Keys to Effective Employee Management

Posted on by

In today’s economy, employee management becomes even more crucial to a business’s success. Even though things started to pick up from the standpoint of our current recession, our healthcare industry is still struggling in part due to the Affordable Care Act. In fact, a recent poll listed financial issues as the top problem for healthcare system management. Any business, especially in healthcare, would be wise to exert extra effort in terms of employee management in these turbulent times. In our economy,employees won’t hesitate to leave for a better salary, and prospective employees won’t want to work for a business with poor employee management.

Some current issues facing corporate employee management are as follows:

  • Employees who find it difficult to relate to one another with regard to business endeavors because they are all trained differently and aren’t on the same page.
  • Employees who receive lower salaries and sparse raises, which are almost unavoidable in our current economy.
  • Employees who lack technical savvy. Many businesses heavily use technology in everyday dealings, and some employees may not be up to speed in terms of technology.
  • Employees who have a negative attitude and, as a result, impact the productivity of other coworkers.
  • Employees who leak information via social media. This is increasingly problematic due to the ease with which employees can access social media.

Ten Great Ways to Manage Your EmployeesNot addressing these issues and poor employment management, in general, will lead to a decline in employee productivity and employee retention. A great way to address the issue of difficult employee relationships, for example, is to have a mandatory training course that helps all employees get on the same page in terms of professional workplace communication. This is especially crucial in the area of health information management, where healthcare practitioners are all trained in the same general subject matter but with differing approaches and even different vocabulary, depending on their specialty.

Avidity Medical Design provides training that addresses problematic issues surrounding employee management. Blended learning courses, for example, place healthcare practitioners on equal footing in terms of how they relate to one another in the workplace. Courses are tailored to specific healthcare specialties. Medical coding students receive comprehensive training in ICD-10 and clinical documentation improvement. Medical transcription students receive the same level of training, but the focus shifts to teaching them how to accurately transcribe operative reports, emergency room records, and other types of clinical documentation. Contact us today to learn how we can train your employees to optimize their job performance and improve their relationships in the workplace.

Ten Steps to Minimizing Employee Turnover

Posted on by

Employee turnover rates can be devastating for some employers. Each lost employee leads to missed opportunities and decreased productivity within the organization, while increasing the burden on current employees. When these factors are combined with the requirements of recruiting, the overall costs can be as much as three times the original salary. The best way to minimize these costs and create a better working environment is to understand how you can minimize employee turnover.

minimize employee turnoverThere are 10 key steps in retaining employees, many of which are especially important for those in healthcare settings. The mental and physical demands of healthcare require employers to be proactive in creating an environment that allows employees to thrive. When these needs are met, turnover rates decrease, productivity and morale increase, and the workplace atmosphere becomes one of improved teamwork.

Step One – Understand the Causes of Turnover

Numerous studies have shown that most managers believe that salary is the main reason that employees choose to leave. However, polls of employee exit interview responses have shown that there are more significant causes, including:

  • Unfulfilled expectations in the workplace
  • Lack of cohesion between the employee and required job functions
  • Lack of feedback and coaching to improve employee productivity and performance
  • Lack of recognition for superior performance
  • No room for advancement or growth
  • Imbalance between work and life due to overwork
  • Decreased confidence and/or trust in members of management

These employee-provided causes show employers not only why employees leave, but also how management can fix these issues to retain current talent. Employers who address these issues increase employee retention and improve employee performance.

Step Two – Promote Values for Positive Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a key area of employee retention. Employers who create and follow a value-based culture based on respect, honesty, teamwork, attitude, and excellence of services not only retain current employees, they also attract recruits who value working in a positive environment.

Step Three – Improve Training Practices

Training should become an integral part of both new-hire practices and ongoing development. Employees who receive ongoing training and support feel more valued, better able to achieve their goals, and gain an improved understanding of key job requirements.

Step Four – Institute Mentoring Programs

Mentoring programs provide new recruits with a solid means of developing necessary skills, while also encouraging feedback relationships to assist with achieving personal and career goals. The pairing of experienced employees with new recruits is vital, especially in healthcare settings. The sensitive nature of the job can overwhelm new employees, and the availability of a mentor allows new recruits to openly address their feelings and issues, rather than abandoning the position.

Step Five – Improve Lines of Communication

Employees need to feel that they are valued, and that their input is taken seriously. Institute communication programs that encourage and promote employee feedback and suggestions, and ensure follow through from upper management.

Step Six – Show Appreciation

While salary increases and benefits are important, employees need to know their work is appreciated. Adding scheduled Employee Appreciation activities and rewards builds employer/employee relationships, and promotes a better working environment.

