By Stephen W. Earnhart, MS
CEO
Earnhart & Associates
Austin, TX
An ever-growing issue with all healthcare facilities is employee satisfaction, relations, and interaction with the business.
I always have claimed that every facility I visit is overstaffed. I still believe that statement to be true. When I bring up that belief to the administrator, vice president, or director of human resources/personnel, each is inclined to agree with me to some degree, but all defend the practice to compensate for staff turnover and the need to have experienced employees on board. That’s a good argument, for sure, but there is a dark side to that argument.
If you need extra employees as “insurance” against turnover, you might have a bigger problem than you think. More and more, I am finding fewer licensed personnel jumping the fence to greener grass. It’s as if there is calm acceptance that, “Well, this job may not be what I had hoped, but it is still a good job with the benefits I need.” Not the strongest endorsement.
However, what if you could engage your staff to make their employment meaningful, productive, and stable? Most professionals have a need to accomplish something every day. It might be as trivial as their cases starting on time or handling a difficult situation in their home life. Most of us feel a need to make a difference, every day!
One way to deal with these individuals is to challenge them. Give them an opportunity to accomplish something outside of their normal, sometime mundane, and yes, even boring, job.
DELAGATE!
Every individual where you work has a role in the success of the facility. There are many moving parts to all, and each part is screaming, “Pay attention to ME!” The days are long gone when the administrator or department head can handle all the nuances of running a healthcare facility.
Just to name a few, the important, but time-consuming, parts are:
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infection control;
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compliance;
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medical records;
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patient satisfaction;
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state reports;
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federal reports;
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certification;
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materials management;
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physician office liaison;
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in-services.
The list goes on.
Assign each member of your staff, or each can ask to be assigned, to oversee one task. Give them training and resources to excel. Require all to provide a written update of their activities. Depending upon the nature of the task, have them give a brief update at your staff meeting.
Next, periodically rotate them! Keep them challenged with new goals and responsibilities. I promise that you will be amazed at the renewed energy you will see in your facility.
What about the staff member who really doesn’t want to participate? If you have decided that by doing these assignments, you are going to build a team within your organization and not just employ a group of people, then maybe you don’t need that staff member any longer. With less staff turnover, you gradually will realize that you no long need the “insurance” of extra staff. [Earnhart & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of outpatient surgery development and management. Contact Earnhart & Associates in Austin, TX. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.earnhart.com.]
