We started this two-part blog series about performance issues by looking at the aspects of work-life that perhaps make us too busy to devote the time to remediate staff behaviors that miss the mark. In this part, we’ll answer the question we posed last time, Once you transition tasks not worthy of a manager’s attention to other staff members, what will you do with the extra time?
Why, you will review the work you just delegated to make sure it’s being done correctly! You’ll also add to your day/week the time to review other people’s work. Some examples include: spot-checking the appointment schedule to be sure slots are used correctly, not too many double-bookings, not too many new patients in a day, etc. (Your practice has some scheduling parameters, right?); you could review some recent eligibility checks to be sure employees read them correctly and scheduled appropriately (with only providers who are credentialed by that plan, for example); it’s a good idea to look through new patient visits and make sure all paperwork is properly completed and filed in the chart, you have a copy of the patient’s ID and insurance card, photo in the EMR, access to portal granted, etc. The list can be endless and you can pick one or two issues to review per week, making sure you touch every employee’s work.
Let’s talk for a minute abut interruptions. While you’re tracking things, we hope you’re paying attention to the questions and issues employees bring you. Does your staff have autonomy to resolve certain issues themselves, or do people have to come to you for everything? Some managers don’t trust workers to function independently, while others like to feel important because “nobody can do anything without me.” Both point to faulty leadership because eventually, your staff learns they don’t need to think, but will wait to be told – a death knell to any service business. Your list of employee interruptions will point to training gaps that need filling, which is part of your managerial role. If there is a seasoned junior person in the practice, perhaps he or she can become the first line of resolution and training so that you can focus on weightier matters.
This brings us back to the original issue of termination for poor performance. Your to-do list should include time for counseling employees. For the group that is meeting your expectations, a short convo to pat them on the back and praise a job well-done can go a long way. You can also gauge where they see themselves, what new asks they’d like to learn, etc,, making them future delegees. (is that even a word?!) The group whose performance is missing the standard needs your time as well, giving them targeted feedback that helps meet expectations.
The hiring timeline is growing longer and in today’s (and well, any) economic climate, we need to retain the good staff we have and groom the not-yet-great into tomorrow’s stars.