By Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA
The times certainly are changing. For some, the level of comfort within a position is very uncertain and subject to change at a moment’s notice. While it’s hard not to take a wait-and-see attitude, I suggest just the opposite. Harness your inner spirit. Proactively seek to grow your role and your personal standing within the organization, starting today.
Here are five areas that seem ripe for assessment and refocus. Ask yourself, “How well did I do in this area in 2008?” And then ask, “What can I do to ensure impact in the first quarter of 2009?”
1. Get Results
All the best recruitment processes in the world don’t matter if you don’t have candidates and if you don’t fill the positions. The same is true for physician relations, marketing and strategy; it is all about demonstrating the results.
- For some this means you say, “good enough” to tweaking the database or infrastructure needs. Focus on field skills and results.
- Managers may need to make some tough choices about underperforming staff members. Get them help and develop performance improvement plans. The right talent is an essential for success.
- Narrow your focus for targeting and breadth of messages if you believe you have drifted.
2. Tell Your Story, Share Results
A well-developed and meaningful report tells the internal leaders facts and it speaks volumes about your ability to interpret the market needs.
- Clear, succinct reports that are heavy on numbers are essential.
- Prepare and distribute them regularly – the same day of the month, every month.
- Use graphs and charts, offer intelligence and add notes about trends and research from time to time.
- Make certain the right leaders see it.
3. Involve and Spread the Praise
Nervousness seems to heighten the silo behaviors. If we believe that many hands make the work go more quickly, then teamwork is more important not less.
- Be the initiator; gather input, perceptions and knowledge from others.
- Consider asking marketing to help with communication tools for your program rather than doing it all yourself. Enhanced efficiency and economies of scale like this are worth pursuing.
- Work hard to get – and then to deliver – positive messages to others within your organization. Everyone could use a little good news these days.
Many of you know me well enough to recognize this as a real win-win. Besides the impact and synergy, this is a great approach for educating internal audiences about your role.
4. Seek Knowledge
Learn something new – about yourself, our field, healthcare in general and especially about the breadth and depth of clinical service offerings.
- It is our obligation to learn, and not the organization’s obligation to teach. I think it is our job to ask the tough questions and to do our homework and learn the basics before we meet with our Chiefs or Service Line Executives.
- Most clinical staffs do not understand the jobs we do and they have big responsibilities aside from our needs. Craft good questions, be thoughtful of their time, and remember that they see the world from inside – your referring doctors will see it differently.
- Mental stimulation gets us seeing our roles differently and unleashes positive energy.
5. Innovate
Try a new approach to sourcing for candidates or a new strategy for working with the office staff. Step back, ask good questions of your physicians – or other customer groups – and get specific to their needs. I once had a physician say, “If you ask the right question, generally the patient will give you the diagnosis…” Our job is to ask those questions, then provide the right results to meet their needs.
During periods of change, innovation and new models are born. This is our chance to be part of the solution.