Thoughts on physician practice employee retention

Competition and quality. Both of these words define key elements that management personnel within the medical industry must remain focused on in order to be successful. Management teams are responsible for identifying and considering all stakeholders, whether primary or secondary, and incorporating their interests and goals into operational decisions and goal-setting.  Stakeholders of a healthcare facility are primarily viewed to be patients, but staff are stakeholders too. In order to be productive and effective in providing quality healthcare, management teams must develop and nurture their relationship with their staff. Establishing a foundation of trust and reliability will greatly influence a healthcare team’s ability to efficiently operate and effectively communicate. Management must feel confident and secure with their team dynamic and, oppositely, staff must feel confident and secure in their management team’s direction and ability.

According to a survey published by the Society of Human Resource Management, the fourth and fifth top contributing factors to employee satisfaction for 2012 were “communication between employees and senior management” and “relationship with immediate supervisor”, respectively. In some instances, a healthcare team may have several years, or decades, of working together cohesively; therefore, assigning a new manager may be delicate procedure. Responsibility falls to senior administrators to be able to identify key personality traits and potential areas of conflict prior to introducing a new manager to a department. Once that manager has been introduced, responsibility then falls to the manager to integrate themselves into that work environment and establish positive, productive relationships. Both staff and management must have a mutual understanding and respect for their individual roles in their department, as well as, their niche in an organization as a whole. When employees feel their manager has their best interest at heart, staff are more satisfied with their jobs, which directly contributes to increased performance.

Conversely, when a manager interviews for a potential new employee for placement into an established work environment, considerations must be made to ensure an appropriate selection. Staff’s positive reception to a new employee or position will be paramount to successfully onboarding and integrating a newly hired employee. Again, having a basis of trust and reliability between staff and management will allow for more streamlined and seamless transitions when staffing or workflow changes must be implemented. Even in the initial stages of interviewing, potential candidates are projecting potential job satisfaction if they accepted an offer. If managers convey a high interest in a candidates’ success and well being, a new hire may become more driven to perform highly and, thus, improving overall departmental productivity.

Employees and managers alike want to feel comfortable and supported by their co-workers and corporate structure. Developing and nurturing a mutually-respected relationship between managers and their staff should remain highly visible on a management team’s operational radar. New employees must be integrated appropriately and with management’s support to establish a positive foundation; whereas, established working relationships need to be continuously nurtured throughout their development. Improving these critical relationships will, undoubtedly, increase job satisfaction amongst all involved and directly improve productivity by reducing intra-departmental conflict between management and staff. Well-functioning and cohesive teams play an important factor in providing quality healthcare, as well as, creating a successful practice and management personnel should be mindful of prioritizing the concept appropriately.