To get results, emphasize positive things staff do
To get results, emphasize positive things staff do
You need the 'personal touch'
To really motivate your staff, you'll need to do more than simply check a "meets expectation" box on their annual reviews.
You need to find ways to "emphasize the positive work done in patient access," says Michael S. Friedberg, FACHE, CHAM, associate vice president of patient access services at Apollo Health Street and author of Staff Competency in Patient Access.
"Patient access leaders and registrars get beat up all day about all the stuff they did wrong," says Friedberg. "Patient access leaders need to establish the good work that is done in patient access."
Friedberg recommends using quality assurance, data-driven analysis, and audits to demonstrate this.
At Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, KY, patient access staff themselves select an employee of the month. "They can vote on someone and give information as to why they feel that employee should be selected," says Vicki Lyons, patient access manager. "We read the comments and announce who the employee is at the staff meetings each month."
A picture of that employee is posted on a bulletin board in the waiting room and decorated with the comments that were said about the person. For example, some recent comments describe co-workers as "helpful," "caring," "works extra to help out," "always willing to help when someone has questions," "always friendly," "always starts work on time," "helps train new employees," "pleasant to work with," and "always kind and caring to the patients."
"I feel having the employees involved and being able to select who they feel does a good job is important," says Lyons. "They work alongside the other employees and know if they do a good job. Also, it makes them feel a part of the decision instead of the person in charge making the decision."
Treat everyone equally
It's important to compliment staff for a job well done, says Friedberg, but the converse also is true: to reprimand your "good" staff when it's warranted.
"The hardest thing to do as a manager is to create the impression of fairness within the department - and that is particularly true for patient access," he says. "If you make sure that you treat everyone equally, that is one of the real keys."
For instance, if your policy is that there is a five-minute grace period after the start of a shift to be written up as late, you need to apply this evenly to all employees. "If your best registrar is six minutes late, there is a tendency to say, 'They did an extra shift for me so I will look the other way.' But that employee better get a write-up just the same as your worst," says Friedberg. "The rules must apply the same to everybody. Otherwise, middle-of-the-road staff will not take the rules seriously."
Here are some of the ways that Carlton Smalls, director of patient access at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC, rewards his staff:
Staff are asked to recognize their peers.
Smalls says that his department operates with a strong belief that excellent service to patients begins with excellence in service to staff.
"We strive for continuous staff engagement and expressions of appreciation," he says. "Our staff serve terms on our IDEAS [I Deliver Excellence Access Services] team, which assists leaders with developing staff reward and recognition plans throughout the year."
One way of doing this involves weekly rounding, when leaders ask staff for peers whom they would like to recognize.
"Each leader used to round in their own area," says Smalls. "Feedback from staff was that it was very redundant, and I did not feel that it was capturing enough."
Now, each leader is assigned to a specific week of the month and does the rounding for all areas. Plans also are in the works to get the staff themselves involved with the rounding process.
"We typically ask if they want to recognize someone in their department and another department," says Smalls. "We get warm responses for both. Staff are always happy to recognize people they have come into contact with from other disciplines, such as nursing or other ancillary areas."
Each person mentioned receives a note card mailed to his or her home address. "I always tell them in the personal note that they were recognized by their peers and note the specific action," says Smalls. "Staff rave about getting something so personal at home when they are away from work."
A homemade lunch is served to staff.
All patient access staff have lunch with Smalls at least once a year. In addition, any staff person who is recognized by a peer gets invited to a "Lunch with Carlton," which is held once a month.
"I love cooking and always prepare the meals myself. This adds to the personal touch - everyone looks forward to the pound cake," says Smalls. "These gatherings are just for them and me. They are an additional way for me to get to know them personally."
At the lunches, attendees typically have a round-table discussion about life in each department. "They are asked to share what they learned from the group once they return to their department, at their next staff meeting," says Smalls.
The "bucket book" concept is used.
Each new patient access department hire is given the book How Full is Your Bucket? as a part of their six-week "boot camp." The concept shows how every interaction is either positive (a drop in your bucket) or negative (dipping from your bucket). Throughout the year, a team of staff members presents one chapter from the book at staff meetings.
A point system is in place, which records the number of "drops"/compliments given to staff.
The "drops" convert to "patient access cash," which can be redeemed in the hospital's "Team Store" for items such as snacks, pens, or badge holders. The store visits each department weekly, and staff are able to order items via interoffice mail.
[For more information, contact:
- Michael S. Friedberg, FACHE, CHAM, Associate Vice President, Patient Access Services, Apollo Health Street, 2 Broad Street, 4th Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003. Phone: (973) 233-7644. Fax: (732) 876-0385. E-mail: [email protected].
- Vicki Lyons, Patient Access Manager, Baptist Hospital East, 4000 Kresge Way, Louisville, KY 40207. Phone: (502) 897-8159. E-mail: [email protected].
- Carlton Smalls, Director of Patient Access, Presbyterian Hospital, 200 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte, NC 28204. Phone: (704) 384-4069. E-mail: [email protected].]
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