Lord of the Files: Morals – Relative or Universal? or Ten Ways to Keep Employees Happy...

I am a big fan of Top Ten lists. They are pithy and don't require a much time to read, digest, and extract the needed information. For instance, the "Top 10 Arguments That Can’t Be Won" is enough for this former Lincoln Douglas debater to scan each entry and bookmark for more involved reading later. Whereas the "Top 10 British Crime Films" doesn't even warrant a second glance.

As I was electronically trolling for remote worker policies this morning, I stumbled across an article titled, 10 Ways to Keep Employees Happy by Cristen Conger. Administrators frequently struggle to motivate and reward employees in this economic and reimbursement environment - especially when most of us are simply struggling for our practice's survival. Is it important to focus on employee happiness when you are under water on too many drugs in Q4 or if another commercial payer has announced an impending move to an ASP+ fee schedule? This article and savvy managers overwhelming respond 'yes'.

Practice administrators understand the value of employee satisfaction and how he or she "must satisfy the bottom line while retaining the best and brightest around". Cristen Conger identifies ten intangible incentives and also provides excellent sources to support her countdown tips.

10. Offer Flexible Work Options
Flextime can also be for tasks that are not as time-sensitive such as filing insurance claims, collections follow-up, transcription, secretarial, bookkeeping, and accounting functions. Allowing employees the flexibility to perform these tasks at different times of the day, provided the duties are satisfactorily accomplished, can help attract and retain quality staff.

9. Practice Open Communication
Communicating the culture, goals, vision, ethics, and organization's policies must be ongoing and consistent. If there is a breakdown in practice staff morale and efficiencies then the number one reason is usually a failure to effectively and openly communicate in a clear, concise, and transparent manner.

8. Pencil In Face Time
Email, webinars, conference calls, and (dare I say it..tweeting) have created many business efficiencies but good old fashion face time and human interaction is necessary to build a bond and create loyalty. As stated in the article, if no man is an island then companies ought to act accordingly.

7. Recognize Success
Recognizing employee successes sets a standard for excellence and reinforces a practice's values. Dealing with a difficult patient, finding a better price for a product or service, decreasing the number of denied claims all deserve public recognition. The axiom 'praise in public, criticize in private' is a very simple principle, yet so often forgotten.

6. Set Goals
Employees need to know what their end goal is. Setting and identifying goals gives employees a sense of purpose. Detailing defined expectations and benchmarks will create an atmosphere of excellence and provide motivation to succeed personally as well as help the practice fulfill its mission.

5. Explain the Big Picture
Do your practice employees understand how their position impacts other responsibilities in the office? Do the front desk staff realize how their job affects billing? Does scheduling understand how their job impacts the nurses? Do the nurses understand the financial implications of a drug waste? Do all staff members know all of the benefits they receive which may be oversimplified as a flat hourly or salary rate? Do they understand the cost to the practice in addition to their weekly salary including paid vacation, paid sick leave, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, travel allowances, insurance payments, childcare allowances, and/or discounted professional services and products? If the big picture of the practice viability is effectively communicated then employees become a part of that big picture and understand their role in clinics operations and bottom line.

4. Provide Career Growth Opportunities
In order to trim budgets, continuing education, conferences, and workshops frequently are the first to go. Career development opportunities communicate to your employees that you value their continued growth and contribution to the practice. Career and education opportunities can be realized through an internal mentorship program, local or state chapters of national medical association meetings, pharma or industry sponsored advisory boards or coding and reimbursement in-service days, and online or classroom training or certification.

3. Give Employees Respect
The author of this article stated that respect also goes beyond the projects and tasks assigned. Employers should take it into account when designing benefits and reward systems. Someone caring for an aging parent might appreciate more flex options rather than sick days, and a young parent might enjoy a grocery store gift card as a reward more than a free dinner for two. In exchange, effective managers will win mutual respect from their employees.

2. Provide Consistent Feedback
Effective feedback always focuses on a specific behavior, not on a person or their intentions and must be consistent. If the actions are great today, they should be great tomorrow. If the policy violation merits discipline, it should always merit discipline. Performance metrics, operating policies, and job descriptions must be in writing and reviewed often.

1. Build Trust
Cristen Conger recommended, "Abraham Maslow, the father of humanistic psychology, places trust at the foundational level of his emotional model, the hierarchy of human needs. Traveling to the peak of the pyramid, you find the qualities associated with engagement: self-actualization, creativity and problem-solving. Employers must bridge that gap between the bottom and top of the hierarchy by considering employees' perspectives."

Sounds simple enough, right? OMB offers many forms and templates that may assist you in implementing a few of the tips above. They include: