Clintcast: Recent Episodes
Clint Maun
Welcome to Clintcast - your free ‘daily dose’ of Clint, featuring nationally recognized consultant, speaker and researcher Clint Maun.
Human history is loaded with examples of situations where specialization, even for all the progress it often brings, has lead down a dead end when the playing field changed. While specialization is great and definitely needed in many ways, it is critical for us to also pair this specialization with flexibility so as to overcome those inevitable changes to the big picture that so often make some of those specializations obsolete (or at least minimized). Today, Clint advises that we be sure to take a look at ways in which we specialize (personal skills, organizational niche, etc) as well as to employ the needed flexibility to keep our teaming efforts effective and to prepare for eventual market/customer changes.
Regardless of the most current healthcare reform effort, a trend that has been up and coming with the government regarding the reimbursement process, thanks to extensive data/history collection, is a closer and more stringent look at payments associated with hospital readmissions. Rates of readmissions have been fairly high, not only incurring extra costs, but also additional ‘discomforts’ to our customers. Rightly so, the government sees this as a large area of opportunity for hospitals and post-acute care providers to partner so as to reduce these costs, as well as the numbers of customers requiring readmission when some (usually) simple and relatively inexpensive interventions could have prevented a second trip to the hospital. Check out these aspects to see if this is a golden opportunity for your organization as well!
Most every workplace has (at least) one - the bad apple who always seems to find what's wrong with things and offers no solutions to improve the situation. If you have been listening to Clintcast for awhile, you recognize this type as the ‘troll’ or BMG (Bellyacher/Moaner/Groaner) from other episodes. While every profession has its mistakes/problems, when they occur in healthcare, they can be more severe as sometimes life/health may be at stake. As such, it is very crucial that we be able to deal with these bad apples as quickly as possible, as one of the typical traits of this type is to poison the other apples around them, promulgating a sphere of doom in their wake. Get some help from Clint on hows/whys of dealing with these bad apples before the whole barrel goes bad!
The position of Director of Nursing is a critical function in any healthcare organization. It is no surprise that the person in this role tends to have a LOT on his/her plate as they cover many bases and must be skilled in some widely varying ways, both in the clinical and the leadership worlds. Clint covers some of these aspects today as he discusses the finer points of being a Director Of Nursing, what makes great ones and tips for being an effective team leader in your organization.
It is a given in healthcare - our customers expect quality, no different than we would in their place. How we achieve that quality has everything to do with how our organization operates. There are lots of ways we go about driving the quality of our ‘products’ in healthcare, including some aspects such as cost savings, efficiencies, labor streamlining, etc which are found in other types of businesses as well. While it may seem obvious that we would never want to deny anyone quality care, there does need to be at least internal knowledge regarding the costs that specific quality levels require to produce. Today, Clint dives into the factors we should be considering as we develop our various price/quality points of our healthcare products/services.
To err is human... it happens. That being said, we of course want to minimize the numbers/types of errors we make, especially in healthcare where someone's life could be on the line. Today, Clint discusses methods for setting up an environment where we can minimize the blame and finger-pointing and instead focus on how to fix situations arising from errors and to better still, try to prevent them happening repetitively again in the future. This additionally helps to nurture an environment in which staff voluntarily want to avail themselves of training/resources to help reduce errors and promote productivity - a win/win!
While time-travel, as depicted in Back To The Future, may still be some ways off, in a sense we all take part in some approximation of time-travel everyday. In fact, it is a very healthy exercise in our organizations to occasionally roll-back the clock to examine aspects in the past (How did we solve that problem? What can we learn from that incident that we can benefit from in the future? etc) as well as to envision how things may come to be in the future (If we had twice as many residents, what would need to change in our processes? What kinds of teams will we need to address anticipated changes in healthcare in 10 years? etc). That said, it is most important to realize that the most critical time-travel is the NOW. After all, the present only stays the present for an instant. Time is traveling under our feet every instant of the day. Therefore, what can we be doing now, given learnings from the past and visions of the future to make the most of RIGHT NOW?
It should hopefully go without saying for those in the healthcare profession... healthcare is cool! For the youth of today though, it is becoming increasingly harder (especially given the various competing job markets) to have this realized in their career planning years so as to be preparing the next wave of young talent to carry on the coolness of healthcare. How can we be doing things now to help put in place the incentives, knowledge, ‘PR’ and such to help steer the up and coming talent in the direction of healthcare tomorrow? Clint has some ideas!
For those of you who are Superman fans, you no doubt know about how Clark Kent (Superman’s public identity at the Daily Planet) was able to function within society, seemingly due to nothing more elaborate than a suit and a pair of glasses. When in this disguise, those around him had no clue as to the tremendous strength, superpowers or just all out goodwill this person truly had underneath. It can often be no different in our healthcare organizations. As staff are placed into SuperTeams, it is often a surprise to fellow workmates just what lies under the ‘glasses’ of those they have worked with, often for years, without noticing these talents and traits. Listen in as Clint reminds us to be sure to look beyond the glasses when we enlist the aid of our staff members in the cause of a great project!
In the people business, there will be times when customers/coworkers/partners/etc will voice their dissatisfaction with how they perceive a situation to be. The manner in which they voice that complaint will vary. Sometimes it may be calm and to the point. Often, it may be shrouded in emotion and include a lot of additional commentary that may or may not be related to the issue at hand. The trick to help get these situations from a ‘problem’ orientation to a ‘solution’ orientation (hopefully, there is a P=S (Don't discuss problems without proposing a solution) policy in place) is learning how to hear when there is a proposed solution that is workable embedded in the complaint. Today, Clint offers some ideas on how to deal with these complaints which will often come packaged in ways you would not prefer, but must be dealt with nonetheless.
‘Teaming makes it easier’ is a concept that applies not only to the Care Crowd individuals, but also to organizations as a whole as well. Integration and partnerships are increasingly going to be the norm in healthcare for the foreseeable future as we move into an era where cost-savings, care-consistency, reporting/metrics/etc all become more and more standardized and driven to reward organizations that work together to ultimately drive customer-satisfaction and results. Those left standing on their own with no/few ties to other areas of customer-success will increasingly find their islands become smaller and smaller. Get some tips on how to ensure your organization is ready to ride the coming wave of healthcare!
The first and foremost key to success in healthcare is the realization that it is, after all, a ‘people’ business. As such, if you are not the sort of person that has strong connections to people and strong customer-service orientation, then perhaps healthcare is not the right area for you. Along with this ‘people’ orientation, one needs to be solution-oriented, as the process of being ‘people-oriented’ (especially when constantly providing individualized care) rarely results in a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach. The ability to solve unique problems on-the-fly is critical. These two facets/orientations go hand in hand. Finally, to truly bring ultimate success/effectiveness to you and your customers in healthcare, a ‘team’ orientation is also required. While it is fine if you have the first two aspects on your own, when you can combine your drive and skills with others, the combined/synergized efforts far outpace the individual efforts on their own. Let’s all strive to pursue these three driving factors of success in healthcare!
Bad days happen to everyone at some point. Sometimes, life just throws you a pitch you never saw coming and it catches you off guard. These can't be helped. By contrast, when you are ‘anticipating’ and ‘planning’ on a bad day to come, there are different dynamics in play, many of which can be dealt with. When one ‘plans’ on the upcoming day to be ‘a bad one’, chances are more than likely their self-fulfilling prophecy will come true, not only for themselves, but others around them who fall into their sphere of doom. Clint shares some thoughts on why we must guard against these little black cloud moments.
The key to ongoing success in healthcare, now and especially in the future, is the ability to deliver customized customer-centric service. While having some organizational ‘boilerplate’ policies/structure in place for general guidance is fine as a starting point, in order to truly institute ‘culture change’, we must rise to the next level and develop the flexibility to enable the adaptation of these baseline structures into customizable products/processes that can be molded to each individual’s needs while still being tied to successful revenue generation. Check out Clint’s ideas on ways to make this happen in your organization.
Way back in Episode #6 of the Clintcast archives, you'll find a story entitled ‘The Ham Sandwich’ which discusses a CEO’s realization that his organization was becoming unable to empower individuals to solve problems at the levels closest to them, resulting in flush-ups of problems all the way to the top. In this revisit to that episode, Clint comments on his recent chat with that same CEO and the push that has been made since that incident to learn how to provide customer-centric service and to improve the organization’s abilities to be flexible and service-oriented by being able to resolve issues at the lowest levels possible through empowerment. Listen in!
In the healthcare profession, it goes without saying that our customers generally would be prefer NOT to be our (or anyone's, for that matter) customers. Some handle this better than others. There is an occasional customer that, for lack of a better term, is a nightmare. Nothing anyone says or does seems to bring satisfaction to this person. How should we deal with these unique cases? Check out Clint's suggestions for handling these folks, and better still, documenting a case study in these instances, so we and others in the future can learn from these tough lessons to better hone our customer service skills for other customers.
When you go to your routine physical at the doctor, he/she will likely gather some data about your current condition (pulse, height, weight, etc) in order to be able to both continue a baseline history of your continual health picture as well as to get the current ‘buzz’ about your short-term health snapshot. Using these tools, he/she can then better decide appropriate courses of action for any change implementation needed in your health practices (diet, exercise, medications, etc). It is similar with our team-building practices for managers. Clint offers some thoughts to consider regarding the practice of uncovering ‘the buzz’ in your organization to better help implement necessary changes in your business environment.
If you are a leader/manager, chances are you have heard the phrase ‘got a second’ before as someone pops in front of you with an issue that, in fact, will likely take more than a short second/minute/hour to resolve. What you say in return must be well considered if you are going to be effective in your role (and they in theirs) because there is a dangerous trap there, waiting to suck up your time and resources if not addressed correctly. Get some tips on how to proactively prevent this situation and to reserve these moments for items that are truly more effectiveness/customer-service oriented!
Many who have worked with Clint or have met him in the past likely know that he is a huge fan of horse racing and that it is one of his favorite hobbies outside of healthcare. In lieu of the past weekend's running of the Kentucky Derby, today Clint discusses while he felt strongly, even months ago, that the horse called Super Saver had a very high likelihood of winning this race. In a word, it is teamwork. Like teams in healthcare, when you can put together a team of talented members with clear goals and processes and the ability to be flexible, yet positive and assertive, you have a strong ability to come out a winner in practically any endeavor. Learn how to ensure your team comes up roses!
If you ever played the childhood game ‘telephone’ (also known by many other names), you likely remember how fouled a communication can become as it is passed along/misinterpreted/altered/etc. Unfortunately, real life daily communications often get just as muddled up and the resulting failures to communicate often cost organizations untold dollars and time trying to fix what a little forethought and planning might have prevented. Get some hints from Clint to ensure that you are proactively ‘planning’ each day for muddled communications and ways to head off these failures to communicate.
The best managers highly involve those at lower levels (closest to the problems) in the problem-solving process. Employees in those areas tend to understand the problem better and also tend to be more familiar with potential solutions. Therefore, they should be highly engaged in the problem-solving process. The decision-making process on the other hand, falls squarely in the lap of the manager as the final decision must be, by definition, decisive and customer driven. As such, the final choice may not always be popular, but managers need to have a firm grasp on how to go about decision-making nonetheless. Listen in for tips today on how to make the most of this key managerial skill.
Teaming makes it easier - this concept is the main thrust behind rapid-cycle teams. What about those teams that involve timelines that are much longer than 12-weeks for standard rapid-cycles? Some are required by organizational rules/bylaws/regulations/etc. Some occur at a high level. Like any team meeting, as long as these have a purpose, a priority, an agenda and an outcome, than it is okay to utilize them towards the betterment of the organization. That said, there are some things to be aware of that can drag down the effectiveness of these longer baseline teams if you are not careful. Check out Clint’s checklist of points to consider when implementing long standing committees!
There are sometimes employees that are not performing up to par. This often occurs over a range of possible values of sub-par behavior (such as rare/accidental occurrences, routine limit-testing, flagrant lack of responsibility, etc). As long as this is an employee you have not completely given up on (they are in process of de-hiring), there are some techniques you can employ/coach to have them take responsibility to bring their performance levels back into the expected range. Check out these helpful hints to keep your staff continually pushing their performance levels higher.
Making a difference is important in the healthcare profession. Our customers need and expect this of us, no different than we would if we were in their position. Today, Clint comments about a colleague, client and true difference-maker, Mike Berry, who recently passed away and discusses the long-lasting impacts and positive effects he had on those around him.
It is a defeatist phrase uttered way too often around the country... ‘oh no, another admission’, indicating that one’s busy day just got busier. Clint affirms that we need to be vigilant in recognizing that another admission is a sign of success that we need to be excited about, even if things are a bit busy at the moment. After all, that customer could have gone somewhere else and with the economy such as it is, we all want as many customers as we can handle, as opposed to laying off employees due to lack of customers. Listen in today to learn why it is critical that new admissions be celebrated, not loathed. It should be ‘oh boy!’ instead!
Nothing demonstrates confidence in your own products/services as much as your choice to patronize those very products/services when you, or a friend or family member, needs these healthcare options. Today, Clint chats about the ‘ultimate brag’ which is act of self-promoting through internal channels. Most organizations have a marketing arm of some sort, but there is real power in realizing that every employee is a marketing force for the organization (and often far more powerful/effective). Learn some tips to help on ensure your organization's utilization of this powerful concept today!
In continuing the theme of teaming makes it easier, today Clint discusses a concept that will quickly be coming to the healthcare market as the reform efforts begin to come into effect. Entities known as ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) will soon be widespread as the government mandates the concept of teaming and partnering between healthcare providers. The intent is to reduce costs while also lowering readmission rates for customers going through various acute recovery processes, such as congestive heart failures. Organizations need to be aware of these coming changes and be proactively planning partnerships now to be ready to take advantage of these opportunities which will soon be here. Are you ready to partner?
Occasionally with staff workers there will be times when work performance is not up to what is expected. As a leader, how should one go about dealing with these occurrences. Today, Clint discusses 3 primary types of ‘bad performances’ and ways to deal with them. These include ‘accidental violators, limit-testers and outlaws’. Learn the differences and how early intervention can make a world of difference!
As Care Crowd members have learned, in the effort to ‘make things better’, it is true that teaming makes it easier. That said, when a new change arises that will require an altered direction/process/etc in an organization, possibly requiring new ways of doing things, where is a newly formed team supposed to get answers or ideas? As Mr. Dylan said, the answer is blown’ in the wind. When building a solution with a team, it is crucial to get key information injected as quickly as possible up front so the team can factor this information into scope/ideas/timelines and so forth. Springing key info at the last minute is a sure way to induce paralysis, panic and uncertainty into a team that is then expected to be creative on the spot with no/little time to fully develop a solution and chunk out its implementation plan. When trying to pluck those ideas from the breeze, be sure you take time and information into account as the wind can sometimes be fickle or unpredictable and catching those butterflies may be more difficult than anticipated.
Today, Clint chats with Rick Marshall, Executive Vice President of the Christian Care Communities while working with their organization in Kentucky. Together, they discuss the various forces that are currently at work helping to shape the organization such as legislative changes affecting healthcare, community involvement initiatives, facility updates (they just celebrated their organization’s 125th anniversary in 2009) and more. Of prime importance is the need to drive continual improvements in the pursuit of customer-service excellence while also seeking out new revenue streams to help keep the organization financially healthy and to further foster growth opportunities. Enjoy!
Our customers want to know they are getting the best healthcare possible, just as we would want if in their position. As such, it is critical that we instill in our organizations an expectation that we will deliver that healthcare to the utmost... 1st place, if you will. Even when we fall a little short of perfection, we have a self-correcting, ever-improving attitude to keep the winning expectation in place. In today’s podcast, Clint elaborates on this concept, making certain we don’t settle for 2nd place (or tieing for 2nd) in our daily work. Our customers expect the best of us, no different than we should of ourselves. It is truly easy to feel that ‘healthcare is cool’ when you dominate the field!
In the healthcare profession, as in many businesses, it is the cash flow/payment/reimbursement process that is the lifeblood that enables us to do what we do... in this case, to take care of people. In healthcare in particular, there are ample opportunities for mistakes to occur which can deprive us of money that is rightly/morally/ethically/etc ours but has resulted instead in money left on the table unclaimed. The surest way to combat this needless situation is to ensure that everyone in the organization has a vested understanding and interest in making sure we receive the money we earn. This requires a firm understanding of the payment/reimbursement process, documentation procedures/coding, specifics related to care-type/etc. More pair of eyes catching mistakes and oversights ultimate helps us to build a bigger pie so everyone can have a bigger piece!
