Kate Rock, administrator of Doylestown Surgery Center in Warrington, Pa., discusses 10 ways administrators can improve the work environment at their surgery centers.
1. Give staff members responsibility for suggested improvements. Ms. Rock says her surgery center looks for staff members who want to take charge of new projects or make suggestions for improving the center. Once a staff member suggests an improvement, Ms. Rock tasks them with leading the project. "This develops our talent and aligns new and future leaders," she says. "In the ASC, we're always looking for people internally who can move up and be part of that."
For example, one of Ms. Rock's staff members recently suggested the surgery center call patients a few days earlier than usual to provide instructions on payment, preparation for surgery and the procedure itself. "We actually made that into a benchmarking study, and the staff member that suggested it spearheaded the study," Ms. Rock says. "It's ongoing right now, and it's given that person a real opportunity to be part of operations."
2. Encourage humor. Your surgery center doesn't have to have the atmosphere of a funeral home, Ms. Rock says. Her patients frequently mention how humorous they find her PACU staff. "Our post-op staff are all extremely humorous individuals, and they use humor as a part of their caring," she says. "My office is very close to where patients exit, so most of the day I can hear nurses and patients talking as the patients leave the center."
She says patients have a better recovery process because they feel at ease with the surgery center staff, and staff members love coming to work because they know they can joke around. While your staff should still be professional with patients, express your gratitude when they use their natural charm and charisma to improve the surgery center atmosphere.
3. Ask for suggestions on training or in-service. Sometimes your staff will want training on a topic that you would never have considered, Ms. Rock says. Great ASC administrators should encourage staff to suggest training or in-service opportunities and then follow up promptly. The more knowledgeable your staff is, the better your ASC will look to patients and physicians. "If somebody says, 'Hey, we need more training for this,' we find it for them," she says. "As administrators or directors, sometimes we're not always seeing that day-to-day educational need."
For example, one of Ms. Rock's staff members recently suggested the surgery center provide training on a new Medicare radiology regulation. "We had a local company come and do an in-service for staff, and when we do that, you really hear staff say, 'This is what I needed. This is what helps me do my job,'" she says.
4. Location doesn't hurt. Not all surgery center administrators can choose their location, but Ms. Rock says her employees benefit tremendously from the building where her center is located. "We're in a medical building with waterfalls, a koi pond, a spa and a gym," she says. "We have a labyrinth maze outside and a walking path around the building. It's just a beautiful, beautiful building."
Consider improvements to your surgery center that will keep staff happy, she says. For example, planting trees and bushes outside the surgery center can improve staff and patient morale. Even small changes can improve the atmosphere at your center; consider hanging up paintings, purchasing more comfortable chairs or allowing staff to bring in photos of their families for an employee bulletin board.
5. Start an "employee of the month" program. Ms. Rock recently instituted an "employee of the month" program, which she says has been a great success among her staff. "Everyone is always saying, 'Who is it this month? When are you going to decide?'" she says. "They get really excited for it."
Every month, she takes suggestions from staff members and chooses an employee who has demonstrated outstanding work in the last four weeks. She then writes up a personal certificate, detailing the employee's contributions to the center and special talents. The chosen employee gets a bag full of gifts that they can take home or leave at the workplace. She makes sure to give the award when other staff members are present, so the employee can be congratulated by his or her peers.
6. Show your silly side. Surgery center administrators don't have to be stern to be effective, Ms. Rock says. When she presents the "employee of the month" award in front of her staff, she joins the executive assistant and the director of nursing in a celebratory dance. "When our staff members see us doing the Rockettes dance down the hallway, they know we're doing the 'employee of the month' award," she says. "Sometimes it can be stressful to work in a surgery center, but if you can laugh, you'll be fine."
Ms. Rock's ASC also features a "good news gong" in the administrator's office. Employees are encouraged to ring the gong whenever they have good news, happy moments or just need a pick-me-up.
7. Keep staff in the loop with a "communication book." Ms. Rock says many of her nurses don't have time to check email because they are busy with patients throughout the day. In order to communicate memos that would otherwise be sent through email, her surgery center keeps a "communication book," a large purple binder that contains updates, memos and quarterly patient satisfaction reports. Ms. Rock makes sure that all employees are checking the book regularly by keeping a sign-in sheet with the binder. The binder is kept in the employee break room so all staff members can access it easily.
8. When problems arise, avoid blame. If a surgery center employee is performing poorly in a particular area, don't point fingers, Ms. Rock says. In certain cases, one employee may come to you with an issue concerning another employee. She says the best way to deal with this situation is to sit down with all the affected parties and make a "blanket statement" about the problem. "You say, 'I see this might be happening. How can we work together to fix it?'" she says.
9. Be present. Ms. Rock says surgery center employees always comment on her constant presence in every area of the surgery center. She says an administrator who walks through the center, stopping at the pre-op and PACU areas and business office, will be much more effective than someone who sits in their office all day. Your presence will also improve employee behavior, because staff members will never know when you might drop by.
10. Empower female employees in particular. Female employees may need extra encouragement when it comes to speaking their minds, Ms. Rock says. She says as a female executive, she has realized that education is essential to building strong female leaders. "You have to realize you aren't lesser than anyone and that you can be strong and bring up your issues and objectives and goals," she says.
This particularly applies to women in the surgery center industry who are involved in contract negotiations, she says. "I would highly empower every female administrator to go out and get those negotiating skills," she says. Let your female employees know that you want them to pursue educational programs that will build their negotiating, managerial and clinical skills, she says.
Related Articles on Surgery Center Operations:
Who Can Pay More for a Surgery Center: Hospital or Management Company?
