Managing personnel represents the biggest headache for most doctors. Lack of leadership is the primary reason for staff blunders that prevent doctors from reaching their practice and professional goals. Below is a summary of the seven most deadly sins, along with her recommendations on how to avoid them:
Lack of clearly defined goals and objectives
This creates a real lose/lose situation. Without written goals, the practice will never achieve optimum performance; likewise, employees will be frustrated because they do not know what is expected of them and whether they are fulfilling their mission. In order to avoid this problem, doctors must clearly define and communicate all practice goals to the staff. In addition, the doctor should set personal goals for each employee and have monitors in place to measure the results. Staff members want accountability and will respect doctors who hold them to it.
Tolerating incompetence/marginal employees
Practice growth is always limited by the weakest link, ultimately frustrating effective staff members when the overall goal is not met. Also, doctors who maintain an incompetent or marginal employee prevent that employee from the chance to get on with their life by finding a job in which they can excel. Accordingly, doctors should reward competence, encourage its development, and base all standards on excellence. Doctors should give individual raises based upon merit performance, not annual across the board cost of living raises that encourage mediocrity.
Managing people instead of performance
The key to your practice reaching its goals is the performance of doctors and staff members alike, Look first to systems that may not be working and then at the individuals who may not be supporting them. Doctors must manage for the position and not the person in it.
Inadequate communication
Put this at the top of the list. Most doctors keep ideas and potential problems to themselves rather than communicating them to the staff members. Practice and personal growth is dependent upon proper communication. Solicit feedback proactively and solutions will often arise from the employees who are on the front line.
Avoiding conflict and tension
Most doctors shy away from potential conflicts with employees, hoping that the problem simply "goes away". As a result of inattention, conflict and tension just gets worse. Practice growth is based upon team members working in independently. A strong leader will not procrastinate in acting upon conflict, due to the threat it poses to team development.
Inadequate cross‑training and succession planning
Most doctors are content when their staff is filled at every position, and don't take the time or energy to cross‑train or assure that a successor is in place should any employee leave. One of the primary motivators of good employees is, the opportunity for growth and development. Employees can achieve that goal only through proper cross-training that allows them to grow by increasing their skills. Through such cross‑training, the doctor can also avoid being "held hostage" by the employee who consider herself "irreplaceable", while avoiding major practice interruptions when a “key” person is absent.
Fostering negative beliefs about people
Most doctors assume that staff members simply want to maintain their current level and do not want to grow in the practice. Fostering this mindset can eliminate potential growth for the individual as well as the practice as a whole. Doctors must provide a challenging environment for goal‑directed excellence within the practice based upon meeting individual and practice goals and objectives.
Avoiding the seven deadly sins of personnel management can eliminate a big management headache for the doctor while allowing staff members to reach a higher level of personal fulfillment, This helps create a warm caring atmosphere on tile practice, making patients feel secure and trustful, leading to quality practice growth.
This creates a real lose/lose situation. Without written goals, the practice will never achieve optimum performance; likewise, employees will be frustrated because they do not know what is expected of them and whether they are fulfilling their mission. In order to avoid this problem, doctors must clearly define and communicate all practice goals to the staff. In addition, the doctor should set personal goals for each employee and have monitors in place to measure the results. Staff members want accountability and will respect doctors who hold them to it.
Tolerating incompetence/marginal employees
Practice growth is always limited by the weakest link, ultimately frustrating effective staff members when the overall goal is not met. Also, doctors who maintain an incompetent or marginal employee prevent that employee from the chance to get on with their life by finding a job in which they can excel. Accordingly, doctors should reward competence, encourage its development, and base all standards on excellence. Doctors should give individual raises based upon merit performance, not annual across the board cost of living raises that encourage mediocrity.
Managing people instead of performance
The key to your practice reaching its goals is the performance of doctors and staff members alike, Look first to systems that may not be working and then at the individuals who may not be supporting them. Doctors must manage for the position and not the person in it.
Inadequate communication
Put this at the top of the list. Most doctors keep ideas and potential problems to themselves rather than communicating them to the staff members. Practice and personal growth is dependent upon proper communication. Solicit feedback proactively and solutions will often arise from the employees who are on the front line.
Avoiding conflict and tension
Most doctors shy away from potential conflicts with employees, hoping that the problem simply "goes away". As a result of inattention, conflict and tension just gets worse. Practice growth is based upon team members working in independently. A strong leader will not procrastinate in acting upon conflict, due to the threat it poses to team development.
Inadequate cross‑training and succession planning
Most doctors are content when their staff is filled at every position, and don't take the time or energy to cross‑train or assure that a successor is in place should any employee leave. One of the primary motivators of good employees is, the opportunity for growth and development. Employees can achieve that goal only through proper cross-training that allows them to grow by increasing their skills. Through such cross‑training, the doctor can also avoid being "held hostage" by the employee who consider herself "irreplaceable", while avoiding major practice interruptions when a “key” person is absent.
Fostering negative beliefs about people
Most doctors assume that staff members simply want to maintain their current level and do not want to grow in the practice. Fostering this mindset can eliminate potential growth for the individual as well as the practice as a whole. Doctors must provide a challenging environment for goal‑directed excellence within the practice based upon meeting individual and practice goals and objectives.
Avoiding the seven deadly sins of personnel management can eliminate a big management headache for the doctor while allowing staff members to reach a higher level of personal fulfillment, This helps create a warm caring atmosphere on tile practice, making patients feel secure and trustful, leading to quality practice growth.
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