Care Crowd Creed #3 - Teaming makes it easier... While lots has been discussed in prior episodes as to the advantages teaming in organizations, less has been covered in regards to how those teams are formed in the first place. In today’s episode, Clint elaborates on the reasons why it is often helpful to have the team leader handpick many of the positions during team-formation from their co-workers. This helps to build a group that is already cohesive (hopefully) and comprised of members who are usually closest to the problem (where the best solutions tend to come from). Checkout these helpful tips to help maximize the effectiveness of your teams by utilizing co-workers!
Clint has discussed ‘step-up’ behavior in previous podcasts - it is that ability and innate drive to take things to the next level of effort when it is called for in order to ensure success. This extra effort has the added benefit of not only ensuring this success, but it brings about added bonuses in the process. Listen in today to learn about these extra perks, as well as knowing how and when to join-in on providing step-up actions as the need arises. It is one of the greatest paybacks in the healthcare profession and helps to reinforce why you found your calling in healthcare in the first place!
Teaming makes it easier - even if that team is as small as two people. Even though the two may address implementing solutions from different vantage points or tasks, the common vision makes the pair more effective than either one can be separately. It is crucial that we all have that sort of relationship in our daily work with a partner who helps to ensure that the progress continues daily, in the fashion of the 50-50 relationship that has been discussed in other episodes. For Clint, that person is Kathy Cain, Vice President at Maun-Lemke. Today, Clint takes a moment to elaborate on her outstanding work and partnership as they work together to better the healthcare profession!
Today, Clint discusses Service Standards. These are devices that provide clear, concise deliverables or expectations that are required of all staff of an organization. They provide the high-level basis upon which more detail-level components can be built as the means for delivering on these standards. He provides some examples provided by a recent client visit such as ‘Communication’ which entails the various facets the organization utilizes to ensure communications between staff are productive, yet respectful. The intent is not to micro-define the ‘how’, but rather to define at a high-level the ‘what’ is expected for optimal organizational effectiveness. Listen in!
Making a difference - it is at the heart of why we are in the healthcare profession. We each have a critical role to play in delivering great differences for our customers. Some days, we may do things that are are home-runs. Other days, our efforts may seem fairly routine (but are nonetheless vital that they happen). It is a great occurrence when our efforts can result in a lasting impression that lingers on long after the initial event. These are living, ongoing testaments to differences that we make and serve to remind us that the consequences of our actions (positive and negative) often have very long lasting results. Consider the differences you are making today (and for the extended future!)
In any marketplace, there will be competitors for customers. Healthcare is no different. Your organization should naturally be doing its best to meet and exceed the customer needs for that marketplace. That said, while it may seem counter-intuitive to want to have good competitors, it is actually a good thing to have worthy competition fighting for your customer base. This helps to foster even better customer service, as well as to provide fertile ground for innovation and fresh thinking. Better competition brings out the best in both organizations and vastly improves the playing field for the customer!
Remember your Care Crowd Creed - Teaming Makes It Easier! One way we can utilize this aspect is by implementing the concept of Team Rounding. Making rounds doesn’t have to be an activity reserved only for management staff. Team members can take time to observe the goings-on of their environment and interact customers and fellow staff. There will be lots of opportunities for praise, as well as the occasional opportunity to spot an issue that can be corrected without need for blame or finger-pointing. These opportunities for instant remedies exemplify creating solutions closest to the problems!
In healthcare, there will always be periods when things get a great deal busier than usual. That needs to be viewed as a good thing! Our customers don’t want to be customers in the first place, but as long as they are, we would rather them be our customers rather than the competitor’s down the road, in this economy especially. That concept of being ‘slammed’ thusly needs to be viewed as an opportunity, not as an occasion of defeatist beleaguerment. Make sure we carry an attitude that is up to the challenge of delivering great customer service, especially during our busiest moments!
That forth tenet of the Care Crowd Creed - ‘I make a difference’ - is huge. Without it, the first three tenets have little effect. If no one chooses to make a difference, then healthcare has a very hard climb uphill at being ‘cool’ with great customers and helpful, successful teams. As such, the key to making a difference starts with you accepting the responsibility to do so. Listen in today as Clint discusses some of the many ways we need to do engage in our responsibilities (and even some ways not to).
Tackling tough issues when and where they need to be dealt with sometimes requires an amount of assertiveness, but is necessary to break through logjams to not fall victim to time sensitivities. It is a necessary component to leadership and can be (and should be) practiced by all levels of staff members. As Clint has discussed on previous programs, the best solutions are nearly always determined at the lowest level possible by those immediately familiar with and directly capable of implementing the solution. Get some tips today for learning techniques on tackling those tough issues in your daily work.
In many sports, it is often a game of inches, where even a very small discrepancy can spell the difference between success and failure. It is often no different in healthcare. Our accuracy in our daily tasks is often the deciding factor in determining successful outcomes for our customers, and in following, our organizations. Even slight lapses in our diligence to accurate work can have weighty, downstream consequences. Be sure that as we go about our tasks of ‘making a difference’ in healthcare, we take the necessary time and effort to ensure detailed, accurate work and the documentation of that work!
When you experience that initial moment of awe and excitement with a particular event, there is often an accompanying ‘glow’ on your face that indicates to others your inner buzz. Today, Clint discusses that moment that occurs so often with healthcare professionals. More importantly, he offers some tips and hints for keeping that glow on an ongoing basis while also fostering the glow in your customers and co-workers.
The key thing about your future is that it is YOURS. You are ultimately in charge in getting where you want to go. No one else will do it for you. That said, not everyone works in a career that is ultimately where they want to be, but that is no reason why they can’t be using those downstream skills and talents in their current work environment. In fact, when you can match these desired skills and ambitions with the direction your organization is also heading, great opportunities for advancement of both parties often arise. Get some tips from Clint on maximizing your development, for you and your workplace!
As Spring has now sprung upon us, it is a great time of year to do our ‘Spring Cleaning’. In tandem with the changes now occurring in regards to the healthcare reform, any remnants of the ‘old way’ of doing things need to be swept out the door. Now is the time to be examining our systems, attitudes, policies, procedures and so forth to ensure that we are ready to embrace the ‘new ways’ now upon us, both internally and externally. Listen in as Clint discusses some areas you want to be sure to address in your Spring Cleaning efforts.
Teams exist in varying states of effectiveness. Sometimes 1+1+1=3 (the expected work gets done, but nothing else special is happening). ‘Pretend’ teams don’t even get that far. When synergy can be reached, 1+1+1 can = 4 as more gets done beyond just the baseline with less effort. Today, Clint discusses High Performance Teams where 1+1+1=10 on a continuous basis. There are unique characteristics and outcomes from these kinds of teams. Learn more about these kinds of teams and how to foster them in your organization!
In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. In a people business, such as healthcare, it is customer, customer, customer. In today’s episode, Clint discusses how this founding concept of putting the customer first is the basis upon which the entire entity of healthcare is built. As such, it is also the underlying basis of the Care Crowd. If we cannot choose to put the customer first, it is unlikely we can truly and effectively demonstrate that healthcare is cool, customers are great, teaming makes it easier and I make a difference on a daily basis.
Last night, the House of Representatives voted to approve/move the Healthcare Reform bill on to the Senate for final disposition. Needless to say, change is likely coming. Today, Clint discusses how we need not get caught up in the ‘drama’ of change (the dynamic nature of healthcare is rarely static long anyway). Instead, it is suggested that we take the opportunity to begin preparations for potential eventualities as these changes trickle down. How might certain changes affect us? How might they affect our partners/competitors/staff/etc (which will still affect us)? As events are finally nearing a more certain resolution, it is a great time to be considering your next potential moves regarding your products and services.
There are a wealth of positions open at many organizations today that are going unfilled because the organization is perhaps wary against hiring younger people. While there are some differences in the work styles/ethics of the younger, up-and-coming generation, that should not be used as an excuse not to hire them. In fact, we depend on their fresh perspectives and youthful energy to bring new blood and possibilities to our organizations. We only need to be open to the fact that we may need to adjust our own HR attitudes a bit in working with these younger workers, as the gains to be had in hiring them are indeed numerous. Learn about some of these aspects in today’s Clintcast!
Curb appeal really does make a difference for customers as well as the staff! It is commonly the case that our customers really don’t want to be our customers (or anyone’s for that matter). As long as they are needing care from a facility other than their home, then we need to be sure we are doing the most we can with what we have to send a message to that potential customer that as long as they can’t be at their home, we’re going to make every effort to make our facility as comforting/homelike as possible. Yes, there are usually staff such as grounds/maintenance/etc that fulfill this particular function, but we all have a part in assisting with this vital task. Is your facility sending the right message?
Healthcare is, at its truest heart, a people business... not just for the customers, but for those who serve those customers too! As such, it can really help to move things forward in a great way to take time now and then to make the effort to make someone’s day! Giving really is the best gift because both the giver and the receiver both win. When the effort is spontaneous and without any expectations in return, not only can you make someone else’s day, but you make your own too! Take a moment to remember we are people helping people at all levels.
In being a quality leader, there is a definite need to be ‘on deck’ when the game is in play to help oversee/help with delivering on the organization’s mission/vision. Open door policies help to ensure you are accessible when your assistance is needed (as long as it is not abused and used as an excuse for others to simply dump their problems on your desk - see Problems = Solutions). However, it is just as critical to have a ‘closed door’ policy to ensure that you can get the quiet time needed to do the strategic thinking/planning/paperwork/etc necessary to also move the business forward. Learn how!
In the healthcare profession, we spent a great amount of our time going about the various tasks associated with daily caregiving. However, there is commonly a marked absence of time/effort that ultimately can often make a world of difference with a customer - simple one-on-one time. This isn’t time checking on issues/medications/room specifics/etc but rather just plain simple chat-time getting to know the customer. With all the various hustle and bustle of basic caregiving, it can often be difficult to provide some of the simplest form of care... genuine conversation! Listen in for some tips on making sure this vital activity has a place in your schedule.
It is a common theme in practically everyone’s tasks/careers/lives - we become so embroiled in the daily inner-workings the things that demand our attention that we fail to see things from a broader perspective. Once in a while, it is critical that we hop in that hypothetical helicopter and lift up above the trees to get a better look at the forest and where we are in relation to it. It this where we need to be? Is there a better way of getting somewhere? Get some tips today from Clint on making sure you take that opportunity to get an alternative view now and then! A fresh perspective can make a world of difference for you and your customers!
The ‘swirl’ surrounding the current healthcare reform is truly bewildering. In this episode, Clint tries to shed some light on where he feels things are going, in this case, to a stronger emphasis on a performance-based system, in regards to both consumers and providers. In this view, outcomes become the focal point around which everything else is built so we can all benefit from a more solid understanding of what is expected. With this in mind, better understandings of appropriateness, cost, location, process, etc can be developed to gauge the success of the health system’s performance. Give a listen!
If there is one thing that is certain in healthcare, it is that there is no cookie-cutter approach/process that is applicable eternally across-the-board. Different niches of healthcare require different styles, processes, temperaments, staffing-levels, etc. Getting these aspects right is a huge benefit to the customer, the staff member, the facility at large, in fact, everyone concerned! Therefore, it is highly critical for organizations to constantly be open to opportunities for staff members to re-apply their skills, attitudes and such to the positions/tasks that make the most of these niche areas. Check out Clint’s thoughts on how to capitalize in this realm.
Today, Clint talks a bit regarding our collective healthcare marketing efforts. As is the case in so many different types of businesses, the verbiage/photos/information/etc available on our marketing materials should first and foremost address the needs and desires of the customer, not our own purposes. When we put the customer first, any additional marketing needs can be driven by the customer to help guide where further development is needed. Check out these pointers from Clint today!
As Clint mentioned a few episodes back, he will soon be hosting a new weekly, live internet-radio talk show which will be premiering in late April on VoiceAmerica.com. Like Clintcast, the new show will have the expected focus of healthcare, but this time, from BOTH the consumer and a provider angles. As it is a live show, he will be able to have call-in questions, guest speakers and so forth to truly be able to explore the workings of the healthcare system and its implementation. Today, Clint is putting out the call for suggestions for a name for the upcoming show and he needs your help! Listen in and then email us your ideas at the Clintcast website!
Earlier this past week, Clint had the opportunity to visit a facility for a speaking engagement. While this in not at all uncommon in his work, the way this particular event came into existence is an excellent illustration of the teaming concept, as well as empowerment of all levels of the organization. It all started as the brainchild of four extraordinary women from the Carlyle Healthcare Center in Illinois and grew into a massively positive and effective team/organizational event to further grow and improve their facility’s customer service outcomes. Hats off to the ‘Carlyle Connection’ for a great experience and a great example of how anyone can bring forth great things in an organization!
In many sporting events today, there is always a winner and a loser, never a tie. You either totally succeed or totally fail. In this episode, Clint discusses how this concept is not really appropriate in healthcare. In team dynamics, it is critical that the load of the effort come from the entire team, not one or two standouts. Each member must contribute to the overall effort. As such, it is then perfectly okay for one member to be scaled back in their efforts while another takes the lead. Together, they all cross the finish line as winners!
In football, you get 4 downs to advance the ball 10 yards to get a new first down. If after three downs, you are short of the mark, you have a choice of either trying to go for it (knowing you might not make it) or to punt, thus giving the ball back to the other team, but at least doing so at a disadvantage to them. This second choice is often a good option because it gives the team a chance to regroup, take a breather and re-attack the problem anew from a fresh perspective later. It is no different in healthcare. It is not a failure to temporarily take a moment of respite while still addressing the overall strategic goals.
There are a myriad of ways to capture great ideas - on paper, sticky notes, digital storage, audio recording, you name it. Everyone has their own preferred preference. The important aspect is that it gets captured. Acquisition, however, is not enough. We need mechanisms to share and act on these ideas, otherwise, they sit hollow and unfulfilled. Clint challenges listeners today to pay specific attention to being sure we are always ready to capture great ideas whenever they may come along, and more importantly, to be sure we can share and implement them too!
Have you seen this behavior before? A problem arises and someone just has to put in his/her two cents purely to state an obvious conclusion or to propose a solution which, while it may be simple and obvious, is not ultimately viable. Healthcare is a difficult enough profession already without having to deal with these non-solutions. Was it desperately needed are honest, well-explored possible solutions to choose a path from to hopefully affect positive outcomes. Some solutions may wind up actually being simple, others more complex. The important aspect is that they actually have serious thought, planning and research behind to so that appropriate action can be pursued. Do you know a master of the obvious?
Your opinion matters! That being said, how you get that opinion out so others can consider it can be a delicate matter. There are several key elements required to enable you to be able to put forth your thoughts on a subject in a manner that will determine whether you are successful in sharing those ideas or if you will be met by defensiveness or disregard. Check out Clint’s hints to bring forth what’s on your mind in an effective and powerful way!
In today’s episode, Clint converses with Paul Collins (founder and managing partner of Equiteq LLP, a UK based business advisory firm) regarding his background and expertise in building and improving healthcare service excellence, cost reduction and process improvement, both in the UK and abroad. Listen in!
Today, Clint wants us to take a moment to reflect on those moments that take your breath away, when healthcare professionals are able to go above and beyond to create events whereby we can all get a re-affirmation of why we are in the people business in the first place. These moments occur everyday in many places across the land and it is vital that we are able to take time now and then to absorb, reflect on and celebrate these little victories.
The concept of ‘normal’ is not a normal occurrence in the people business of healthcare. While there can be expectations of some normalcy in regards to things like standard routines/procedures/etc, when humans enter into the equation, it is instead highly helpful to be prepared for the abnormal occurrences which will inevitably happen sooner or later. While, obviously, all possible various events of abnormalities cannot be accurately predicted, we can however use past experiences and predictive knowledge to help guide us in ‘likely abnormalities’ and how to get past them. When a toilet paper supplier fails to deliver on time, for instance, what is a good backup plan to have in place? It is normal to plan for the unexpected!
It is a fundamental basis of social interaction - your word. Our daily dealings with others hinge on our abilities to gain and hold the trust associated with giving our word to others so they can be assured things will be addressed as promised. That being said, it is not without question that impediments occasionally arise that cause us to overcommit in things we promise, which is fine as long as we go the extra distance to re-close the loop with others to update them on the change in status so alterations can be made if needed. Learn about this key aspect to our daily careers and how to make sure you are true to your word!
At times in life, it is not uncommon to get ‘stuck in a rut’ where things may not necessarily be going bad, but progress is at a standstill nonetheless (often thought of as ‘in the groove’). As such, ruts can still cause great harm to an organization, if not directly, then indirectly through lost opportunities and unrealized potentials. What’s the best way to deal with ruts? Avoid them in the first place! If you still manage to get into one, then it is critical to know that; a) you’re in one b) how to get out. Check out Clint’s tips for dealing with these obstacles to positive change!
