very positive comments on the evaluations. We work with a lot of speakers and everything was excellent. Communication was clear and the participants were engaged in the workshop. All around, from planning to the end, it was great.

Linda Mason
SWPONL – SW Pennsylvania ONL


We recently had the pleasure of Vicki as one of our keynote speakers at the annual Maryland Healthcare Human Resources Association conference this Spring, and she presented, “Three Reasons Your Engagement Scores Aren’t Improving and What You Can Do About It”.  Not only was Vicki’s presentation engaging and relevant to our industry, but her years of experience in the field really helped connect our audience with the message.  She did this with real life healthcare issues but presented them in a very entertaining way that will not be easily forgotten.  By the end of her time we all wanted to duplicate Vicki and have her work for us…a powerful message, delivered expertly, and in a way that we can all use at our own jobs.

Mark Moody, MS, CWCP, SHRM-SCP
Director of Occupational Health
The Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation


We were kicking off a new year of action plans after our employee engagement survey, and needed to begin our process with an approach that our managers would respect, and also equip them with meaningful tools to move forward. Vicki’s medical background is perfect to build credibility, her approach is fun and professional, and her presentation and toolkit helped our managers to engage the staff around action plans that were meaningful and helpful to their units.  We look forward to improving our already strong scores next year! Thanks, Vicki!

Mark F. Ostrowski, MSW, Director of Learning and Organizational Development,
Greater Baltimore Medical Center


“Vicki has now keynoted twice at the OR Manager Conference. Each time, she has brought relevant, timely, and relatable information to our attendees. Not only is Vicki a pleasure to work with, but she conveys her message in a fun and thought-provoking way that truly “hits home.” In response to her presentation on engagement, attendees quoted:

‘Loved the takeaways and emphasis on the organization, leaders, and individuals.’
‘Excellent! Loved Vicki’s presentation style.’
‘Great, introspective topic.’
‘Rings so true!’

Vicki certainly has the “wow” factor and would be a great addition to any healthcare leadership program.”

Taylor Shaw, Conference Program Manager


At Evangelical Community Hospital, we found the Engagement Excelerator Virtual Coaching Program to be just the right resource to help our management team step up its engagement focus heading into our biannual engagement survey period. The thought-provoking and action-oriented weekly emails kept engagement top of mind amidst the busyness of healthcare. We saw our organization wide engagement results increase almost 6 percentage points and we know that Vicki’s virtual coaching helped fuel that positive “excel”eration!

Rachel Smith, MPA, SHRM-SCP, AVP, Human Resources & Organizational Development


Vicki Hess was a great choice for our Med Surg Directors dinner keynote. She took the time to contact our Advisory Board members before the talk to customize it for our audience and that came through in her presentation. It went great! Vicki focused specifically on our directors and they left with tangible ideas for being more engaged themselves. We were also pleased with the customized copies of Vicki’s book, SHIFT to Professional Paradise. Having our logo on the cover and the “Foreword” by our System Chief Nursing Officer made the book even more meaningful to the directors. We look forward to working with Vicki again.

Sammie S Mosier RN, BSN, MA, NE-BC, CMSRN, BC; AVP,  Nursing Practice Clinical Services Group


The feedback from Vicki’s half-day program on employee engagement has been great. Our leaders were happy that Vicki shared tools and ideas for them to incorporate into their everyday routines to improve engagement. Her ideas can be added to the strategies that are already in place so there is no conflicting information. With so much to do, and never enough time, this is just what our leadership group needed. There were two options for follow-up which will also help keep the concepts front of mind for the first month following the training. We are already talking about bringing Vicki back to work with other leaders.

Deborah G. Page, SPHR
Chief Human Resources Officer


We’ve gotten nothing but really, really positive feedback about Vicki Hess’s leadership workshop about employee engagement. The team leaders and unit council chairs who attended found the information very beneficial. Everyone filled out an Action Plan that we are using internally to promote accountability and follow through. I know from using Vicki’s tools in the past that her ideas work. The engagement on my team increased and that’s why we invited her to work with our formal and informal leaders. The session was a success and now we are starting the Engagement Excelerator Virtual Coaching Program to keep the momentum going for the next 12 months.

Christie Gray, MS, CNS, RN, NEA-BC
Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer


We invited Vicki Hess to speak to our Human Resources team of 300. She took the time before her presentation to research our organization and it showed as she shared one relevant example after another. She and her team make coordination and preparation very easy. We look forward to working with Vicki again in the future.

Jamie Lodermeier, MBA, Sr. Advisor | Project Consultant, Office of Sr. Vice President & Chief People Officer


Vicki presented at our Pathways to Leadership conference and close to 500 current and emerging leaders participated in one of two full-day sessions. The collaboration between Vicki and our team prior to the event allowed her to create and present a tailor-made learning experience for our leaders. She aligned her presentation to support areas of focus we were working on related to employee engagement. The tools and resources she provided fit perfectly with our efforts. Aside from a great presentation, Vicki worked with our Linkage committee to ensure the follow up “Action Plan” cards she handed out to the participants were used to keep her message alive in the future. Pre-event planning and post-event follow up allows her to rise to the top of the many speakers we have invited to our organization.

