How to motivate employees to work more productively

Practice Pointers. By Karen S. Schechter, amednews contributor. Oct. 20, 2003.

PRACTICE POINTERS

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Question My partner and I have a busy pediatric practice that, by most standards, is adequately staffed. In spite of this, the quantity and quality of the work performed is disappointing, to say the least. Most staff members would agree that they enjoy their jobs. So how do I motivate them to be more productive?

Answer The most important concept to learn is that no one can be motivated by someone or something else. Motivation comes from within. As a manager, you have two primary tasks to help ensure that the people you hire have the appropriate motivation to make the practice successful.

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First, the right people must be hired. The term "right" means that they possess the values important to your partner and you, and are willing to work toward your practice's goals. Second, management must establish a working environment that provides staff the opportunity to perform their best for the practice. Let's discuss each one individually.

Hire the "right" people

"Right" does not refer to the person's skill sets -- this discussion assumes that each worker has skills appropriate for the position. Rather, the question is whether the person being considered for a position will fit the practice's personality, which is formed in great part by the values deemed to be important by the physician owners.

This is not to say that what one person values is better (or worse) than another person's values. There simply needs to be compatibility between the two. For example, if one of the practice's values is flexibility, then it may not be appropriate to hire someone who likes only to do specific tasks at specific times and cannot be flexible, whether due to personality or commitments outside work.

The mission and goals of the practice must be known and understood by all. For example, a goal of a pediatric practice may be to ensure that a physician or mid-level practitioner can see all sick children within 24 hours of a parent's call. Every employee plays a role in accomplishing this goal, directly or indirectly.

Each of them must understand what the goal means and how their actions contribute to the success of accomplishing this goal. This means those hired for the practice must be willing to do what it takes, within reason, to help achieve the goal. This willingness can be discovered in part during the interview by suggesting scenarios that take place in the office and asking the applicant how they would address them.

There is no foolproof method of ensuring that the "right" person is being hired for a position in the practice. But focusing on these two questions, along with looking to the person's skill set and experience, will minimize potential hiring mistakes.

Provide the "right" work environment

Once your staff is hired, there are several things to keep in mind as physician owners and management work toward establishing and maintaining a high-performance work environment.

First, pay a competitive wage. Talented staff are difficult to find and expensive to train and replace. Find out what other practices in your community and specialty are paying. Make sure your salary and benefits package is competitive with the rest of the field.

Any employee with an average amount of self-esteem who feels underpaid most likely will leave the practice for another position. Or worse, if the economy is slow, then those unhappy employees may continue to stay at the practice and possibly be disruptive and erode staff morale.

Also, hold regular performance evaluations and make sure that each employee's performance is evaluated fairly and accurately. Use an employee evaluation form to provide objectivity and document all findings, positive and negative.

Listen to employees, whether they are having problems with the work, or want to offer suggestions as to how to improve one or more aspects of the practice. Be respectful of their concerns, provide appropriate feedback and solicit their input as necessary.

Make your expectations clear by starting with a clearly and explicitly written job description. It is possible for an employee to be doing outstanding work but not be doing everything -- or anything -- that is in his or her job description.

Reward employees who take initiative, exceed expectations and perform outstanding work. Bonuses should be discretionary, not mandatory.

Publicly encourage employees with well-timed pats on the back and by acknowledging a "job well done" at staff meetings. Try to call attention to an employee's triumphs whenever one occurs, not just at review time. This form of encouragement can help increase productivity more than one can imagine.

Gimmicks like "employee of the month" and incentive programs do not necessarily accomplish the overall objective you are looking for. They may work in the short-run, but office politics could interfere with the long-term goals.

Incentive programs to increase productivity have built-in limitations. What does management do when the staff achieves the goals of the incentive programs? At what point does an increase in productivity begin having a negative impact on the practice in terms of overworked employees and a decrease in customer service?

We often hear physicians and management express discouragement about their staff's commitment to the practice. But you must recognize that a pleasant, hard-working employee whose job is answering phones and making patient appointments has a very small stake in your business, even if they appear to be paid fairly according to the standards in your community and specialty. You cannot expect this employee to have the same concerns about your business as you do.

What's important to remember is to make sure that employees understand the goals and values of the practice, are paid fairly with good benefits, and are provided a comfortable working environment where they know what you think of their work, where they stand and what they can do for promotions. This will help create a staff of self-motivated employees who take pride in their work and are willing to perform to their greatest potential.

Practice Pointers is provided by the St. Louis-based accounting and management consulting firm Stone Carlie & Co. LLC. The author and publisher are not rendering professional advice and assume no liability in connection with its use. Consult with professional advisers regarding your specific situation. Readers are invited to submit questions to the Business Editor (bob.cook@ama-assn.org).