Previous Clintcast episodes have discussed the critical importance of making the most of the incoming customer experience. Today, Clint discusses taking this process even further with what he calls customized concierge service. In many cases, when a new customer arrives, not only should we be meeting that new customer with all our great welcome procedures in place, but we should also be gaining information (ahead of time if possible) to predictively anticipate issues or concerns that will be specific to this customer and his/her loved ones. By making this little extra effort, an organization can make great leaps in customer service effectiveness! Give it a try!
We are constantly among people in our lives who are particularly good at the art of persuasion (some positive, some not so positive). Politicians, civic leaders, teachers, sales personnel, etc are some typical examples. One misconception that is prevalent is that these people are usually limited to the top ranks of their area. In fact, people of all walks and organizational levels can have excellent persuasion skills. In fact, when faced with instituting change policies within an organization, it is often better to have folks at lower levels with good persuasion skills leading the efforts to introduce and implement changes with teams. Listen in to learn more about how to better utilize these untapped resources!
Some folks out there are what we lovingly call ‘firefighters’ - ones who are constantly in the process of putting out ‘fires’. You’ve likely seen them before (or may even be one)... they are continually in a state of fixing things, coming to the rescue of an overwhelmingly large pile of tasks that no one else seems qualified to be able to handle. While the person’s intentions may be good, this can be a very difficult and debilitating situation for an organization to deal with and things tend to grind to a crawl under this individual’s dominant influence. Clint discusses how to ensure that your organization is not falling victim to these firefighters who get their adrenaline rushes from solving problems (maybe even creating new fires to put out!) despite the organization and other staff.
While practice does indeed help one to become closer to perfection, it does not necessarily make ‘perfect’. In the end though, ‘perfection’ should not always be the end goal. The reason is with perfection often comes inflexibility. While one can train and train to nail a particular process without any errors, the fact is that life rarely stays the same such that the process is written in stone. Instead, practicing enough for excellence while still maintaining the option to be flexible and adaptable is more helpful in the long run as the target is usually in motion during the time spent practicing. Get some pointers on how to make sure you are working toward excellence yet covering your bases for other possibilities!
Perhaps in healthcare, more-so than anywhere else, honesty is an aspect that is highly sought after. That being said though, there is still the possibility that honesty can be delivered in a manner that is harmful. How can you be more effective at delivering honest information in a way that also garners tact and style points? Tune in today as Clint passes on some suggestions, such as using ‘I feel’ statements instead of blanket blame statements, such as ‘you never’. I little forethought goes a long way in helping one to be honest in an effective, yet compassionate way!
Laugh[ing] Out Loud, or LOL as it is known in Internet lingo, is a vital part of our daily lives, even in our teams! Teaming makes it easier - especially when we can share a group moment of humor, which can also have an uncanny power to reinforce bonds of camaraderie as we work on the various tasks of healthcare... even the serious ones! It is important to distinguish that we do not want to laugh AT people or other inappropriate situations. More often than not, the source of the humor can be ourselves. Make sure to find a good belly-laugh with your co-workers once in a while! It will do you all good!
The process of people exhibiting attention seeking behaviors (young or old) is well known and thoroughly documented. These are folks who, most typically, are seeking attention through bad behaviors, if for no other reason than acting out gets them some sort of attention, whether positive or negative (sounds a bit like a troll?) to feed their attention needs. This is probably because these attention needs are not being met elsewhere. Learn how these situations occur and techniques on how to handle them in today’s podcast.
The healthcare career is, by a great many measures, a special path. Not everyone is cut out to be a part of this calling. That being said however, occasionally healthcare professionals do choose to try out or migrate to other professional directions. In today’s episode, Clint elaborates on a discussion he has had with others lately regarding these migrations and how they tend to work out for those people. He contends, as do many others, that while these new professions may indeed be fulfilling, the level of intensity and ultimate payback will not be as strong in other career choices. What do you think? Visit the Clintcast forums and let us know!
Pretty much everyone has encountered it at one time or another - the second wind. It is that point when we have been going hard for a good while, perhaps reached plateau for a while, and then found a new burst of energy to finish the task at hand. This concept can occur with teams too as we go about tackling tasks in a group-driven environment. Today, Clint discusses these second wind efforts and how they commonly take place within a team’s 12-week cycle, as well as between cycles. Knowing these occurrences will happen gives teams a leg up on ensuring they will meet with success, both in the current tasks, as well as future ones.
Today, per a listener request, Clint ponders the key facets of the ‘vacation’. We all have different ideas on what types of activities/lengths of time/etc constitute a vacation. Some prefer longer, more infrequent breaks, others frequent short bursts of long weekends. Whatever the preference, the key takeaway must be a period of recharging whereby the vacationee gets a boost of renewal and fresh energy. If the vacation period is spent doing energy draining activities, then little, if any, is gained upon return to the job. Likewise, it is critical for leadership to be not only supportive of vacation time, but insistent on advancing the welfare of the employee, if for no other reason than a positive vacation period enables higher productivity on the other end. What’s your take on vacation? Stir it up!
We are all familiar with the traditional meaning of ‘popping the question’ (aka, ‘will you marry me’) but this common phrase also has an important counterpart in the healthcare profession... ‘will you help me’. These four little words have a similar power to create a strong partnership between two people as they work toward a common goal in delivering service excellence. It infers a 50/50 relationship whereby the pair can mutually benefit for a combined output of more than 100%. When you multiply these pairings to the extent of the whole organization, it is easy to see the gains these partnerships can garner for the whole. As we celebrate this 300th episode of Clintcast, let’s be sure to pop the question to other to get them involved in helping with the Care Crowd so we can magnify our collective efforts nationwide!
For many, the very word is a downer... Monday. However, it doesn’t have to be this way (in fact, it should be just the opposite). If Mondays seem to be a day set aside to triage the remains of what occurred over the weekend, then you have a pretty good indicator that there are systems and policies in need of repair/replacement in your organization. From a sales/marketing/morale perspective, Monday should be the roaring start to a successful week, filled with goal-setting, strategic planning, morale-boosting, etc - the keyword being an ‘action’ day, not a recoup/readdress day. Listen in as Clint provides some tips for ensuring that Mondays become a day to look forward to, while on the path to deliver great customer service and continual growth.
Intelligence vs. Ignorance of an organization is not a measure (necessarily) of collective IQ. Instead, it has everything to do with the growth of the organization. IQ has little to no impact on the true nature of intelligence - the choice to consciously and relentlessly pursue growth in examining and implementing new/more successful means of carrying on our work (or adding new work avenues to expand our positive reach). Ignorance, conversely ‘is bliss’ as they say, at least internally... content to stay stagnant with what works (which in fact, may not). As our world involves guaranteed, constant change, by this very definition, stagnation can only lead eventually to failure. Get some tips today to ensure your organization is continually growing strong!
There are times for all of us when emotions can become a factor and we have a ‘moment of drama’. That’s okay - it’s human nature to have emotions. However, there are times when, for some, the spotlight becomes a bit addictive and the drama plays on and on. Today, Clint examines how this situation, left out of hand, can become very debilitating for an organization and how to nip it as quickly as possible when it does rear its head. The biggest way to prevent the drama in the first place is to be out of your office and amongst the staff in first hand to help resolve questions/misunderstandings/etc before they become an issue.
Our brains are our local, mobile computers that we rely upon every minute of every day to support us in our life processes. Furthermore, they are in a life-long, constant state of being ‘programmed’ by external ephemera and inputs beyond ourselves, some positive, some negative. As such, it is critical that we take an active role in the ‘programming’ our brains absorb, being wary of the programming maxim that garbage in = garbage out. Only we can determine for ourselves what to let in, what to let stick and what to discard of this constant influx, and when we neglect to take responsibility for this, others have an opportunity to influence us in ways (usually negative) that we do not necessarily intend or desire. Learn about installing your own virus-detection program!
When the ‘sticky-note’ came into existence, it did not take long for folks to instantly recognize how helpful those little yellow slips of paper could be to our self organization processes. However, one must carefully guard against their use as a serious means of communication within an organization (as well as their virtual counterparts, email and voicemail) as you will eventually (and likely routinely) get burned when something as simple as failing adhesive, for instance, comes into play. Clint elaborates on more positive and effective ways to communicate, especially in regards to vital information, as this is a key determinant of success in our US healthcare system, especially given the advanced technological and communications advances that are available to us today.
A critical aspect of leadership is the ability to believe in people. This is a fundamental requirement in order to be able to setup an environment of follower-ship whereby team members not only foster trust in each other, but can utilize that trust to build upon each member’s strengths in a synergistic manner to achieve successes unreachable by single members. This too, helps to prevent anyone from feeling overwhelmed under the weight of having to deliver success totally on their own (which leads to burn-out, health issues, jumping ship, etc). Check out Clint’s 9-item list of things you can do to foster a positive belief system with others in your leadership processes.
A key tactic in the practice of shunning excuse-making in your daily work/life is the avoidance of the use of the word ‘if’, as this word commonly prefaces an excuse or reason as to why something is not successfully occurring. The ideal conditions for success, free of any impediments, rarely occur on their own out of thin air. As such, it is vital to be cognizant of which impediments are holding up progress, how to overcome them in which order, and then to utilize ‘when’ statements instead, showing a positive energy of resolve and confidence that the task can in fact be ultimately achieved once some pre-factors are resolved. Listen in for some help in playing the cards you are dealt!
Strategic planning is a critical component to any organization’s success and great care and diligence should be put into its process. A major sub-component to this process is not only to consider what makes (or will make in the future) your organization a success, but also that of your competitors. Thus Analyzing Competitive Advantage is likewise a key factor to ongoing success and planning. Aspects to examine include entrepreneurial spirit, acceptable calculated risk-taking, integration of growth-oriented tools and techniques, strategic partnerships and so on. Clint discusses how you can put factors such as these to positive benefit in your organization!
The healthcare profession, in comparison to other professions, is obviously one that requires a great deal of attention, energy and continual effort. As such, it becomes a debilitating issue when a team-member is chronically not willing to put forth the necessary requirements/effort to perform the duties as needed. When this happens, it is critical that team members (without necessarily waiting on management action) address the lazy person’s behaviors and get them on board, or in a different line of work, as the person is doing themselves and everyone else a great disservice in their current behavior model. Learn how to effectively deal with these drains on your organization’s energy and effectiveness.
Every profession has various requirements of our energy, whether physical, mental, positive, stamina, etc. Each also its ups and downs and is rarely a routine energy level from day to day as the natural order of things tends to introduce occasional deviations on its own. Therefore, what can we do to try to keep up our energy levels despite the various work loads? Today, Clint discusses how teaming, focus, celebration, pause and chunking/mixing it up can get back some of that energy for us so we can continue to do the great things we do on a long-term basis. Get a boost today!
The healthcare profession includes, by definition, the need to deal with the human condition - that’s what we do! As such, one of the aspects of the human condition with which we contend daily is the smell that can occasion daily bodily functioning. Good organizations/facilities address this on a continual basis by making sure it is everyone’s job to be a part of the solution. Not dealing with lingering smells has widespread immediate as well as downstream consequences. Better to get on top of the problem from the start. Listen in for some ideas on how!
It is necessary for every person or organization to have this to succeed in a long-term, continual fashion... vision. While we can have a ‘mission’ that helps us direct our efforts on a moment-by-moment basis, the ‘vision’ is what gives us the driving-force, can-do attitude to accomplish the mission and more importantly, to grow further beyond to new heights in a particular, chosen direction. Sometimes, the vision is hard for all to see (hence the need for visionary leaders to help us connect the dots to reach the destination) but it nonetheless puts in motion the plan of possibility to get there. This week, be sure to celebrate Martin Luther King’s vision as well as your own and that of your organization!
From time to time, we occasionally have the occurrence when someone in our care passes on. This event is a big deal and should likewise be treated as such as it is an opportunity for an organization to demonstrate that this person was indeed that, a person, not just a customer, and deserves our fullest respect. Today discusses some key aspects to this processes as well as some ideas/examples on how some facilities can take the moment to truly honor the respectful passing of those in their charge.
As many have you have noted, our company’s name is Maun-Lemke, LLC and many were curious who the ‘Lemke’ is. In today’s podcast, Clint takes the moment to introduce listeners to Ray Lemke, the co-founding partner, and to discuss the positive and deeply powerful processes Ray helped to put into motion when he helped to launch the company over 25 years ago. Solution-orientation is the key! Get some inspiration today!
Recruiting new staff is always a bit of an ‘iffy’ process as, like dating, it sometimes takes awhile to find out that the coupling doesn’t always produce mutually positive outcomes. Sometimes, however, the best prospects for new employees at our organizations are ones we’ve already had as staff in the past! Like life, changes occur over time and the reasons that may have resulted in a parting of ways previously may be resolved and a previous staff member may in fact be a perfect fit now. Today, Clint discusses how facilities can harness the power of teams to laser-target recruiting these alumni to fill the opportunities at hand.
As we become situated in our careers over an increasing period of time, there is a natural tendency to feel ‘we have learned all the answers’ and that we know what to do for practically any given situation. The truth is that life undergoes constant change. As such, even if most of the time our hunches and experiences are still right given these changes, there are surely going to be times when we are, in fact, wrong. Therefore, it is critical that we continually re-evaluate our presumed knowledge to see if there may be new ways to approach solutions we had not considered previously. Listen in as Clint reminds us to avoid ‘stinkin thinkin’.
Many of us remember playing ‘Telephone’ as kids where a message is whispered person to person down the chain to see how garbled the initial message had become by the time it reached the end person. Passing on info/news is contagious like that. Sometimes the ‘spin’ that happens along the way adds positive, negative or inaccurate influences. These occurrences in an organization can sometimes be very counter-productive and often get started when secretive communications originate. Today, Clint discusses how beneficial it can be to have important communications brought into the open from the outset to get the message clearly communicated so it can be accurately shared and generate excitement properly for maximum positive effect.
In many facilities where there is a process of rehabilitative/transition care, there is also a golden opportunity to setup a cyclic process whereby the ‘transitionees’ can celebrate the important milestone as it marks an important step in their care and healing process. It also provides a great time for family members to partake, as well as other residents from which the customer is leaving as well as those that he/she is moving to be with in the next phase of care. Likewise, the caregivers themselves get a chance for renewal of energy in their efforts, rather than feeling stuck in the mouse-wheel routine. Hear why you should have graduation parties!
In today’s healthcare environment, especially given the reform measures coming on the horizon, it is more important than ever to recognize that you cannot survive, much less thrive, by being an island. This is true both at the organizational level as well as the individual level. No one can do it all alone. Nor should you want to. Just like in Wall Street mergers, joinings take place because there is efficiency to be gained by the partnerships. As such, we must constantly be on the watch for opportunities to forge these partnerships, referrals, efficiencies, etc to ‘build a bigger pie’ so we can ‘get a bigger piece’. We all can win, especially our customers!
For those out there old enough (or young enough depending on your perspective) to remember the Andy Griffith show, the character of Gomer Pyle was filled constant, serendipitous ‘surprise’ such that life was always filled with happy little occurrences. Today, Clint discusses how there is a need in our healthcare world for professionals to induce some ‘surprise’ into the daily lives of our customers, our coworkers and our organizations to help offset the daily negative surprises we encounter routinely, but also to inject some pure, unexpected care into our lives. We can all benefit from a ‘surprise’ now and then!
A question that often arises, especially in management roles is to wonder if it is okay to ‘straddle the fence’ regarding a decision to be made... must a side always be taken? Eventually, yes a decision is necessary - that’s how we choose a goal and proceed in that direction. However, it is okay to delay taking a side long enough to gather the support data, cost analyses, input from team members, etc to foster choosing a side to favor. The hard part is knowing when that process is taking too long at the cost of getting things done. A better tactic is to get the team involved in forging these directions (sometimes eliminating the ‘fence’ altogether) as long as members understand that once a choice is made, it is off to the races. Which side are you on?
The concept of the right-hand-man, the trusted person closest to the high ranking person dates back many centuries. Still today, it involves developing a trusting relationship with another upon whom the ‘king’ entrusts assistance in the kingly tasks, a position appreciated yet, more than likely, still based on hope of not being let down. Why not adopt a team-based approach so that there are many right-hand-persons to help with the load (and the successes) so that the trust can be shared more universally and all the eggs aren’t in one basket? Listen in!
Any sports fan can relate to the importance of momentum. It is one of those ‘you know it when you have it’ things that can make the difference between ordinary and extraordinary and boost the outcome of a team significantly. The trick is often that the key breakthrough that spurs the momentum is unpredictable as to when and where it will happen (if at all). We can, however, put our teams in the path/conditions typical of fostering momentum creating events. Today, Clint describes some of these conditions that tend to give teams extra opportunities to drive momentum in their organization.