50 Benchmarks of 5 Common ASC Specialties
Missouri's St. John's Ambulatory Surgery Center Wins Praise From Patient Family
1. Give staff members responsibility for suggested improvements. Ms. Rock says her surgery center looks for staff members who want to take charge of new projects or make suggestions for improving the center. Once a staff member suggests an improvement, Ms. Rock tasks them with leading the project. "This develops our talent and aligns new and future leaders," she says. "In the ASC, we're always looking for people internally who can move up and be part of that."
For example, one of Ms. Rock's staff members recently suggested the surgery center call patients a few days earlier than usual to provide instructions on payment, preparation for surgery and the procedure itself. "We actually made that into a benchmarking study, and the staff member that suggested it spearheaded the study," Ms. Rock says. "It's ongoing right now, and it's given that person a real opportunity to be part of operations."
2. Encourage humor. Your surgery center doesn't have to have the atmosphere of a funeral home, Ms. Rock says. Her patients frequently mention how humorous they find her PACU staff. "Our post-op staff are all extremely humorous individuals, and they use humor as a part of their caring," she says. "My office is very close to where patients exit, so most of the day I can hear nurses and patients talking as the patients leave the center."
She says patients have a better recovery process because they feel at ease with the surgery center staff, and staff members love coming to work because they know they can joke around. While your staff should still be professional with patients, express your gratitude when they use their natural charm and charisma to improve the surgery center atmosphere.
3. Ask for suggestions on training or in-service. Sometimes your staff will want training on a topic that you would never have considered, Ms. Rock says. Great ASC administrators should encourage staff to suggest training or in-service opportunities and then follow up promptly. The more knowledgeable your staff is, the better your ASC will look to patients and physicians. "If somebody says, 'Hey, we need more training for this,' we find it for them," she says. "As administrators or directors, sometimes we're not always seeing that day-to-day educational need."
For example, one of Ms. Rock's staff members recently suggested the surgery center provide training on a new Medicare radiology regulation. "We had a local company come and do an in-service for staff, and when we do that, you really hear staff say, 'This is what I needed. This is what helps me do my job,'" she says.
4. Location doesn't hurt. Not all surgery center administrators can choose their location, but Ms. Rock says her employees benefit tremendously from the building where her center is located. "We're in a medical building with waterfalls, a koi pond, a spa and a gym," she says. "We have a labyrinth maze outside and a walking path around the building. It's just a beautiful, beautiful building."
Consider improvements to your surgery center that will keep staff happy, she says. For example, planting trees and bushes outside the surgery center can improve staff and patient morale. Even small changes can improve the atmosphere at your center; consider hanging up paintings, purchasing more comfortable chairs or allowing staff to bring in photos of their families for an employee bulletin board.
5. Start an "employee of the month" program. Ms. Rock recently instituted an "employee of the month" program, which she says has been a great success among her staff. "Everyone is always saying, 'Who is it this month? When are you going to decide?'" she says. "They get really excited for it."
Every month, she takes suggestions from staff members and chooses an employee who has demonstrated outstanding work in the last four weeks. She then writes up a personal certificate, detailing the employee's contributions to the center and special talents. The chosen employee gets a bag full of gifts that they can take home or leave at the workplace. She makes sure to give the award when other staff members are present, so the employee can be congratulated by his or her peers.
6. Show your silly side. Surgery center administrators don't have to be stern to be effective, Ms. Rock says. When she presents the "employee of the month" award in front of her staff, she joins the executive assistant and the director of nursing in a celebratory dance. "When our staff members see us doing the Rockettes dance down the hallway, they know we're doing the 'employee of the month' award," she says. "Sometimes it can be stressful to work in a surgery center, but if you can laugh, you'll be fine."
Ms. Rock's ASC also features a "good news gong" in the administrator's office. Employees are encouraged to ring the gong whenever they have good news, happy moments or just need a pick-me-up.
7. Keep staff in the loop with a "communication book." Ms. Rock says many of her nurses don't have time to check email because they are busy with patients throughout the day. In order to communicate memos that would otherwise be sent through email, her surgery center keeps a "communication book," a large purple binder that contains updates, memos and quarterly patient satisfaction reports. Ms. Rock makes sure that all employees are checking the book regularly by keeping a sign-in sheet with the binder. The binder is kept in the employee break room so all staff members can access it easily.
8. When problems arise, avoid blame. If a surgery center employee is performing poorly in a particular area, don't point fingers, Ms. Rock says. In certain cases, one employee may come to you with an issue concerning another employee. She says the best way to deal with this situation is to sit down with all the affected parties and make a "blanket statement" about the problem. "You say, 'I see this might be happening. How can we work together to fix it?'" she says.
9. Be present. Ms. Rock says surgery center employees always comment on her constant presence in every area of the surgery center. She says an administrator who walks through the center, stopping at the pre-op and PACU areas and business office, will be much more effective than someone who sits in their office all day. Your presence will also improve employee behavior, because staff members will never know when you might drop by.
10. Empower female employees in particular. Female employees may need extra encouragement when it comes to speaking their minds, Ms. Rock says. She says as a female executive, she has realized that education is essential to building strong female leaders. "You have to realize you aren't lesser than anyone and that you can be strong and bring up your issues and objectives and goals," she says.
This particularly applies to women in the surgery center industry who are involved in contract negotiations, she says. "I would highly empower every female administrator to go out and get those negotiating skills," she says. Let your female employees know that you want them to pursue educational programs that will build their negotiating, managerial and clinical skills, she says.
Related Articles on Surgery Center Operations:
Who Can Pay More for a Surgery Center: Hospital or Management Company?
50 Benchmarks of 5 Common ASC Specialties
Missouri's St. John's Ambulatory Surgery Center Wins Praise From Patient Family