Celebrate Your Medical Staff's Small Victories

How many times do you celebrate a win throughout each day?  Do you know when your staff gets a win? What would you consider a win?

By asking yourself these types of questions, you can turn around the environment of your front or back office in a very short amount of time. I can tell you that when I walk into a physicians or dental office and can feel the tension from the employees, it's not a very happy environment to work in. You can be professional and have a happy staff.  A happy staff is a productive staff and they will work harder and smarter than you've ever seen.

It's very simple to make this adjustment in your staff. They may be skeptical at first, but stick with it. Consistency is everything when making a shift like this.  First, you need to make a list of what you would consider a "win." Here are a few examples:

• All providers have completed their chart notes for the day

• Front-office staff has collected 100 percent of what is required to collect from patients up front for the day (yes, day). One day at a time.

• The patients seen goal was met for the office for the day

• All billing error reports are clear

• All denied or delayed claims were followed up on for the day

• The inflow goal was met for the day

These are just a few, so make a list of your own and start there.  Better yet, ask your staff what they would consider a "win" and create a collective list.

Okay, you have your list, now what? Celebrate. I don't mean throw a party everyday, just share with your staff what was completed.  They share among each other and bring each other up.  When presented as a celebratory act, the competitiveness and insecurity among staff dissipates. They become one unit and end up helping each other.  Any time one of your internal goals are met, you can just walk by and let them know.  Sometimes it's a few times per day, other days you may not meet any of them.  If the latter happens, find out why.  Just keep the positive focus and thank your staff in these small ways.  They really will appreciate it. 

Even if you feel some resistance from them at the beginning of making this shift, stick with it.  It becomes second nature after a few weeks.  When we hit a big goal or milestone, I bring in sparkling apple cider fort he group and we take about 10 minutes to talk about how we accomplished what we did and just take a moment to be in that moment. 

This will create is a more communicative and appreciative working environment.  Your staff will respond with becoming more productive and really want to do their jobs better. 

Often times, staff will wait to be rewarded or recognized after putting in long hours to reach a goal, and when this doesn't happen, they wonder why they worked so hard for you.  They will feel unappreciated, and it will show up in their work product. 

This method is a sure-fire way to instill the gratitude you have for your staff and show them you do care, and are thankful for their dedication.