In the grand scheme of things, it is better to have we’s than me’s. Effective team behaviors trump individual efforts every time because the power of the team brings forth inner synergies that exceed the sum of the individuals comprising the team for positive good. That being the case, sometimes in life, we have one or more ‘me’ oriented folks embedded with us that let their self-centered behaviors that rule their lives pervade the team around them. When this occurs, it is critical that the we’s deal with this situation effectively, completely and immediately as it will quickly wipe away any gains made by the team if left unchecked. Learn some tips on waging this important battle within your work environment.
On this first day of the fresh new year, Clint relates the date today (01-01-10) to the uniqueness in each of us, in that it is those ones in a field of nothing (zeroes) that are the significant digits in the date that make all the difference. Similarly, we all carry with us a special facet to the universe in that we are the only one in the great expanse that has the unique skills, background, experience, etc that is the sum of our parts. Therefore, we need to take great care to not only value our uniqueness, but also to utilize it in combining our efforts with the other ‘ones’ to help make a whole greater than the sum of its parts for our customers and those around us in life. Celebrate because today, you’re the one!
We all need to have a plan for our years after our working career and for the steps we need to put in place prior to that life-stage (retirement planning for the ‘future now’). That’s all well and proper. Where things sometime breakdown is when the individual makes the retirement motions while still on the job (perhaps even 20 years early!) because they have decided they have done enough. For these folks, they have already ‘turned off the switch’ and as such, they will likely find retirement itself unfulfilling as well, as they are not finding happiness in their ‘current now’ and doing things that keep an active state in progress, regardless if it is for an organization or themselves. How’s your retirement planning aligned?
A key component of success is the relentless need for constant movement toward a higher goal. It can sometimes be easy to fall into a trap of settling for a status quo position, but it is imperative that we constantly look for opportunities in which to grow as there are always aspects of our work that can improve in timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, etc that improve upon our abilities to dazzle our customers. The key is to make the decision to not settle for mediocrity. Listen in for some tips on striving for more.
Nothing kills a team’s spirit more than a member who holds the attitude that ‘it’s not my job’. The healthcare profession depends on team players willing to bend and flex with the day as the concept of customer service excellence relies on this ability to deal with the innumerable ‘unpredicted events’ that routinely and randomly sprinkle the day. Obviously, folks should not be doing things they are not licensed/approved to do, but otherwise, if they can pitch in and cover as needed throughout the day, the workplace becomes a much better environment for both the staff and the customers. Make sure your team is on-board!
Throughout our working careers, it is very important that we constantly attend to building personal skills that enable us to be more effective in our work. One skill in particular that is commonly held and utilized by highly successful people is that of initiating and maintaining eye contact with customers and co-workers. In the people business of healthcare, it does not matter if we nail the technical aspects of our work if we do not succeed in our people skills as well. As such, it is very helpful when we can use this skill to help establish a relationship of trust and empathy with those around us to help enhance our technical skill and customer service delivery. Take a look!
Today, Clint wishes everyone a truly happy holiday season with a Ho! Ho! Ho! On this day especially, it is vital that we in this people business embrace this spirit of giving as we have a uniquely poignant opportunity to ensure that those in our care have a chance to enjoy and share in the holiday spirit too at a time of year that is often very difficult for them. More so, it is just as critical that our approach be full of vim and vigor and not Ho-Ho-Hum. Let’s ensure that each other has a wonderful day today and throughout the upcoming year as well!
A common question that tends to arise at this time each year is whether or not paying bonuses is an appropriate measure in helping the success of an organization, and if so, what are some factors to consider in implementing them. A vital component to any bonus plan is the communication of the plan’s intentions and structure to all members involved. Learn some ideas on the strategic importance and execution of bonuses today’s episode!
Teaming makes it easier - absolutely! That being said, a natural question that arises is can we have staff that participate on more than one team? In this episode, Clint discusses this question and notes that while it is technically possible, it is most likely not a good idea for many reasons, both immediate and downstream-consequence wise. Listen in today to get some tips on how to best staff your rapid-cycle improvement teams to get the best bang for your effort as well as the best utilization of your staff.
People connecting with people to help people - that is what this profession is about. Being in the people business, by necessity, requires certain characteristics in order to succeed, and more importantly, to be happy in your role within the profession. Today, Clint talks about some of these traits that are critical to have, or at least develop, to ensure you have a long and fruitful career in the people business.
Team motivation can take a number of forms, such as incentives, internal promotions, obscure charting of progress and so forth. Today, Clint discusses what he considers to be one of the best means of motivation - frequent, specific, on-going feedback on where we stand against our goals. When folks can see immediately and easily how they, as a team, are progressing against high-level goals as well as the sub-process steps along the way, intrinsic motivation can become a powerful force for exciting the crowd. Check out some ‘rallying points’ today!
As Clint has discussed in prior episodes, we must not live in the past, but rather in the present. This does not infer however, that we cannot benefit from studying the past to learn from our former successes (and more importantly our failures) so as to better prepare for our potential future. This also does not mean we must act based totally on what worked (or didn't) in prior times, but it gives us the chance to see WHY something may or may not have worked in prior circumstances knowing that future circumstances might be similar but with different contexts or subtle differences that are significant. In the end, it is about preparation. Take a look (back)!
In the process of managing/leading others, there is a common need for time to be able to assert dedicated effort to specific tasks such as paperwork, reporting, planning, etc during which it is important to be able to close the door to your office. However, it is equally important, if not more important, to dedicate time to being ‘out of the office’. This doesn’t mean being offsite and inaccessible - quite the opposite in fact. It is critical to effective leadership to maintain accessibility, availability and frequent exposure to the team in their environment to lend support to their needs and to help them resolve concerns. Listen in today as Clint provides some pointers on honing this fine balance between getting your work done and assisting others with their tasks.
A large part of our success as an organization in getting new business, or retaining the business we already have, is driven by our marketing efforts. Developing marketing information that will effectively communicate your quality points is therefore a critical skill. A key aspect to this endeavor is remembering that it HAS to be about the customer. Many organizations have brochures, websites, commercials, etc that prominently feature the organization’s staff, facility and so forth, but offer little in the way of connecting with the customer’s needs. Today Clint discusses some things to consider as you go about crafting your opportunities to communicate with those who should do business with you.
It is common in life that decisions are routinely made by a committee, or at least a loose plurality with a common interest. It is our job as members of these groups to participate in the decision-making process by providing ideation effort to derive options, offer pro/con support to the resulting options and, most importantly, put our support into the team decision, even if the choice is not one we supported. Sometimes, egos are a bit bruised when other’s options are selected and it is vital that we are able to get over this let-down and move on with the business at hand as our team members are counting on us to help with the solution.
Today, Clint speaks to our Care Crowd Creed #2 tenet that Customers are Great! Great people are on both sides of the relationship in healthcare. It takes both parties, the caregiver and the care-receiver, to truly forge a great relationship whereby both parties truly expect and receive service excellence from each other. Of course there will be customers who are not always as cheerful as we like, or as thankful, or maybe have issues making their payments on time, etc. Remember that they don’t necessarily want to be customers in the first place (who can blame them) but that gives us the opportunity to help make their lives that much better, which can lead to a great relationship downstream. Get some great ideas today!
While every team and team member at the facility are key, critical personnel in the whole experience a customer/patient, the nursing team specifically tends to be the group most in the position of the ‘home team’ which is the closest, most centric player around the customer. Unfortunately, there are often turf wars between this home team and the other related ‘away’ teams (dietary, housekeeping, maintenance, etc) responsible for the ‘whole customer experience’. These are needless, especially when the entire facility understands that ALL the various groups are a combined team which share the success or failure of providing customer service excellence as a whole. Here are some thoughts to consider regarding your ‘home team’!
We are all familiar with those folks that Clint often refers to as trolls. Those are the ones that always carry a dark cloud of pessimism and negativity about them and often work to drive chaos and breakdown within an organization by raining on other’s days as well, or better still, turning others into trolls. How can we effectively deal with these sorts of folks? It starts with a P=S policy (problems = solutions). By effectively engaging them in a solution-oriented process, they learn they must be choose to be a part of the solution or choose to not be part of the team/organization. Here are some thoughts to consider!
Respect starts with self-respect. You need to be self-confident in your own position, skills, opinions, etc to accord yourself value in the organization. No one is ‘justa’ this or ‘only’ a that, we are all team members with a critical role in the success of the organization. As such, not only do you need to value your service, but you need to value the services of the others around you as well, as they are equally important to the team’s success. Listen in as Clint helps us realize the vital roles we all play in healthcare.
Today's healthcare customers have an ever-increasing detailed grading scale regarding their healthcare processes (or those of their family members) and regardless of how clinically excellent the service received may be, it all comes down to the customer experience that ultimately drives the outcomes. As such, it is critical that we be able to deliver on the clinical service (this should be a given if we truly deliver what we say we deliver) AS WELL AS the customer service components of our relationships with our customers. Here are some thing to think about and discuss!
As we truly get into the thick of the holiday season, Clint takes a moment to comment how he is really seeing a preponderance of the giving spirit this year as he travels the country, especially given the difficult economic conditions in place. As a profession totally geared to helping people anyway as its very basis, it goes without saying that healthcare professionals nationwide can be leaders in the spirit of giving, year round - but it truly COOL to see so many taking it upon themselves to go the extra miles to make things extra special. Take a moment in the coming days to share your experiences with the other Care Crowd members on the website!
The best way to have quality employees working for your organization... don’t lose the great ones you already have! Next best strategy... have a great team-based recruitment process in place to attract new staff that fits in well with the organization. How do you know what sort of person this will be? Try looking at the great ones you already have! What traits do they have? What local community aspects might appeal to prospective employees? What innovative aspects are unique to your organization that would be attractive? This process is highly keyed to using the great team you already have in place- listen in for some keys to consider!
Our buttons can be pushed in both positive and negative ways. When the positive ones happen, we usually absorb the good vibes the come naturally with the button pushing. What happens when negative buttons are triggered though - are you aware of how you react? The good news is that even though we all have our ‘hot buttons’ that we don’t enjoy being pushed, we do however have an option regarding how we behave when it happens, and better yet, can even address situations to reduce or even eliminate potential future pushing in these areas. Push that ‘listen’ button for some ideas on how to deal with this!
It is easy to recognize that bad news tends to spread very rapidly, most often because it has been spun with the intent to do exactly that and to get someone some attention in the process. The good side to this is that good news can also be driven in a manner as to spread quickly and to create positive effects in its wake. Learning how to foster this skill can really help an organization to not only improve morale, but also to expedite good news like positive recognition and team achievements throughout the facility quickly. Pick up some ideas today!
Doing the right thing at the right time for the right person in the right place is a constant balancing act and it is the basis of our daily striving for customer excellence. It is normal throughout the week to have some days that seem more ‘slammed’ than others as we try to maintain this balance. When in this position, one aspect we need to be aware of that sometimes can become a crutch is what Clint calls ‘the hand’ - that gesture often given by wait-staff letting the customer know (only through body-language) that they will address their needs in a moment. Learn how to make sure we organize our time well so we can always be with the customer 100% when the time is right.
It is the founding cornerstone of every organization... the mission statement. It outlines what the organization is all about and needs to be constantly and cheerfully pursued by every member of that organization. One of the measures of success in regards to advancing this mission is the process of beating the budget with improved revenue. Not only does this show that you can execute the mission throughout the year with excellence, but it also enables the ability to take it even further, or at the very least, weather difficult times more easily rather than potentially having to sacrifice on mission pursuit while mired in survival mode. How are you advancing your mission?
We’ve heard it all our lives... someone is or isn’t living up to their potential. When you truly consider what a subjective tar pit this puts in place, you quickly realize that little use can come from comparing one to their ‘potential’, especially when that person has little input into the equation other than to deliver on predetermined ‘guesstimates’. Instead, Clint suggests we consider utilizing agreed-upon outcomes that both/all parties can get behind that work in the favor of everyone concerned without putting anyone in ‘impossible to deliver’ situations. That way, everyone has the opportunity to win!
As we begin the holiday rush, Clint takes time out today to give pause to the idea that as we work these long holiday weekends, we should be mindful to remember that many of our customers would also prefer to be with their families or in other places or doing other things, just like we may prefer when selected to work the weekend/holiday shifts. If our hearts are truly in our work and we truly believe that we make a difference in the lives of others, then this provides an excellent opportunity to step-up our thankfulness and our efforts in a major way to help our customers (which helps us too!). Let’s all give thanks that we work in healthcare, which is cool for customers that are great!
Today, Clint observes one aspect about human nature as it relates to how folks handle their workloads. Are you a sorter, an organizer or a stacker (somewhere in-between)? Hear his take on how each group typically functions and how these traits typically manifest themselves beyond the piles on the desk. Most importantly, it is critical we find ways to co-exist and ensure our work gets done for our customers.
Today, Clint speaks with Scott La Rue, COO of the ArchCare system in New York City to get a pulse on some of the aspects that are faced on a daily basis in the field, specifically regarding quality and budgetary issues. Scott relates how strategies such as teaming, 12-week plans and revenue enhancement have really helped the business, especially in light of state funding shortfalls. Give a listen!
Life balance is the constant juggling of three basic forces in our lives - sleeping, working and playing. Each person has their own particular preferences for how much of each is needed in life to be happy. With that in mind, how can you then actually put in motion ways to truly achieve your target values for each of these forces on a daily basis? In today’s episode, Clint talks about these life aspects and how devising a plan can help you get the amounts of each you desire and better yet, get others to help you hit your targets! Find your balance!
The healthcare customer in years past was primarily a needs-based affair, but more often today, our customers are becoming accustomed to also having wants and desires addressed as well. It is vital to our customer service models that we find ways to integrate meeting and exceeding these needs as well, especially for ‘premium’ customers. Examples include aspects such as home comforts (pets, hi-def TV, internet, etc), additional meal options and such that help our customers enjoy that little extra that makes the difference between ‘got to have’ and ‘nice to have’. Learn how you can step it up a notch today!
As a nation, the US absence level is comparatively low, but nonetheless, absences still affect our daily work lives and can have a profoundly large impact on the effectiveness of our teams. That said, today Clint discusses some of the ways we can implement team-based policies to help deal with this aspect of our customer service model. By making this a team-directed strategy rather than the company’s, we can drive better team integration and personal accountability.
Today Clint discusses one of those aspects that should just be a given - our ability and drive to be detailed and accurate in our work, both in its execution and its documentation. Besides the simple altruistic aspect that it is simply the right thing to do anyway, it has the added benefit of putting us into a proactive model as opposed to a reactive one. We can provide ourselves (and our customers) a good measure of self-regulation and oversight instead of leaving the opening for doubt, carelessness, accidents and so forth. Listen in for a self-checkup!
Do you hire thinking you will be able to influence an employee’s value system to better suit your organization? Chances are you will not have much of any effect in this realm as most all of us have our value systems pretty well solidified in our early teens. While you may indeed be able to influence behavior systems, it is not likely that core values will be altered. That being said, it becomes the responsibility of the organization to try to synchronize and align with common values between both parties - thus is becomes very critical to be sure to understand a candidate’s core values during the hiring process to make sure both parties can prosper under a shared set up values.
We’ve all seen them - those little episodes where the ‘woe is me’ issue becomes out of hand. We’re all entitled to an off day now and then but it is critical to be able to overcome them and move on to more positive times and solutions as quickly as possible. As such, we must also be careful to not get caught up in other’s pity parties as they can be contagious and soon mire down entire groups, departments and even organizations. Today, Clint discusses the pity party concept and its potential effects on individuals and organizations. Don’t let these bring down your level of positive customer service!
The healthcare reform/debate is continuing to churn as the US Senate is putting together their version of the proposed bill. There is perhaps an unprecedented amount of input and feedback associated with this process as players from all corners of the healthcare arena make their preferences known. As such, it is vital that providers themselves actively participate in this process. After all, they will be charged with providing whatever service is agreed upon in the end. Thusly, it is critical to be taking efforts now to understand what is being debated, what the implications are downstream and how we can potentially position ourselves to be prepared for the eventual decided direction. Check it out!
As healthcare reform draws closer, one aspect that appears to be likely enacted regardless is that of bundling payments to follow the patient throughout the various facets of the healthcare process. A prominent side-effect of this tactic is that facilities which have invested time and effort into building strategic partnerships to smooth and facilitate these transitions will benefit greatly from this new process. Learn how you can be positioning yourself and your organization to benefit from these changes tomorrow (and today)!
Care Crowd Creed Item #4 - I Make A Difference - how true! The healthcare profession is nothing without those last four but critical letters C-A-R-E. It is perhaps to the most important, as well as rewarding, aspect of this profession. To truly succeed on a personal level as well as to facilitate successes with our customers, it is vital that we actually provide on a daily basis REAL care, not just going through the motions care. Today Clint discusses some of the various manifestations of this requisite factor and how it contributes to your ability to make a difference everyday!