Phillip Waldmann
VP Supply Service & Leadership Training COO


Vicki Hess presented a full day program on employee engagement at our state-wide Leadership Conference. Almost 400 healthcare leaders and students attended and the feedback has been great. The participants found the program very engaging and the ideas were helpful, meaningful and useful. The ideas were easy to understand and easy to follow through on. One CNO reported that her leaders were able to look at engagement differently and how helpful that was. Vicki’s team was very easy to work with. The leaders who attended appreciated receiving a customized copy of Vicki’s book to take the ideas back home. We hope to invite Vicki back to speak at future conferences.

Mary Ann Allen, MSN, RN-BC
Coordinator, Center for Health Professions Life Long Learning
College of Nursing and Health Professions


Vicki Hess presented a half day program at our Management Rally. She and her team were very organized, thoughtful, and prepared, so that when Vicki presented she was able to zero in on some challenges unique to our industry and company. All of the leaders completed an evaluation form after the training and the feedback was very positive. They felt like that had gone to other trainings about engagement before, but Vicki’s training provided the tools and follow up that could make a difference. They loved the idea of creating shared responsibility for engagement with their teams. Vicki also included an action planning component and we are using that tool to initiate follow-up and keep the conversations going. We are recommending Vicki as a keynote speaker at our trade association as well.

Karen Shollenberger, Human Services Vice President


Vicki Hess recently presented a workshop for our about 80 employees in managerial and leadership positions. Prior to the engagement, she took the time to understand our organization and designed the program to meet our needs. Working with her team was a seamless experience and every detail was addressed before the workshop. The day of the program went off without a hitch and program participants provided excellent feedback about the content and its applicability to our environment. Vicki really knows employee engagement. She made the business case for employee engagement and provided practical tools to help our leaders make the changes they need.

Dan Durgin
AVP, Human Resources


Vicki Hess worked with our physician practice administrative and provider leaders at a recent Engagement Summit. She and her team were extremely organized and thorough in getting to know us. We can now better coach other vendors on preparation for working with us. Vicki delivered a dynamic presentation that was high energy and engaged our leaders. We appreciated having the ability to customize the copies of her book which we provided for everyone. Having our logo on the cover and the special Foreword on the inside make it more relevant. The best news is that the conversations about associate engagement have continued after the conference and her books can be seen on desks throughout the office. We are talking with Vicki about additional support she can offer and we look forward to working with her again in the future.

Dianne Wassall
Manager, Talent Development


We had our bi-annual leadership event at TGH yesterday and we had a fabulous speaker. Vicki Hess has written several books about Employee Engagement (6 Shortcuts to Employee Engagement was one). My favorite part of her presentation was that she started out by saying “Your employees do NOT CARE about employee engagement” and ended by having folks really work through and challenge some of their negative beliefs that keep us from getting better. She was fun, engaging, and high energy (she was on stage right after lunch!). She would be a great speaker for physicians, as well.

Kari Saddler
Organizational Development


We invited Vicki Hess to present at two of our regional Leadership Development Institutes. She was a great opening speaker, setting the right tone for the meeting. She really connected with our audience and got them thinking about employee engagement in a different way. The leaders who attended referred back to Vicki’s ideas as the meeting progressed so we knew the concepts were well received. The feedback after the session was very positive and I’m actively recommending Vicki as an external resource to my peers. She helped our leaders connect the dots so vital in creating an engaged workforce and culture, and for that we are happy with our time spent working together.

Katrina Greene
Director, Leadership & Organizational Development
HCA MidAmerica Division


We brought Vicki Hess in to be the keynote of day 2 of our national ACDIS conference in order to get our attendees’ energy levels back up and boy did she ever deliver. Vicki had the crowd moving, laughing, and talking to each other and left them with actionable strategies to turn the difficult “pows” of their daily struggles as clinical documentation specialists into “wows.” She certainly “wowed” the crowd and left them wanting more. Highly recommended!

Brian Murphy
Director, Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists


Vicki Hess was a keynote speaker at the Beacon Health System – Leadership Connection Day in May which included 360 leaders across the Health System.  Vicki’s remarks were inspiring, entertaining, and directly aligned with our strategic objectives for Associate Engagement and retention of associates.  Her book “6 Shortcuts to Employee Engagement” is also a wonderful resource our leaders can utilize to engage the associates at the highest level and create an environment of trust.  Our session has generated a lot of new energy with the engagement tools, as well as the Engagement Momentum Report.  Thank you to Vicki and her team for the smooth planning in advance of Leadership Connection Day and we are very grateful for the impact she has made at Beacon Health System.  I would recommend Vicki as speaker for healthcare leaders.

Steve Eller
Chief Human Resource Officer


Vicki Hess spoke at our Nashville HR Workshop and we were blown away by how well our attendee’s perceived her presentation. Vicki received all “very satisfied” reviews which we haven’t experienced at a Workshop in a long time. Because of this we knew we had to sign a multiple Workshop deal with Vicki where she agreed to come to several other events throughout the country for US.

Jody Piper
Event Logistics Coordinator


Vicki Hess spoke at the Adventist HealthCare Leadership Conference on Monday, May 2 in Bethesda, Maryland to a group of 350 attendees.  Vicki’s presentation on employee engagement was crisp, humorous, engaging and informative.  She held the group’s attention for two full hours and received a rousing standing ovation at the end!  She connected with an audience that was very diverse that represented a variety of jobs in a large health care organization.    We highly  recommend Vicki.  You won’t be disappointed!

Marta Brito Perez
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

 

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