Most registrars have never met hospital higher-ups personally. This meeting might be just the thing they need to feel more connected to the organization.
“Just giving them that face time can really nail it home: ‘Here’s why you are even more valuable than you think you are,’” says Mike Potter, director of patient access services at Houston-based CHI St. Luke’s Health – Lakeside and Springwoods Village Hospitals.
Potter usually sees markedly improved morale after employees meet personally with the hospital’s CEO. The hospital’s executive leaders hold monthly luncheons just for this purpose, which allows department heads to determine which employee to send. It’s not always high performers who receive the honor.
“It may be a medium performer who you think could be a high performer,” says Potter. If he feels a particular employee needs some one-on-one contact with a hospital leader, he calls to arrange it. “They’re extremely reachable,” he says. “Within a day or two, they’ll make themselves available.”
If an employee raises a particular concern during the meeting, the hospital leader always follows up with the patient access manager. “Nine times out of 10, it’s things you wouldn’t otherwise know about,” says Potter.
Sometimes staff members ask “big picture” questions of the CEO, such as “Can I retire here?” or “If I stay with this organization, what will it look like in five years?”
“I’m sure there are things that he can’t share,” says Potter. “But the majority of the time, they can talk to the employee about where they see the organization going.”