Technology is here to stay. It is increasingly ingrained in every aspect of our lives and those resistant to its integration will likely find themselves hopeless behind the curve. Unfortunately, this doesn't have to be as difficult as many imagine it and taking the time now to become familiar with these advances (or better still an early researcher/adopter) can in fact, bring about tremendous opportunities. Healthcare is abounding with promising (and current) technologies such as tele-health and home/safety-monitoring, for instance, that can help enable returns to the home for many customers who do not truly need continual oversight in a facility. Be sure to investigate ways in which technology can help you provide better customer service today!
It should be a goal for all of us to strive for continual self-improvement. That being said however, it is okay to not know ALL the answers, especially in a leadership role. As you go about making rounds to get a pulse on your staff, it is often more helpful to actually ‘act stupid’, in the sense that you instead seek the staff members’ input into possible solutions to issues, rather that just degree an answer on your own. This encourages teamwork as well as “solutions closest to the problem” thinking and decreases the perception that you are just another surveyor/auditor/etc spewing oversight rather than empowering others. Check out these ideas!
Hunches are a curious facet of human existence. It is a fascinating ability to somehow recognize the slightest discrepancy in the usual pattern, even if only subliminally... that ‘something’s wrong’ feeling. It is vital in healthcare that we be allowed to follow up on these hunch situations to see if there is indeed something going on such that our early, proactive actions can provide an improvement in service. It is this aspect that often makes the difference between an organization being proactive (great service) and retro-active (always dealing with the past). Develop your skills on hunches - it pays!
We see it every day - there are countless examples of successes where a customer in our care has achieved a positive outcome, be it overcoming long odds in a surgical procedure, returning home after transitioning from a difficult health stage, the birth of a child under risky circumstances, etc. These successes are an opportunity for us to recognize each day just what an impact our presence has made in the life of another. It truly brings to light the tenets of the Care Crowd Creed in a meaningful and measurable way. As such, it is vital that we take time in those precious moments to celebrate the very reasons we are in the people business in the first place!
One of the most prominent ways healthcare is changing these days is the relentless acceleration in the pace of the day. This is true for most all aspects of life beyond healthcare as well. One such area where this becomes a problem is when issues happen and commonly, excuse-making ensues. Customer service in today’s models needs to grow beyond this - hence the adoption of no-excuse policies. Furthermore, how those policies are taught to employees can likewise be adapted to newer models to speed up uptake while increasing effectiveness. Check out today’s podcast for ideas on how to achieve this using Rapid-Cycle Scripting Practice.
It is currently true that healthcare is operating in a stressed economy (like everyone else), a result of which is that some aspects of financial, regulatory and operations issues can be attributed as a struggle. However, it is an illusion to believe these are the only forces at work to create this leaner environment. More than ever (and increasingly in the future) healthcare is viewed and executed with greater transparency whereby more traditional market forces common in other business markets can come to bear to drive aspects such as cost-management, oversight, competition, wages, etc. This will not go away anytime soon (if ever) so we need to utilize this current time to be sure we are addressing these areas to best capitalize on these market forces, for our good AND our customers. Here are some ideas to think about!
As discussed in earlier podcasts, 50-50 relationships are critical in partnerships as it establishes that both parties have rights as well as responsibilities. By forging these partnerships, we can synergize strengths and opportunities to effectively make 50+50=110 (or more), whereby the sum becomes more than its parts and the result is a win-win for everyone. Vendor partnerships are one such relationship that your organization can participate in to help deliver better customer service and not have to ‘go things alone’. Learn how today!
When it comes down to it, our ultimate job in healthcare is to take care of people. No matter our particular role in our respective organizations, we are all contributing to the care of our customer. This common tie or purpose helps us to not only have a source of pride and accomplishment as we celebrate our successes, but it also helps to bind and inspire the others that join in this common purpose with us. While there will always be some days where this common thread may be less visible, it is none-the-less there and we owe it to ourselves and others around us to remember the importance we each serve in delivering on our shared goals. Get some inspiration in today’s podcast!
The customers in our care often come with ‘attachments’, their families, to which we are also responsible for delivering great customer service. After all, these extensions of our customer are a great source of external marketing, information, feedback, etc. When treated well, they can help sing our praises to other potential customers or referral organizations. That being the case, we need to have a pre-planned action list of techniques to help us work with these families that may be a bit more difficult to work with as we care for their loved ones. Here are some ideas!
Today, Clint discusses his trip to Wisconsin Dells to speak at a conference where major league collaboration was taking place regarding log-term care healthcare issues. Great dialogue took place between many various parties working together to make a better customer experience in Wisconsin, including representatives from many providers, regulatory and survey agencies, and more, all with the common purpose of sharing ideas, techniques and information to improve the state of care and customer service. Let’s help get this model rolling in other places too!
Everyone deserves a break during your workload throughout the day to get a quick recharge. If lets us get a chance at a refreshing moment so when we go back to the tasks at hand, we are ready to give it our best again. That being said, why would you want to use this time to be around ‘stinkin thinkin’ or others who sap your energy and good vibes during these critical minutes. It is very important that you actively ‘plan’ how to use those moments as wisely as possible to get you the recharge you need and perhaps even help some of your customers simultaneously! Talk about a double-dose of boost!
While the marketing department does serve an important function within the organization, it does not (and should not) need to be the only group responsible for selling your organization’s products and services. By all areas of the business participating in the cross-selling of these aspects, not only does the business as a whole prosper, but all areas take part in the overall success, even if their corner of the business is very small in comparison. This further helps to stimulate the teaming throughout. Don’t forget external cross-selling as well regarding your various partnerships. They are part of your team too! Here are more ideas!
In dealing with individuals’ behaviors that aren’t necessarily team-like, it can sometimes be difficult to resolve what to do with the rest of the team to help the individual. Approaching an individual on your own to address the issue can sometimes be intimidating. As the Care Crowd Creed notes, teaming makes it easier! The important aspect is, however, to team-up, not gang-up on the individual, which can be passive-aggressive in nature and wind up involving a manager in an activity that should be solved at the team level. Today, Clint discusses some ideas to help us ‘team-up’.
As has been noted by many, there is no way to happiness... happiness is the way. By adopting this viewpoint, one embraces the journey as the source of happiness, not the endpoint. One caveat to this is that happiness then becomes an expected norm on a daily basis. Of course, we all have days were things aren’t so bright and that it okay. It is thus important to set up our teams and organizations to be sure to enjoy the ride and enjoy the view along the way to get us through these times as well as to celebrate the small things that occur throughout the journey. Find out how!
Productivity is a constant process of balancing getting things done with sufficient quantity while maintaining appropriate quality. It is important to be able to measure ourselves against common productivity metrics but this shouldn’t be at the cost of the personal productivity itself. Micro-managing personal productivity can quickly lead to parent-child models of management which invariably fail. As always, teaming comes to the rescue. By bringing these metrics to a team-level, the personal productivity then can be left to the individual and nurtured by the team for better success. Check it out!
While history teaches us many lessons from the past that are still true today, you cannot rely on what has worked in the past to always work today given our different technologies, social environments, financial regulations and so forth. In fact, living in the past can be a surefire way to bring an organization to its knees. We must continually strive to find new ways to succeed today. That doesn’t mean we can’t be mindful of yesterday’s lessons, but we can temper them with new thoughts and options for today’s world. Get some ideas today for architecting your tomorrow!
Remember how Mom would say if she didn't need to take you to the emergency room for limb re-attachment, then your issue wasn’t really an emergency? The workplace is really no different - unless a crisis is threatening personal or property damage or drastic impact to customer service, then it likely is not a 9 or 10 on the panic-meter. Today, get some tips on how to recognize the level of crises and appropriate levels of action in response.
As discussed in previous episodes, the process of bringing in new hires is a critical task to get right. Lots of time and effort has gone into selecting the right person - why chance losing it all because a new hire gets totally overwhelmed in the on-boarding process (hence not feeling welcome) and jumps ship. A helpful method to make sure you cover the orientation tasks thoroughly over a given period and in the right order lies in sequencing the checklist to maximize this critical task. Learn how!
Regulations, transparency and change... oh my! There is no denying that there are a great many forces of change putting new pressures on hospitals and similar facilities. This will not abate any time soon either. That being said, it sets up an enormous potential for success for those organizations that can not only embrace these changes, but thrive on them. This will ultimately likely be determined by middle management/leadership. Learn how in today’s episode.
Most people can point to a specific moment, event, person/mentor, literary work, etc, that sent them on their way in their healthcare profession. In fact, most careers have many of these little flashpoints or epiphanies that drastically impact our lives and shape the directions in which we can then further expand ourselves. Today, Clint discusses how to be on the lookout for these moments as well as how to be open to the new possibilities they bring.
While it might seem like a good idea at the time, setting up competition between employees where there is a potential for ‘losers’, as compared to ‘winners’, can often put in motion forces that tend to obliterate any positive momentum that was desired in the first the place. Instead, it is preferable to compete directly against goals and targets (hence, everyone can conceivably win if the goals are achieved) where possible. That way, we all win in the end! Get some ideas in today’s podcast.
It is great to cultivate a pleasing personality where you strive to dazzle your customers with excellent service and team-building actions. Where one has to be careful is when this need for pleasing becomes all-encompassing (aka ‘please-aholic’) and there is an absence of conflict resolution skills. You must be able to occasionally say ‘no’ and address your own needs while still taking care of your customers. Learn some tips from Clint on how to recognize and deal with this situation in your life!
Everyone at every level of an organization has one - the boss. Even folks at the ‘top’ of the ladder report to others like shareholders, clients, customers and so forth. As such, it is important to cultivate a positive relationship with your boss. Yes they often are paid a little more, but in turn they must manage you (and likely others). Though some of them may argue, being the boss does not necessarily make them always ‘right’. Being able to establish a 50-50 relationship with your boss can go a long to way to helping with this management arrangement. Find out how!
Teaming makes it easier - this applies at many levels, even personally. One way you personally team with others is through your Association involvement as this partnership can have tremendous gains for both parties. Associations are a great resource to help out with your personal development, continuing education and networking needs. In return, you join with others to raise issues in the healthcare profession and work together as a much larger group to find solutions, as well as to collectively work to improve healthcare for all. What a deal! Listen in for more!
In today’s society, your work family often sees more of you than you home family does. As such, it is important to have friends at work that you can count on to help carry the load of the organization, as well as to have healthy social interactions. Of course, caution must be exercised to be sure friendships do not become inappropriate or consume too much time at the workplace instead of the work itself. Still, friendships are a necessary and helpful aspect of worklife. Find out more today!
It is a given that if you don’t tell your story, someone else will, and it might not be the story you want heard. Knowing your story and being able to back it up with lots of great metrics, stories and testimonials is key to being able to market your efforts externally as well as to your own staff so they can celebrate the results of their efforts. Get some ideas today on how to share your story!
One leadership quality that is critical to success is the ability to distinguish between mountains and mole hills. How one evaluates when a crisis is truly a game-changer and when it is merely an incidental roadblock is key to time-management tasks as well as resource management with other co-workers, budgets, and so forth. Clint provides some tips today on how to recognize the differences, as well as how to deal with others when they have a crisis to hand off to you.
We hear it all the time, ‘I’ll try’, in response to a request to do or accomplish something. Almost inevitably, the actual result will come up short. It isn’t that the person is not necessarily capable of the goal, but rather may have some impediments that are sketchy and s/he doesn’t want to just say ‘no’, but rather at least offer hope. As the wise Yoda said, ‘Do or do not - there is no try.’ How do you help someone set up an environment where ‘I will’ is the desired answer? The key is chunking!
Are you coachable, teachable, open to new ways of thinking or looking at your world? The basis of mentoring begins with your ability to be mentored. The need to grow and develop should foster an attitude in which you don’t know all the answers and thus need to find new ones, or perhaps at least new approaches that can supplant or provide alternatives to old ones. Where you get your mentoring can be just as varied - coaches, newsletters, books, seminars, even these podcasts can provide teachable moments if you are open!
Today, Clint speaks with Bob Chur of Elderwood in the greater Buffalo area of New York regarding long term care and the state and future of healthcare in general. Listen in for a glimpse of healthcare from a real-world example!
We all (hopefully) has a set of beliefs we feel strongly about and can build our lives around. It’s okay to not have a solid opinion about EVERYTHING as well as it is okay to change our minds along the road. The important point is to find your beliefs and hold them strongly so that you can articulate them and be able to discuss them with others so we can work together (being respectful of others’ beliefs) towards common solutions. I believe you should give this podcast a listen!
In most organizations, the HR department has come to have a very predictable and fixed role or realm within the scheme of things as a ‘fixer of problems’, a role-definer, a confidentiality holding tank, etc. This team has much more to offer an organization open to using the department in a more consulting-style capacity. Not only can they act more nimbly in this manner as a resource of information, guidelines and procedures, but they can also more effectively help the workforce in its goals of working together more smoothly and efficiently. Hear some ideas!
We hopefully celebrate all sorts of events that herald successes and goodwill in our teams and work environment - birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, educational achievements, etc. However, one event that often slips by is the celebration of bringing in a new hire. This is a critical event that should be enjoyed as not only is a new employee being made to feel welcome, but the team is now going to benefit from some ‘pain relief’ as well as get a leg up on future hires. Learn how today!
The Care Crowd Creed notes that customers are great, and indeed, without them, we don’t have a reason for our job! Likewise, another required participant in the healthcare process is the physician. Our abilities to coordinate our care with the physician is critical to positive outcomes for our customers. Therefore, there is a great incentive to cultivate our interaction/partnerships with our physicians to better serve our customers to ensure their happiness and to attract new customers in the future.
One of the greatest advantages of teaming, the creation of superteams and subteams to address the tackling issues within an organization, is the natural by-product of development of leaders within those teams. This process helps to empower employees to take on and learn leadership qualities in the context of their co-workers, yet often without the accompanying management-level overhead. Learn how to grow some leaders in your facility today!
In the healthcare field, there is an obvious need to be able to handle tasks in an expeditious manner, but it is also critical to be aware of when we are pushing things too fast and as a result, quality (and usually quantity too) begins to suffer. It is okay to slow down, especially when the outcome from continuance of the blazing pace will result in shoddy work that will need to be supplemented/redone as a result. Get some tips on how to hit the brakes a little!
Celebrating the little things does indeed make a big difference! Just as we break up major tasks into smaller levels of accomplishment that build to bigger successes, we should do the same in our healthcare work. More so, we should be sure to celebrate our accomplishments as we succeed in each milestone along the way. Better yet, teams can pre-plan for these celebrations so the goal is clearly defined, as well as the beneficial outcomes and a sense of urgency and success in thus built into the project. Get some tips in today’s podcast!
A critical piece of the revenue enhancement puzzle is the ability/need to have and foster partnerships. For many healthcare organizations, one such partnership is a pairing with a church/religious organization. As in all partnerships, there is a unique blend of products and services each partner brings to the table to make the alloy of the two a stronger final product than either would have on their own. Today, Clint discusses how partnering with churches can bring enhanced revenue to your facility and greater service to your customers.
We all know the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Today Clint discusses how this concept can be used as a metaphor for that vision of something that is currently out of reach, but with some optimism and hard work, can actually come true, even better than imagined. He feels the healthcare system with its current reform efforts in action is very conceivably nearer than ever to reaching that distant vision in the coming years. Listen in for some blue skies today!
The healthcare profession is not the right place for everyone. It takes a special sort of person to not only succeed but to thrive in this lifework. That being the case, we inevitably have some co-workers who should perhaps choose a new career (not that they will likely thrive there either). These “trolls” and “BMGs” have a profoundly negative impact on an organization, especially given their usually small numbers, and they MUST be made to answer, “why stay”. Listen in for help in dealing with these strains on our efforts!
In the healthcare (people) business, our customers do not want our excuses and stories. They instead need our service. There are a series of skills we all need to master that can help us not only address our customers’ issues, but also build a reputation as a solid, courteous service provider. Learn how a few simple words can make your customers’ day and help promote you and your organization to new heights!
There are hopefully many events that occur in our profession that are unexpected positives that impact our days. These are great and are definitely needed. Pleasant surprises are commonly those little things we do of our own initiative that often encompass our need for the organization as whole to benefit in the big picture, without need for self-recognition - doing the right thing because it needs to be done. Do you have a mindset in your daily work that you will contribute a couple pleasant surprises each day? Learn how!