Step Seven – Provide Periodic Coaching

Ongoing coaching improves understanding of organizational goals, and guides employees on how they can meet them properly. Coaching should be used for both under-performance issues and as a way of showing employees whether they are meeting organizational goals.

Step Eight – Learning Opportunities

Providing opportunities for employee growth is essential for minimizing employee turnover. These opportunities also help employees reach important milestones for career advancement. Employers who provide training courses and workshops also retain employees at a much higher rate due to each employee’s perception that management is committed to helping them grow and achieve long-term success within the company.

Step Nine – Motivational Rewards

Employees who receive recognition for their contributions are motivated to increase personal performance. Employees need to know that their efforts are appreciated, and this enhances retention exponentially.

Step Ten – Promote Career/Life Balance

Scheduling practices should focus on providing the best balance between work and family. Flex time, compressed weekly schedules, and telecommuting options ensure employees can meet the demands of their employer and their families. When this balance is addressed, it leads to higher productivity, fewer call-offs, and better retention.

Businesses that focus on instituting these steps will lower turnover rates, and improve the organization as a whole. If you are interested in creating training opportunities to retain good employees and minimize turnover,  contact Avidity Medical Design today.

Motivate Slackers in the Office With Positive Reinforcement

Posted on by

how to motivate slackers in the officeThe problem of how to motivate slackers in the office, whether it is in a health care or any other setting, can be a vexing one. Many managers resort to calling the slacker into the office for a closed door tough love session. If the slacker does not shape up, he or she can be eventually terminated.

There are a number of positive reinforcement measures to try before a manager has to get tough. Very often the problem of lazy staff is being exacerbated by workplace culture. Changing that culture can be crucial for making the slackers into motivated and hard-working employees.

First one should try to create a proper break room that goes beyond a couple of tables and some uncomfortable chairs. Some place to unwind for a few minutes could work wonders for staff morale and be a way of showing appreciation.

Indeed showing appreciation in general is a good motivation maker. Not only should this be done by the manager, but by the employees’ peers, instilling a sense of comradery.

Leading by example is one of those things that is axiomatic in how to be an effective manager. The idea that no one is being asked to do what the leader must also do is a powerful motivation to work harder.

The reasons for advancement should be made clear. Very often people rise in the ranks for reasons that are unclear to other people, leading to suspicions of favoritism. Advancement must always be tied to good work.

Perks should be handed out for all, regardless of position. If an employee has performed well, especially during a crisis, something which hospitals especially are prone to, than he or she should be rewarded in as positive way.

For more information contact us.

people looking at laptop computer

The Evolution of e-Learning: What Does It Mean for Your Students?

Posted on by

The teaching machine was the invention of Harvard Psychologist, B.F. Skinner who wrote his stimulus-response theory of human learning in the 1950s. Based on the early research of Pavolv, Skinner’s notion of the human brain was that it was composed of neural bonds he called S-R bonds. A stimulus causes a behavioral response and that pairing is permanently locked in or becomes a permanent neural structure when it is followed by a reward.

In 1954, Skinner was designing mechanical teaching machines that presented information then posed multiple choice questions. The student responded by choosing an answer. If correct, the student was rewarded with a “correct” or some such “positive reinforcement” and was allowed to proceed.

e-learning studentsPresent day e-Learning uses much more sophisticated presentation tools than those available in Skinner’s time. Principles of learning used in course design now incorporate much more sophisticated new concepts of how learning works. Many new teaching methodologies are based on neurophysiology studies and concepts that have evolved out of information processing technology. However, the technical advances apply more to the presentation of course materials than to the assessment of student learning and progress.

The e-Learning software still calls for use of the multiple choice format for assessing learning acquisition. If the course designer wants to incorporate long answer responses such as essays into the assessment of student knowledge acquisition, intervention of a human scorer is still necessary.

woman smiling while sitting at table and working on online medical course at home

In spite of those limitations, e-Learning is ideal for training mature learners, especially in the fact-based healthcare fields and the exact sciences. Detailed information can be presented in vivid graphic and animated form to students. The software can be expertly programmed to account for rates of acquisition of information. Lessons can be presented in a range of visual, auditory and mixed formats that can incorporate a world of available materials.

Knowledge acquisition and progress can be adequately assessed and feedback to the student can be presented to sizable numbers of learners in many locations. Studies have shown coursework delivered with minimal face-to-face contact with teachers is not less effective than face-to-face courses.

For the latest healthcare news, follow the Avidity Medical Design Blog. To take an online course, visit Avidity Medical Design Academy. To purchase scented candles and soaps inspired by healthcare, visit Avidity Medical Scentations. Please contact us with comments or questions.