Morale booster: Making employees part of the team

Doing little things to make fellow physicians and employees feel like the office is more than just a workplace can help practices solve some of their biggest issues.

By Jonathan G. Bethely, AMNews staff. May 21, 2007.

Physicians at Spring Road Family Practice in Carlisle, Pa., knew something was wrong. Employee turnover was increasing, and more patients were leaving and not coming back.

The stress level among the four physicians and 16 staff members also was going up and was sure to go even higher with a new electronic medical record system installation.

The problems, the practice determined, came from low employee morale.

"The morale is pretty evident," said William Kauffman, MD, one of the practice's owners. "You can kind of feel it without asking a lot of questions. People will either be chatty, or, if there's not much chatter going on, you can tell morale is not quite so good."

Almost every restorative step the four-physician practice has taken revolves around making sure employees feel like part of a team. Communicating about practice issues is encouraged. When problems arise, they are dealt with right away, Dr. Kauffman said. If, say, raises are not forthcoming, he explains why.

The practice also finds ways to make the workplace more comfortable. Practice administrator Kathy Bridge often brings in homemade cookies or other treats -- which she did even more frequently when the new EMR system was being installed.

Experts say Spring Road and other practices are right to pay such close attention to employee morale. Poor morale can lead to high employee turnover, costly administrative errors and patient dissatisfaction. The problems and solutions can be different from practice to practice, depending on the personalities involved and the size of the practice. But experts suggest that improving morale can lead to better staff performance and increased employee stability.