In negotiation situations, most people act from a win-lose strategy, a ‘win’ for the self, a ‘lose’ for the opponent. Because both parties utilize this same strategy, it usually decays into a lose-lose for both parties. In healthcare, we rarely have these situations and instead are needing as many wins-wins as possible. To accomplish this, both sides must adopt a position whereby everyone will gain, which in turn, requires some pre-work to find the common-ground between the parties involved. Learn about this common ground and ways to identify and utilize this strategy in your daily work today.
You’ve likely seen plate spinners before - those folks that spin up an overwhelming number of plates on poles and manage to keep them all going as friction works it magic on each one. Life in healthcare can often be uncannily similar, requiring our abilities to address many different tasks simultaneously so the whole thing doesn't come crashing down. The key is organization prior to starting the spinning. Today, Clint shares some tips to hone your spinning skills!
We all inhabit a planet that is co-inhabited by lots of other people, most of which are very different from you. Many people spend their lives narrowing down the relationships they have with other people to just a trusted, reliable, comfortable few. This is unfortunately the opposite direction we should be going as when we are done on this planet, it’s great to have touched and inspired as many other lives as possible. This requires our ability to interact with others, even when they are very different from ourselves. Healthcare is a people business, all about working with others to help people. Get some pointers on how to bank lots of relationships in your life!
The pursuit of excellence brings up a whole host of questions one must address, perhaps which the most key is defining/recognizing excellence in the first place, so you will know when you’re there. Today, Clint discusses how excellence is viewed not as an endpoint, but rather a journey of continual improvement. Each time someone tries to draw a definitive line as being the final measure of excellence, there is a long history of those that eventually come along and push that line further. Learn about the advantages that come along with setting your goals on a continually advancing model.
So you’ve got great customer service... that’s wonderful, but how do you put that good effort to further use? Organizations need to have a solid process in place for not only capturing quantitative data/metrics regarding this great customer service, but more importantly, the qualitative stories, comments and such that back them up. This can then be utilized extensively in your marketing efforts as well as internally in your self-measurement/goal-setting efforts. Clint gives some insight into this key component of our business models!
For many of our customers, we get a bonus in that they often come with families concerned about that loved one. Yes, some of them can be difficult and can induce extra stress and tasks to our staff, but remember that this is not an easy time for them either, just like if you had a loved one in a similar situation where you wanted to ensure quality of care. If we can address these situations proactively and successfully, there is a great chance that the family will sing your praises to others (great marketing), and just as great a chance they will negatively discuss your organization when we let them down. Get some techniques for making the most of these opportunities today!
The secret to motivation (staying up) is highly sought after by many people. The answer lies within making the decision that you and you alone are responsible for your inner happiness and motivation. No one else can do this for you. Once this decision is made, then you can closely examine the myriad of daily choices you make, the situations you allow yourself to be in, the types of people you choose to be around, etc, that all contribute to impact your daily motivation. Clint gives some tips on how to get your inner house in order.
When organizations undergo a major (or even minor) culture change, it is often discovered that the starting point for the change does not originate ‘at the top’ (even though the initial commitment decision to institute the change might) but rather in each individual in the organization that will be a part of the effect/change. By taking personal ownership in the change, external impactors to the change are reduced or eliminated altogether as the solution now lies within each participant. Get some insights that will make your next change event more effective!
Healthcare organizations today are up against many factors that can affect successes and outcomes. Like the joke goes, sometimes the key it isn’t worrying about outrunning the bear, but rather the other potential victim(s). A prime factor in effectively dealing with these situations is the ability to understand who truly is the “bear” and who else you are trying to outrun. With these factors established, you can gain better focus on the tasks you need to do to get ahead.
Empowerment to the people! It is great when employees of all levels are empowered to help solve problems with the organization. The greatest part though is that individuals can choose for many issues to simply take responsibility and empower themselves to deal with most issues. Sure, there will always be higher impact, big ticket items which should likely go through an approval process of some sort, but for most of the issues that impact our customers on a daily basis, many of these issues can be dealt with by responsible employees closest to the problem on the spot!
Today’s organizations are undergoing a change in the traditional parent-child management structure. If we can help instill a more ‘citizen’-based approach whereby all employees are required to participate in the success like good citizens in a neighborhood, then the opportunity to find good leadership within those ranks becomes more fruitful, as there will more naturally exist a holistic, team approach to challenges and successes. Listen in and share your thoughts!
In our daily work with our customers, the services we provide should be top notch. However, there is ultimately a higher level we should be striving to attain which is success in the realm of the customer ‘experience’. This moves beyond simple meeting of needs and expectations and embodies instead, the dazzling of our customers, which will ultimately result in the higher survey results, glowing reviews, better word-of-mouth marketing, and such. Learn how to take it to the next level!
Getting new employees up to speed is a critical process, both for the new hire and the current staff. Everyone has lots to gain by getting it right and doing the orientation process effectively. Many organizations skimp on this process as they feel they cannot spare the time and effort while in-transit on the normal processes, but the payoff of bring a new employee on-board in a valued, invested manner will be more than worth it when they are up to speed. Get some hints on the orientation process from Clint today!
The marketing and sales processes are similar and are both required for organizational success, but they have some differences that are critical to understand. Marketing is about positioning and targeting those who need to know about your products and services. Sales is thusly the result from great marketing. The sales process, however, must also still be highly targeted to help “close the deal” with good outcomes for both parties.
It’s a simple fact - we’re in the people business, and as such, it is highly unlikely you can avoid people interactions with any regularity, nor should you. This profession requires interactions, and sometimes they won’t be pleasant. It is thus critical to learn how to attack problems head on and not shy away from situations that may result in discomfort, especially when the act of letting them persist would further degrade an organization.
Promotion is an aspect of reward and recognition that is critical to carefully examine and nurture throughout one’s career. Some positions reach a plateau such that upward mobility is limited without drastically increasing scope, whether geographically, org chart-wise, or other ways such that the position is altered greatly in order to bestow the promotion. Look for new, innovative ways to promote while still pairing success to the goals of the individual and the organization. Here are some thoughts!
When good things happen, it is truly important to take the time and effort to celebrate those successes, especially in a team environment. Even more so, when these celebrations are pre-planned as part of the actual process of the task, it gives the team members a clearer focus of the entire goal, including the opportunity to reinforce the bonds and common progress of the team members required to accomplish the task. Make sure your incorporate these critical times throughout the year!
Part of adapting to the constant change that accompanies this professional (or any profession) requires personal reinvention. This means you are in a constant state of growth, whether though formal education, personal/professional skill building, social networking and topic interaction, etc. Managers in particular need to set the example in continual improvement, as this has profoundly positive impacts when all employees are better adapted for change.
Change is a given, no matter your walk in life. How you handle change is the big question. This is especially true in an organization, as things never stay still in the business environment either. People’s reactions to change adoption tend to fall into 4 groups. Hear Clint’s take on these groups and how to effectively leverage them to deal with change in the organization.
Rewards have tangible outputs, whereas recognition may not, but both should be used together whenever possible, especially for team-based efforts. Likewise it needs to be immediate and appropriate to have full effect. These aspects of team and individual accomplishment are very important in the overall planning and daily execution of each worker’s daily tasks. Learn some tips today to maximize this growth opportunity!
It is a cold hard fact - part time jobs play a critical role in today’s healthcare workplace. These keys employees are desperately needed in many ways to help our organizations meet/exceed expectations during those tough/transitional times throughout the day. There are many innovative ways to fill these roles if you are willing to break with some outdating thinking & hr practices to ensure a smooth output throughout the day!
Continuing to build upon a previous episode on Professionalism, Clint provides additional thoughts on professional behaviors and traits and their importance in your career and your daily worklife. Even when we are in situations which are not of great importance or relevance to us, it is still required that we give the impression of professionalism, especially if we hope to get the same in return.
The Boss - everyone has one (or more), even if working for themselves (customers, coworkers, board members, etc are a boss). The relationship one has with the boss is usually the #1 factor in setting the environment of the job (positive or negative). That being said, each side needs to be sensitive to the relationship to make it work for all parties. Listen in to get some insight into this unique aspect of your job.
Avoidance of others due in primary part to unwillingness to deal with unpleasant confrontations or stressful situations is not only an ineffective means of dealing with a problem, it is potentially allowing an ongoing problem to become worse in other areas, further bring down the team/organization. Today, Clint discusses the importance of addressing these issues as well as some tips and techniques.
The basis of “making a difference” (see Care Crowd Creed #4) starts with your preparation for the coming day. Being focused, prepared and ready to hit the ground running primes your abilities to truly make an impact that day. Of course, life throws us curveballs and we must be flexible and adjust, but this is still something you can plan for and remain effective. Get some tips today for personal preparation!
Clint continues his discussion with clinical psychologist Russ Moulton. Today, they address the handling of aggressive customers. There are many possibilities as to the underlying root stimulus of aggressive behavior, but it is felt that these situations are often capable of diagnosis. As such, they can then be dealt in positive ways to help the patient reduce or even eliminate the negative behaviors. Listen in to this fascinating discussion!
Today, Clint speaks with clinical psychologist Russ Moulton regarding MR/DD Services in long term care. As they discuss, there are continual improvements being made in providing growing opportunities and options for these patients to incorporate greater social interaction (even to participate in work/vocations outside the facility) as well as to improve the care they receive while under long term care.
What are the best shifts in healthcare? That can only be answered by you and your organization by discussing/determining what are the best ways to ensure there is adequate staffing to deliver your outstanding customer service in ways that are financially sound, regulatory safe and that produce the expected outcomes. That being said, do not be afraid to break with old models for shift/resource scheduling in order to accomplish this if needed. Creative solutions are required to make this work for everyone involved, and great gains happen when it does!
People don’t like being ‘sold’ something, but instead prefer to purchase or buy into a relationship (pull as opposed to push). Marketing our services to potential customers should be no different. Let the prospective customer drive the process based on their interest. To do this, you must be prepared ahead of time to have various staff members (organizational representatives) ready at all times to help interact with the potential customers (again, teaming makes it easier!) and address their inquiries. Get more tips for putting your best foot forward here!
Professionalism is embodied in lots of different ways, not just our personal choices. What we wear, how we behave, how we interact with our customers and fellow staff are all things that we need to monitor daily, but other aspects such as squeaky doors, broken equipment, volume levels, etc can be important too. Most importantly, all staff members must be in agreement that team-based mentality is required and attitude is everything to help enforce whatever professional standards are chosen by the organization.
Part of our customer care package includes the various medications required by the patient to get better and our abilities to make sure the patient is receiving the correct medications in the correct dosages at the correct times. Still, we need to be ever vigilant in monitoring the outcomes of these medications to ensure that the customer is achieving the intended results without needless over-medicating, resulting in poor customer service, cost issues, time/staff inefficiencies, etc. Here are some measures to think about!
In tandem with the ongoing healthcare debate, one key aspect in question is how the country will handle Medicaid in the future. It is likely that the federal involvement will greatly increase, if for no other reason than to help wrangle in costs and state to state disparities. That being said, how can you prepare for these coming changes. Listen in!
As it has been discussed in prior episodes in a myriad of ways, teaming makes it easier, as the Care Crowd Creed states. One particularly important teaming opportunity that is critical to daily function and success in delivering customer excellence is the Therapy-Nursing partnership. These two areas commonly wrestle over our customers, sometimes with detrimental effects, but if they can get on board together as a team, great things are possible for the customer and the facility as a whole. Learn how!
There’s no question that the healthcare debate is one of the most prevalent hot-button issues of the day. How things are going to shake out is still greatly in swing but regardless, there are some things you can be doing now to prepare for the coming changes, whatever they may be. Listen in to learn how teaming is going to be increasingly important in the coming years!
Healthcare recruitment should not be solely laid upon the shoulders of the HR department, especially when retention of these hired employees is more greatly affected by the co-workers and workplace environment they will work within than by HR. How then to best recruit winning employees? Teaming to the rescue! Learn Clint’s hints for utilizing the awesome employees already in place to help seek out and hire more like-minded staffers.
Leadership involves the concept of role modeling in a big way. How you carry yourself has a direct relationship on how followers will follow you, and often how they in turn, lead others. As such, leadership starts with how you lead yourself and approach your own daily tasks. Learn some tips from Clint about ways to be a better role model, for yourself and others!
Home Care is a very important aspect along the healthcare continuum. As opposed to other types of facilities involving communities of patients, there is a different set of challenges and opportunities inherent when a patient is able to stay in their home. Today, Clint discusses some of those aspects as well as additional ways to capitalize on this region of healthcare, especially through partnerships.
Incontinence presents a constant challenge in healthcare settings. It is vital to address the issue head-on in a positive manner, as doing so can bring additional good reputation/customer service points beyond the primary goal to address the patient’s needs in the first place. Additionally, it may be an outward symptom of other underlying problems which need to be addressed with a patient, and hence, must be carefully tended to.
The healthcare profession is rampant with job transitions at all levels. With all these changes in position, it is not a surprise that this leads so often to confusion, apprehension and uncertainty throughout an organization on a continual basis. This can be avoided, however, with proper and diligent succession planning, both personally and at teaming levels to ensure ongoing quality throughout the transition.
As Clint has discussed in previous podcasts, the healthcare business is about giving of yourself without expectation of getting something in return beyond the satisfaction of a doing a job well done in making a difference. That being said, it does not however necessitate that you are always giving yourself away for free. There is a natural balance that can be achieved, but not by ‘keeping score’. Listen in!
While it may seem obvious, it is often an overlooked fact - YOU are responsible for safety in the workplace. Yes, there may be safety rules, regulations and practices in place, but it all starts with you making the conscious choice to be safety minded, to be aware of unsafe potentialities in yourself, others and your environment and to take vigilant actions to enforce safety in these realms.
A very important aspect of the act of teaming includes understanding budgets, even if you don’t necessarily have job responsibilities tied to budgeting tasks. When team members have a firm grasp on ‘where the money comes from’ and ‘where it goes’, they can better ensure their daily actions are in line with maximizing this lifeblood of the organization.
Human resources (our human assets)... it is our most valuable resource in healthcare. Despite the amazing cost in time and effort to hire, train and retain our healthcare workers, there is still a prevalent tendency out there to ‘eat our young’ (aka haze, mistreat, give a hard time to the very coworkers we also rely on to handle covering shifts and vacations, helping us out with patients, etc). It is time to put an end to this ritual!
Motivation is an internally generated driving force. It cannot come from the outside world. That being said, what things can you do to ensure you not only maintain the motivation you need, but you also promote a strong chance of success in the tasks you are motivated to accomplish? Clint gives 3 items to be aware of.
Even the most cheery of folks occasionally have days where the sky’s not as blue as normal. That’s okay! We’re all allowed these days. However, when the rain clouds become persistent, or worse yet, contagious, it is time to take action. Clint gives some hints to watch for.
In continual improvement efforts, it is great to feel you are making progress. However, how can you know for sure the impact you having? A great way to get some feedback information on your growth is to mystery shop yourself to see in an unbiased manner where you stand. Get some tips today!
Goal setting is a critical skill to success, both individually and as an organization. A common issue in this task is knowing where to ‘set the bar’ when deciding where the measure of success should lie at the end of the goal period. A good tactic is to stretch your goals just beyond where you think the edge of capability is. Listen in to find out why!
Given that people often spend more time with their work families than with their own families, it is great when you can share each other’s daily successes and lives with your work family in a positive way. However, it is critical to ensure that personal lives do not become a negative issue in the workplace. Clint discusses how to head this issue off.
As has been discussed in previous episodes, chronic givers (pleasaholics) can be a definite issue in organizations, however, these staff members are usually ‘reformable’. Chronic takers on the other hand, are very critical to deal with swiftly and completely, as the absence of a remedy will often rapidly lead to massive degradation in the organization. Learn what actions you must take to deal with this critical situation.
The healthcare profession is all about customer service. One area of delivering this service deals with handling incontinence. Aside from the basic service, regulatory and dignity issues, taking a strong stance on delivering excellence service in this area also benefits the organization and the employees as well. Learn how today!
Often an ‘employee of the month’ program will backfire as it can instead foster internal strife. Instead, Clint suggests utilizing employees (plural) of the month instead as you now have the opportunity to recognize and reward all employees who meet excellence criteria. Learn how this benefits the employees as well as the organization as a whole!
Technology is a vital aspect of healthcare today and will become even more so over the coming years. However, one must still be cautious to use technology in appropriate and mission supporting ways. It is great to find new, innovative ways to improve our customer service with technology, but we must do so in well-defined and proper manners.
In every team, you will have those who embrace change, those who will embrace it with some additional investigation, those who will rail against change and those in the middle who are still on a fence. Dealing with the first three groups can be fairly straightforward, but fence-sitters can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help bring these members onboard.
Leadership goes hand in hand with follower-ship. One requires the other. Similar to ‘pushing a rope’, leading by pushing followers is rarely successful. The idea is to discover how to pull the followers in a teaming manner in the desired direction so they participate in the effort and the success. Learn how!
