This time of year, checklists help manage the back-to-school madness. They provide structure and direction on preparing for the coming year, especially while parents and students alike are still preoccupied with maximizing the waning days of summer. Checklists are also effective in other areas – they transcend in application and detail the elements required and/or steps to be taken in order to reach a goal.
Category: Education
Productivity and Forecasting
Demand in healthcare, by nature, can be hard to predict. A fundamental part of care delivery is being prepared for the unexpected, whether that be the effects of a natural disaster, large-scale safety event, or global pandemic. However, that does not mean that daily staffing patterns and annual budgets should be buffered to accommodate the “what-ifs.
The Productivity Life Cycle
Spring has sprung! This is the season of rebirth and reinvention. While some organizations are beginning their new fiscal year, others may be reviewing their Q1 performance or gearing up to start their budget process. Regardless of what category your hospital or health system falls into, it is essential to remember the impact productivity has on sustained improvement and continued fiscal strength.
Productivity: It’s Not About Luck!
You don’t need a leprechaun or the “luck of the Irish” to reap the benefits of a productivity management system. Healthcare organizations across the country are managing their COVID-19 recovery through productivity by appropriately aligning their resources with rebounding patient volumes and current community needs. Productivity initiatives promote high-quality care, cost reduction, patient/employee satisfaction, and sustainability.
Productivity: A Love/Hate Relationship
Love is in the air, and in healthcare, change is always on the horizon. A focus on productivity and workforce optimization may be part of your organization’s 2021 initiatives, but you may be personally struggling with getting behind the proposed strategies. You are not alone – many industry leaders and professionals have a love/hate relationship with performance improvement.
New Year, New You: 5 Ways to Improve Your Organization in 2021
As we bid good riddance to the stress and uncertainty of 2020, it is safe to say that everyone is excited to begin the new year. However, the challenges of last year have helped to guide growth, both personal and professional. That is why it is more important than ever to use the start of 2021 as a time for reflection and evaluation, determining how to further improve upon a foundation forged in the chaos of the pandemic.
How do you determine the “right” productivity target?
At ATLIUS, we stress the importance of having the right person, in the right place, performing the right task, for the right clinical outcome. This approach is then ultimately supported by having the right productivity target in place. The question is, how do you determine each departmental target so that it results in the highest level of efficiency and the best overall outcomes? While there are various ways to establish productivity targets, we have seen the strongest performers follow our primary approach to target setting: varying targets by department.
Decreasing Premium Dollars
Did you know that the premium dollars scattered across your hospital are often excluded from any labor spend analyses? Did you know that these dollars can drive up an organization’s Compensation Ratio and lead to staff turnover? High-cost labor dollars can range from incremental overtime to interim leadership. Watch now as ALTIUS’ CEO, Stephanie Dorwart, and COO, RandiLynn Lukac discuss strategies for decreasing premium dollars and provide recommendations for improvement. .
Management Scare Tactics that Backfire
Many healthcare leaders adopt a "tough love" approach when managing employee performance and expectations. This method may work well for some staff members, but not all will embrace the negativity it can create. Understanding your team and the styles they respond positively to is critical in realizing continued operational success and employee satisfaction.
Keepin’ It Productive
We are all familiar with the term “death by meeting.” It refers to the seemingly endless cycle of leaders having meetings to prepare for other meetings during which strategies are discussed that require more meetings to implement! It’s exhausting to say, let alone live. Instead of having a positive impact on operations, it has quite the opposite effect.