1. Align job with organization’s values. “Employees need to feel that what they do connects to the overall goals of the organization,” Ms. Hess says. “It can’t just be because my manager told me so.” Use vision and values as a roadmap to guide employees. “If the manager tells me, ‘You have to do something because it’s the new rule,’ that doesn’t make me feel good about it,” she says.
2. Foster open communication. Transparency is essential, because, in the absence of information, people fill the void with their own suppositions. “Many managers are becoming very open, even sharing the financials of their departments because the shared knowledge can be a powerful tool,” Ms. Hess says. For example, knowing about department finances might discourage an employee from secretly giving discharged patients medical supplies to take home.
3. Be available. A common complaint in hospitals is, “My boss is in meetings all the time.” A manager should have an open-door policy and spend time with the staff. When the manager cannot always be personally available, there should be other ways to keep in touch with the staff, such as calling in or stopping by between meetings.
4. Be consistent. Not being consistent can lower morale. Have the same policy for every employee, without favoritism. For example, if one employee is held accountable for being late, the others should be, too. “Everyone should be treated fairly,” Ms. Hess says.
5. Allow autonomy. The goal should be helping each employee find his or her “professional paradise,” where they are satisfied, energized and productive. “When your teenager is learning how to drive, you might drive from the passenger seat and closely watch everything they do, but at some point you have to give them autonomy,” Ms. Hess says. This applies to employees as well.
6. Keep a professional distance. Even as managers reach out to employees and try to be transparent, they need to keep their professional distance. Some information should not be shared, such as the manager’s dealings with other employees or with his or her own boss. When a fellow worker is promoted to manager, as often happens in healthcare, it can be challenging for that person to switch gears and alter relationships with other workers.
7. Create a productive team. Healthcare relies a lot on relationships within a team. The manager’s guidance can make the team more productive. “Managing an effective team means promoting a high level of trust and comfort with conflict,” Ms. Hess says. To be effective, team members will need to speak up, identify their differences and work them out without hostility.
8. Be flexible. If there is a way to meet employees’ pressing concerns, use it, even if it’s a little unconventional. For example, employees may prefer to work extra hours rather than have a locum tenens nurse, but taking over one eight-hour shift may be too daunting for a full-time employee. One solution might be to cut the shift into two four-hour blocks, which full-timers would be more likely to accommodate.
9. Be supportive. Managers should assume employees are doing the right thing until proven otherwise. For example, when a patient complains about an employee, assume that person is innocent until proven guilty, but seriously check out the matter. “You have got to ask questions and find out what is going on,” Ms. Hess says.
10. Aid employee development. A manager should help employees be everything they want to be. Doing what they truly love will make them more productive. Helping employees get outside training has become more difficult with tighter budgets. As an alternative, employees might seek in-house training, mentor each other or compete for funding to go to a meeting.
Learn more about Vicki Hess.