Today, Clint discusses the future of reimbursements. Preferred partnerships are going to become an increasingly important aspect of our healthcare organizations as the government looks to simplify reimbursements and couple them with outcome based guarantees. Listen in as Clint follows the money!
Just like admissions (discussed in the previous episode), tours are a highly important process in regards to revenue enhancement, and as such, need to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. There are many techniques you can employ to help make this sales opportunity great for your customer as well as your organization.
Admissions are a vital part of the revenue enhancement process. That being said, it is equally vital to be prepared to process admissions at a moment’s notice, even without forewarning. As discussed in other episodes, making the most of this critical transition process (especially the first 3 days) is pivotal for ultimate success. Here are some tips!
Being a team player by necessity requires that you are ‘ready to play’ every game. Occasionally, life throws curve balls and you are taken out of the game by circumstances beyond your control, but it is still vital that otherwise, you are suited up and ready to go. Otherwise, your teammates are impacted and the organization as a whole suffers. Suit up!
Priorities are an incredibly important aspect of your day. When you don’t approach daily tasks with priorities in mind, stress and reactive behaviors are practically guaranteed, both for you and others around you. Priorities are allowed to change as life changes, but are nonetheless required to plan/execute/measure the daily efforts you drive.
A key factor to make teaming easier is to ensure that everyone is working towards (and rewarded for) common goals and targets. When this alignment is employed at all levels of the organization, then individuals, as well as teams can operate in terms of these goals - even support other teams and individuals in their efforts too!
An ounce of prevention... how true! In this industry, falls are an unfortunate given. That being said, it is not impossible to drastically reduce the potential for falls and thus, also free up large amounts of time, effort and resources not having to deal with the consequences when they do occur. Today, Clint discusses measures for utilizing team-based solutions to this issue.
Being able to take on direct issues with others is a delicate and often difficult course to negotiate. The ability to ‘tell it like it is’ in a sensitive and positive manner is a challenging skill to learn but it is necessary in order to cultivate a team-based growth opportunity where both/all members can progress and benefit.
Success in healthcare relies in great part upon partnerships. These relationships exist in many different forms and pairings, such as staff partnerships, interdepartmental partnerships and even partnering with other related healthcare industries/products/services. In every case, there are significant gains to be realized by both parties.
One would think it should be self-evident, but it is truly important to come to work prepared for the day, everyday. This is especially crucial in management roles. Unpreparedness has impacts not only on the individual, but also on the team, and thusly, the organization as well. Catch some tips to make sure you’re prepared for work each day!
Humans thrive on feedback. We need it to constantly monitor our progress against our internal measures and goals. Today, Clint discusses some key aspects of this process to make sure you close the feedback loop properly to assure that this self-monitoring can have maximum effectiveness.
There are lots of examples of time wasted on various activities, events, reports, etc. Beating these dead horses serves no useful purpose in fixing problems or brainstorming new solutions. We must be ever vigilant to recognize when this waste of effort is occurring, take a moment to learn from our mistakes and to instead forge forward as a unified team. Hear some ideas for backing new horses!
Taking the tough action doesn't have to be relegated to one “bad guy” or manager. However, most often the toughest actions involve other human beings and as such, are unfortunately handled in just that way. Instead, we can again engage teaming to make this task not only more palatable but also to share in the responsibility of the success of the chosen direction of the action. Today, Clint shares his ideas on team-based tough actions.
Whether your facility operates as a for-profit or a not-for-profit, there is still a need for profit, even if only to keep up with inflation. The availability of excess revenue goes a long way to assist in new growth, facility/staff investment, acquisition of additional funding, etc. Even a not-for-profit needs a cushion for that rainy day. Listen in for some tips on the usefulness of profit.
Dealing with pressure sores, like so many other aspects of healthcare, is best dealt with using teams. When you take a proactive team approach to preventing and fixing pressure sores, rather than reacting late (or worse yet, causing them) then it can become a goal to track, a measure of success and a further means of driving total team care integration.
Even though the nursing unit for the most part plays “home games” in relation to their patients/residents, most of the rest of the staff play “away games”. That being said, ultimately both teams must play collaboratively to successfully manage the care of the patient and maximize the efficiency of the facility. Learn how to take the “home field advantage” and use it to everyone’s benefit!
Transitional units are a fascinating part of the long term care continuum that provide many benefits for both the patient and the facility/staff. It is important that they be treated as a discreet portion of the facility as it needs to be a location for hope, where patients can see daily progress toward a transitional goal. Likewise, staff and processes associated with this branch need to be tailored to its specialized tasks/needs. Learn how these can benefit your facility today!
It is important to seriously consider and question the use of various drugs/medications (especially psychotropics) with certain patients in many situations. For instance, former physical restraints should not be replaced with new chemical ones. In following with the Care Crowd Creed, if “Customers Are Great”, are we treating them with respect and care, or are we simply medicating them to make our caregiving tasks easier. Listen in to this important topic!
All Staff Meetings often evoke feelings of dread in employees (and admins too sometimes!) - what tactics are available to make this necessary task not only more palatable to the meeting participants, but more fun and productive as well? This is a chance to move an organization to a new level. Here are some tips for making the most of this opportunity.
As the healthcare system begins addressing an overhaul of its costs, processes, accountabilities, etc., one area available for closer examination is medical-surgical units and the costs associated with recovery at the hospital vs a long term care facility. As the government looks for ways to reduce costs and complexity, this is perhaps one aspect where long term care facilities may realize opportunities for growth as these are migrated away from more costly hospital stays.
A small amount of worrying can be healthy, especially when you are concerned with closing loops. attending to details and following through on matters where the well-being of yourself or others is at stake. However, when worrying gets out of hand and becomes paralyzing or impeding of progress, it can be highly detrimental. Here are some tips to recognize and deal with this affliction.
Sometimes it can be difficult to recognize the difference between being in a groove and being in a rut. Being in a groove doesn’t just mean you’ve come up with a winning/best practice or routine. It implies that there is constant ability to continually modify and adapt that practice/routine to persist that success on an ongoing basis. Otherwise, even a best practice can become a rut.
The need to try to impress is often a marker of underlying self-esteem issues. Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver was a good example. In order to get credit points for one’s efforts/knowledge/etc, it is vital to frame one’s contributions within the goals/actions of the team so it can help everyone win.
While many facilities may have great customer service during the week (especially during business hours), sometimes the hours on the weekend tend to suffer a bit due to issues such as staff, budget, transportation, etc. It is very important to make sure that great customer service takes place 24/7. Here are some items to consider!
Some believe there is a choice between actualities and perceptions. In fact, it is important to address both. Likewise, seeing and believing also can have a bidirectional relationship that is important to nurture. Today, Clint discusses how these concepts can affect your career in healthcare.
Many people are familiar with the old adage of walking a mile in another’s shoes. This is a key concept in teaming because it helps one to understand the perspectives of others as well as their successes and challenges. Through this increased awareness, blame can be averted and shared responsibility and cooperation can instead drive team actions.
An often overlooked source of revenue is managed care. Yes, the payment side of things can be very tedious, but if you are willing to partner with your managed care representatives to learn where their ‘pains’ are (aka-opportunities), you can get the jump on your competitors and work a revenue stream that makes things easier for you and the managed care representative!
There are many, often hidden or little used, ways to market your efforts to drive future business. One of these ways is what is called the ‘transition call’ - when a patient leaves the care of your organization to return home or back to a previous level of independence or care. This is a great opportunity to share your success data with the referring doctor/therapist/etc to help stimulate future referrals.
The journey towards excellence is just that, a journey... not a destination. That being said, what are the most effective ways to maximize your efforts in carrying out that journey? Knowing you can never reach perfection (the destination), how can you maintain your diligence along the way? Clint shares his thoughts on the movement towards excellence.
Healthcare is a particularly challenging career to begin with and it is a special breed of person who thrives in it. In an environment rife with stress, long hours and thankless efforts, how do we keep all these caregivers pumped up? Care of the caregiver starts with the individual and then moves on to the surrounding team. Clint shares his thoughts on ways to pump you up!
One issue that healthcare must deal with everyday is the dining experience. It can dominate the day's various activities. More so, if breakfast doesn't go well, often the rest of the day is spent trying to recover. Clint elaborates on ways to turn these key hours to your advantage as well as to provide better customer service to begin with, so mealtimes don't turn into ‘milkings’.
In every organization, there tends to be three types of individuals: chronic givers, chronic takers and those who maintain balance. Today, Clint discusses the 7 keys that the balanced individuals carry in common as well as ways to deal with the other two groups of individuals.
Many organizations are crippled in fear of the survey - and the personnel that represent it - the surveyors. Today, Clint suggests a tactic for dealing with this issue - treat the surveyors like customers! Surveyors of one type or another are a fact of the healthcare business forevermore. Thus, stop worrying and embrace them instead - you might be surprised!
When planning out critical organizational improvement issues, you must be mindful of which "now" you are working with: the past now, the current now or the future now. Only the current now has relevant meaning today in your planning. Learn how to recognize these viewpoints and how to deal with each in your improvement planning today!
Further developing Care Crowd Creed item #3 (Teaming makes it easier), Clint elaborates on the processes used by Maun-Lemke to help organizations achieve 7 to 1 ROI through the use of teams in goal setting/achievement.
A key concept vital to success in an organization is to pair problems with solutions (what we call P=S). When you allow those who raise problems to not be a key part of proposing solutions, you, by default, become the owner of the problem. Here are some hints on how to deal with this issue!
As the saying goes, first impressions count. What kind of impression is your organization making with new admissions? Are they made to feel welcome and that you are prepared for them or do they feel that are run through the DMV line? Clint gives some pointers on making this critical period successful in your organization.
In any organization, there does exist a crisis from time to time that can highly impact the organization. Humans too have times when a crisis makes their daily work difficult. For a select few, they not only welcome a crisis, but they may even create one to draw attention to themselves. Learn how to deal with these events today!
Humans, as well as the organizations they work in, have daily needs to function. While it is often thought that these two forces are at odds in their directions, in fact there can be a great deal of common overlap. Today, Clint discusses where there are commonalities and how to deal with those times when there aren't.
Most everyone has heard the proverb of not putting all of one's eggs in one basket. This applies to our work lives, and even our personal lives, on multiple levels. While it is great to be highly skilled or familiar with something, as change is always a given, it is important to diversify. Listen in!
One of the often overlooked or foregone factors of working in healthcare is the requirement that you must like people. It may seem odd that some would need reminding of this and yet it happens often in the profession that workers take up this cause even though they prefer isolation. Clint discusses this ultimate "people business" and the worker's role in it.
In continuing discussion regarding "passing the survey", one particularly helpful tactic that is effective in improving customer service, even beyond the survey, is an "Adopt a Resident" program. This helps to elevate your customer care from interdisciplinary to trans-disciplinary - a major success!
"All Staff" meetings already have a stigma of boring, purposeless events thus making things an uphill battle for organizations to even get attendance, much less participation or excitement. Today, Clint shares ideas for holding more productive, exciting meetings when these types of events are called for.
In our work with our clients, we have found that a positive tactic that works in improving job performance is the inclusion of a willingness score in the review criteria. This score tracks those “above and beyond” behaviors that are needed to ensure smooth operations but might not necessarily be documented in the job descriptions. Give a listen and then give it a try!
Many healthcare organizations are solely focused on “passing the survey” with flying colors as the highlight of their existence. Unfortunately, they may be doing so at the sacrifice of actual customer opinion, alternate revenue streams and other benefits. Today Clint discusses that while passing the survey is indeed important, it is also critical that those passing scores be utilized to keep moving the organization forward in other areas as well such as customer & employee satisfaction, revenue, growth and more.
Great customer service begins with the decision you make each day to go that little bit beyond the expected level of service to instead deliver the unexpected. Many customers already have low expectations of service from experience in the past, so a little extra effort can payoff not only in exceeding their expectations, but dazzling them, which often pays off even more!
Evaluating one's performance is often seen as a difficult task, especially in regards to rewards and recognition. It is imperative to help employees be recognized for the difference they make in the organization and not just be made to feel they are lucky to be employed. Performance pay can help in this respect.
There is a difference between being respected and being liked. Clint discusses how respect goes a lot further in the long run. While it is nice to be liked as well, ultimately a respectful relationship drives a greater level of success for all parties involved and often lays down a foundation for be liked in the process to boot.
Winning group attitudes don't come about by pixie-dust. That being the case, what does it take to forge success in group attitude dynamics? Clint contends it starts with the team and should be team-driven. Listen in today!
Negotiations don't have to have a foregone conclusion of "win-lose". Today, Clint investigates how information, power and time work together in negotiations so you can craft a "win-win" for all parties involved.
Satchel Paige once said, “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.” They same is true for our efforts in our organizations and in our lives. You can learn from the past while focusing on the future. Clint discusses setting your goals and efforts to new levels.
Leadership doesn't have to come with a title - anyone can act in a leadership role if they are able to mobilize and motivate others to action. To this end, Clint elaborates on the concept building leadership opportunities within organizations for those who don't necessarily have management roles and what gains can be achieved in doing so.
Many feel that the choice between delivering on mission objectives or maintaining the organization’s margins are two differing tasks. In fact, they are very tightly linked together and must be addressed together. Today, Clint chats about these two sides of the same coin and how organizations can find balance in dealing with both sides.
Email can be a tremendous communication tool. However, it can also be a double-edged sword that impedes accurate communication, when face-to-face interaction is more appropriate. Learn which signs to watch out for which tend to indicate that email is not helping you, but rather hindering you.
Today’s workplace has changed in respect to ‘fun’ while working. More employees today are looking for work environments where fun is allowed to happen spontaneously and frequently, rather than planned or deferred until a later ‘appropriate’ fun time/event. Clint discusses ways organizations can find opportunities to allow fun to happen to engage employees on a daily basis.
Today, Clint meets with representatives from Village on the Isle in Venice, Florida to discuss an innovative affordable housing option that has been developed and implemented at their CCRC.
The use of I, We and They can be very indicative of an employee’s position in their organization. Today, Clint discusses what to listen for, what it means and how to move towards more team-based positions.
Practically every organization has them - weenies and trolls. Who are these employees and how do they impact the organization and its customers? Listen in to find out about these problematic groups and how to deal with them!
In addressing the Care Crowd Creed item of ‘I make a difference’, what are ways we can ensure that people actually recognize when they do make a difference? In common work environments, it is all too easy to let horn-tooting go by the wayside. Get some horn-honking tips today!
In further dealing with the topic of employee retention, today Clint discusses the first steps in bringing in your hard won new-hire and providing ‘passionate orientation’ to help ensure your new employee gets off on the correct foot for the long term.
Staff retention is as important, if not more important than staff recruitment. That being said, what methods are you using to help keep the prized employees you already have? Today, Clint discusses the use of data collection and analysis in support of holding on to highly valued talent.
In further discussion of marketing, a common difficult task is the area of marketing to doctors. We have found that when you can employ techniques that are based on the premise of using doctors to market to other doctors, you are more likely to be successful. Learn how!
As has been discussed often on Clintcast, problems should be addressed at the level closest to the problem. Today's episode discusses those problems, goals, issues and opportunities specific to the relationship between therapy and nursing and offers ways to maximize this team’s efforts.
Marketing is a vital function of every organization, both for positive revenue as well as positive attitude. Mapping is a strategy you can use to help define a more specific target market for a more focused marketing effort. Learn how to put this in action today!
We are big believers in dealing with problems head on. However, what do you do with problems that in the bigger scheme of things, really aren't problems? Clint addresses this difficult situation in relation to the P= S policy discussed in early episodes.
In Change Management, as Clint has described in earlier episodes, you will have a range of team members (#1-4) in change implementation effectiveness. Your #1’s are the gung-ho members ready to lead the way into the new direction. Today, Clint discusses reward strategies for these members as well as how to integrate them with the other #2-4 members on change teams.
Healthcare continuing education is undergoing major strides as a result of ever-increasing demands on our time. Maun-Lemke and the Professional Development Network have teamed to develop IHNUniversity.com as an online alternative where professionals not only get the CEU credits they need, but more importantly, gain immediately usable info and techniques.
A growing trend in identifying areas for opportunity is the concept of Mystery Shopping. As one of Maun-Lemke's product lines for instance, it provides an honest, cost-effective and positive measure of finding ways in which an organization can improve its abilities to attract and secure customers.
There is a new trend taking hold in healthcare facilities of developing ‘neighborhoods’ in care groups. While it is a great idea, sometimes getting the ‘neighborly behaviors’ that should accompany these groups is not as successfully implemented. Get Clint's advice on ways to improve these arrangements.
Board members of organizations have important, defined roles and functions and are subject to expectations regarding the organization’s well-being, just like other employees. Thusly, their ‘involvement’ must be managed as well to ensure their efforts result in a positive outcome for the organization as well as themselves.
Healthcare is an area where most of our customers would prefer ‘not’ to be our customers. That being the case, providing excellent customer service is already a challenge. Clint shares his rules of 3 for helping to make a positive impact on the new customer admissions experience.
Practically everyone acknowledges that rewards and recognition are a great motivator. When you can incorporate these at a team level, that’s even better to celebrate team accomplishments! Learn Clint’s techniques to ensure this action is successful in its goals.
The ‘Dining’ portions of the healthcare day encompass the most difficult, staff intensive, mistake prone times in our business routine. As the Care Crowd Creed states, teaming makes it easier - examine the concept of Team Based Dining and how it can benefit your meal periods and beyond!
There is no question that home based technology is a very large market in healthcare that is already pervading every niche the business. As such, this is a great time to get to know the options currently available as well as ones on the near horizon and to find ways to integrate them into your sales/product models. You can rest assured if you do not, your competition will!
While nobody enjoys a downturn in the economy like the one currently being experienced, it does nonetheless raise an excellent opportunity to recruit new employees! In fact, it can be a win/win situation for both employers and employees - listen in to hear Clint elaborate.
Today, Clint speaks again with Brian Lee of Custom Learning Systems Group regarding customer service. As they discuss, world-class customer satisfaction begins with world-class customer service at the level closest to the customer. This, in turn, translates into higher revenues, better employee recruitment/retention, smoother operations, etc. Empowering employees to deliver world-class service pays itself back many times over.
Creating an outcome sheet is a great way to sum up ‘a story’ about a particular product or service you provide. It contains narrative info, as well as data, testimonials, bragging points, etc. that can be used in a multitude of ways, both externally with your customers, but also internally by your administration and staff for continual improvement. Learn how to take advantage of these gems today!
A great technique for retaining your customers, or better still, having them spread the word about your products/services (recruiting new customers) is the use of Alumni Events. These opportunities to celebrate successes also provide a chance to capture further customer loyalty, survey info and feedback and morale boosting (for you and your staff, as well as them). It also provides a gauge by which you can measure your current customer satisfaction effectiveness.
Achieving balance is a difficult yet crucial ‘active strategy on a daily basis’ in your life’s work. Not only must you find balance for your own self, but you must also maintain your balance within the balances of those around you (sometimes helping them find their own balance in the process). Confusing? Clint helps you get it straight today.
Plain and simple - there are only 24 hours in a day. As such, time management skills are crucial in making the most of the time you have today. Here are some tips on how to integrate your precious time with your life plans and goals so you can maximize your sleep, work and play time and still make progress on your life’s mission.
Today, Clint chats with Brian Lee, a fellow colleague and speaker in the healthcare profession. They discuss customer service in relation to employee recruiting and retention, given the coming healthcare program of HCAHPS. As Brian elaborates, employee morale drives positive outcomes in patient satisfaction, which he relates to the HCAHPS and similar performance measures.
Research shows that teams usually accomplish more than individuals. Creating teams to accomplish goals seems innocuous enough, however, there are some important guidelines to bear in mind if you want to have a greater chance at success with the team approach. Today, Clint provides tips related to crafting ‘rapid cycle’ teams and how they tie to the larger organization.
Passive aggressive behaviors can unfortunately be found in large supply in the healthcare profession. The key to eliminating these wasteful and destructive forces lies in dealing with it at the lowest/closest level. As Care Crowd members, you can lead the charge in tackling this insidious, invasive problem. Clint gives you some techniques to help in this task.
Great ideas are wonderful - the world needs lots of solutions! However, being solution-oriented requires more than just brainstorming. It requires commitment to execute ideas into fruition on a scale that truly does benefit the target population. Clint recalls some words of wisdom from his past that help ‘focus’ these great ideas to committed action that has a chance at success - would you bet your paycheck on your idea’s success?
As healthcare providers, we have many current processes and techniques for helping clients in our care in regards to Alzheimers. While no one wants to deprive these patients of quality treatments and related services, it is still important to recognize that medicine is progressing at an astounding rate and that at any time, we could develop new techniques for dealing with, or better still eliminating, the onslaught of Alzheimers. As such, it is worth considering how your organization is positioned in relation to this and other similar medical conditions/treatments and how your business model would be impacted by such an advancement in medicine, as has happened in the past when other diseases have been 'conquered'.
Employment in healthcare can be very different compared with other professions. It can sometimes be very difficult to appreciate your unique abilities and talents that you use daily to succeed in healthcare. It doesn't help that others are often bewildered at your participation in this career field as well. Today, Clint offers some pats on the back that help reaffirm that 'Healthcare is cool' and that you are valuable and needed.
In a track and field relay race, the most critical portions of the race are the transitions where the runners exchange the baton while running at full speed. When this effort fails, the whole race suffers. In healthcare organizations where there are multiple shifts, the concept is no different. The shift report is the critical means of passing the baton to the next runner. Learn some techniques to improve this highly empowering activity.
While the two may seem similar on the surface, there is a vast difference between problem solving and decision making. Unfortunately, many organizations don't put enough effort into making problem solving tasks highly participatory. With that accomplished, it is then equally important to be able to effectively make a firm decision, regardless of potential downsides, and stick to it. Learn how these two elements are pivotal in overcoming change in a positive way.
Every organization needs a positive direction and means to get there in order to succeed. Today, Clint lays out words to live by for the Care Crowd itself- 1) Healthcare is cool 2) Customers are great 3) Teaming makes it easier 4) I make a difference. Take a moment to understand the creed points and how you can implement them daily.
In the case of the famous racehorse, Seabiscuit, it can be viewed that the horse was not the ultimate 'underdog' as portrayed commonly in history. Instead, the case can be made that in fact, the winning pieces were there all along and only needed to be brought together in a 'plan to win'. Our healthcare organizations are often no different. We don't have to accept being placed in an 'underdog' light in order to similarly find the winning strategies and components necessary to overwhelmingly win.
For most of our listeners in healthcare, they are in the 'people' business. Specifically, 'old' people are the focus of their customer service skills. To this end, it is critical for us to develop a keen understanding of our customers' values, history & viewpoints so we can better frame our service to their needs without the desire to try to 'change' our customers to meet our own needs and values.
Meetings are often seen as a 'necessary' evil. The trick is they don't necessarily have to actually 'be' evil. To the contrary, when organized, executed and followed through on properly, meetings can be an effective means of getting and keeping the organization on track. However, this goal requires effective meeting leadership. Learn some techniques from Clint which can improve your next meeting today!
In healthcare, our customer service goal is to deliver a full 24 hours of quality care. The reality is that out of these 24 hours, 7 hours specifically usually have a profound effect on the effectiveness of the other 17. How we manage our organizations during these critical 7 hours can lead to drastic improvements (or setbacks) in terms of the entire day. Clint gives some insights on how to make these 7 hours pay off.
'Sales' doesn't have to be pre-conceived as a 'dirty word' in the healthcare profession. Being 'sales ready' is actually a great position to be in when the opportunity arises to match up customers with a product or service you provide. Today Clint presents the 6 P's you can use to help put your organization in this coveted position.
Not all reorganization efforts actually result in progress. Sometimes they have quite the opposite effect, resulting in 'confusion, inefficiency and demoralization', throwing the organization even further out of whack because they fail to learn from the missteps of the previous situation. Here are some tips for recognizing the signs of successful reorganizations, as well as identifying when things are less than successful in finding a new path forward.
Few things can improve your customer service as much as picking up the phone properly. Our society has gotten more and more complacent about phone communications, and yet, it is still the primary means by which our customers (and their money) reach us. We must ensure that we have a consistent, measurable strategy for answering our phones across the organization that not only sets the proper tone for interaction with our customers, but also establishes clear, timely and accurate communication with them.
There is a vast difference between leadership meetings and cycle of doom meetings. Learning to make sure we always employ WWW as required outcomes will help to guarantee that the money, time and energy lost on a meeting will pay itself back multiple-fold later. Learn more about this concept and how it can improve your meetings for a more productive workplace.
Unfortunately, there are often times when staffing needs exceed staffing realities. Hence was created the concept of floating staff to cover these times. When these events become fairly routine, it is probably symptomatic of larger underlying staffing/scheduling problems which need to be addressed. When it truly is the result of unforeseen forces, however, there are ways we can at least make this a more pleasant (and even rewarding) experience for those who willingly step up to save the day.
It sounds simple enough to get up and go to work, yet many of us have a hard time each day getting up and going because we are already predisposed to lamenting the conditions we will face when we get to work. It is up to you to find ways to adjust this situation, whether it is to find more positives, learn to deal more effectively with the negatives or even to change them all out for a new workplace. Clint offers some suggestions on how to approach this situation so you can get up cheerfully and charged for the day.
Who is the chicken lady? She is the one with the power. Listen in to hear Clint discuss the topic of power within an organization and ways in which we can empower people to get the overall goals of the team accomplished while still maintaining a balance of this power.
Difficult customers are a problem we all encounter in life. How we choose to deal with them is key to our customer service skills. Clint discusses techniques for engaging and managing these customers and creating positive outcomes that help reduce/eliminate the customer's need to escalate into a bigger problem customer, and maybe even make a them nicer customer to deal with.
Though the differences between products and services may seem obvious, in truth, in our everyday consumer culture, we are being trained to see the world in terms of products specifically. To this end, it becomes increasingly important to find ways to 'package' your services (as well as the outcomes of those services) into products that customers can examine, compare and build brand loyalty with.
We are being increasingly saturated with metrics throughout our daily lives, measuring hundreds of factors at every moment. This need to keep score, while good in intention, often becomes so overwhelming, we lose sight of the purpose of the metrics in the first place. Today, Clint discusses how team-based approaches can benefit from deciding on 2-3 important key metrics and setting goals around them to drive focus within an organization.
There is a tremendous difference between satisfying a customer and dazzling them. Despite any environmental factors/product features/etc that are initially impressive, the best way to dazzle ultimately comes down to our interactions with people! Clint shares his thoughts on how and why we need to hone our skills at delivering dazzling services and behaviors.
In a world where organizations are becoming increasingly specialized in an effort to remain competitive, there is great benefit to be found when partnerships can be forged to complement each other's niche specialties. This concept extends within an organization as well. Examine your job today to see who your potential partners can be to help you deliver better service.
While big successes are obviously great to have, it is highly important to celebrate the little successes too. We've found that the three best ways to celebrate the smaller victories focus around food, prizes and men in tights. Find out what Clint means by that!
As Clint has echoed repeatedly this past week, teams are a key factor to successfully tackling practically any task in an organization. To that end, Clint shares ideas on creating 10-12 member 'SuperTeams' which drive higher-level initiatives by coordinating and working with sub-teams throughout the organization.
In continuing Clint's principles regarding organizational processes, recruiting good co-workers is another critical function of business, and as such, it needs to be driven by the team, just like team-based targets and team-based selection of co-workers. It is vital to utilize a team approach in bringing in new strengths to your existing teams.
In the healthcare profession, there are processes that we continually strive to improve. That is great that we do this - it is, after all, expected that we strive to get better. How does your customer, however, perceive the 'outcomes' of your process improvements? That is far greater in importance to your success.
The world isn't fair. We all know this... and yet we still complain that things aren't fair when life doesn't go our way. How do we deal with this situation so it doesn't come to overrule life? Clint gives you his take.
Few things can be as destructive to an organization as "Family Secrets" - that tangled mass of rumors, half-truths, grapevines, gossip and such that leads in the opposite direction of team-based, whole-organization involvement and strategic action. Putting a stop to this waste of energy is a difficult yet critical task for every organization.
Effectively dealing with absences and tardiness issues requires a different approach than you may have used in the past. In continuing a theme throughout the week, utilizing a team approach can bring better outcomes when the absent/late worker is more closely tied to the direct effects of their behaviors on their co-workers.
Bringing on new co-workers is best done as a team effort, especially since the whole team will interact with the candidate once the he/she is hired, not just the hiring manager. To this end, it is critical to put in place the necessary skills and procedures to enable this important team function.
There is a fine art to strategic planning that will have a strong chance at success in aligning an organization's future direction and outcomes. That said, it is not magic to achieve if you understand how to drive team-based decisions and goals and can keep these in focus as an organization as a whole.
The first step in putting the customers of our work first and foremost is the personal adoption of a No Excuse Policy. What does this entail? Clint will fill you in on the details to this key skill which we each must master in our daily work.
The costs associated with recruiting and training new co-workers is commonly far greater than that spent on retaining the quality employers already in place. Today, Clint gives you pointers on how to keep great employees, and better still, set up a quality work environment that attracts quality employees in the first place.
Where are the enemies that hold you back from successes in your organization or even your own work? Clint shares thoughts on how to find these detractors and ways to root them out to boost your productivity and that of your bigger organization as well.
What does it truly mean to be in the "People" Business? A lot of industries and job types that we give special niche names to are in actuality simply all part of the "People" business. Learn how to see your work framed in this bigger picture and you will open up your bigger success possibilities.
Finding focus depends greatly upon the concept of "now". Learn to see the difference between the past, current and future versions of "now" and the impact each has on an organization in the grand scheme of things!
Finding balance is imperative to your personal and professional life. The daily question is how to do it. Today, Clint provides a technique he calls creating 50|50s that can help you with this lifelong dilemma.
These three powerful words can make a world of difference in your daily customer service efforts. Learn from Clint how you can step up your performance by adopting this simple strategy.
More than ever, it is likely that changes are coming in some form regarding Universal Access to Healthcare. Clint shares his thoughts on this lively topic that is all the buzz lately.
It's great to think big, but when it comes time to implement, it is often best to start with "one piece of the elephant" and perfect the process/technique before rolling it out to the rest of the big picture.
Why Omaha? Why not? Clint loves it there! To that end, what can YOU do that helps YOU feel the same way about where you live? Clint will help you click your heels 3 times -there's no place like home!
Every organization should strive to find a balance between cost and quality. More importantly though, it is imperative to use this exercise to drive revenue. Clint elaborates on this organization-wide effort that can drive successes beyond just monetary gains.
Change happens - that is certain. How you choose to handle this is up to you in your daily work. Clint shares his insights into making this process not only more smooth in transition, but also a positive one.
We've all seen those workers who may be extremely proficient in their field to the point of wizardry, however, in the field of common personal/professional relations, they fail miserably. How are we to deal with these individuals in our organizations? Clint gives his guidance!
The healthcare industry is rife with opportunities for cross selling. The key is in your knowledge of what other products and services are potential solutions that can bring positive outcomes to your customers in your daily work environment.
Today, Clint provides insight into dealing with passive aggressive behaviors in others to bring about positive outcomes. As in so many cases, this behavior is a two way street in that it usually does not simply occur on its own, but rather is allowed to occur by others.
There is lots of buzz going on, understandably, regarding the new "5 star" ratings of nursing home facilities. Hear Clint's take on aspects about this development and how you can maximize your adjustments given your rating to make a positive gain of this new aspect in healthcare.
The necessity of having goals cannot be underestimated. Goals will beset you one way or another, so it is imperative that you participate in establishing and enforcing your own goals, rather than let them be placed upon you by others. To this end, if you can tie your own goals to those of the organization within which you work, you can gain a strategic advantage, not only in your personal life but also in your organization's progress as well.
Teams are a necessary part of any organization, but there also needs to exist a common set of team targets for each group to strive for at whole-organization level to ensure that everyone on the team participates using whatever means are needed to ensure a win for everyone, regardless if that is their strength or not.
While the healthcare industry certainly has its issues and challenges each day, ultimately the spirit of the season resides within each of its members as they go about their daily work in caring for others. To that end, Clint extends his well wishes and daily renewal encouragement as healthcare professionals continue to make a real difference in the lives of others.
If one thing is certain, healthcare in 2009 will be charting some new directions. Today, Clint shares his thoughts on some of this potential change, but more importantly, discusses the role of the healthcare industry itself in implementing these new opportunities.
Today's episode discusses one of Clint's foundation principles - the people policy of P=S - if you have a problem, bring up a solution.
Does your organization have a "Ham Sandwich" that is preventing it from running it more efficiently and resolving issues at proper levels ? Today Clint relates how a simple sandwich had a profound impact on an organization.
Clint discusses how many of the daily problems in healthcare are "flushed up" the chain of command, rather than dealt with at an appropriate level.
There is a distinct difference between leadership and management and Clint will help you understand the two.
Today, Clint discusses how having great takeoffs is often more important than your landings.
Clint relates helpful pointers on having a productive working partnership with your supervisor.
In this initial episode of Clintcast, Clint shares insights on staying motivated in the stressful healthcare industry.