Trick or Treat? Un-masking Common Leadership Challenges

Fun fact: some of the most common Halloween costume themes actually parallel the challenges healthcare leaders routinely face. This Halloween, to avoid being “spooked,” it is important to uncover what lies beneath the surface to develop a proper response. Identifying the reason for the “mask” by unveiling the issues behind it will help to create permanent change and sustained improvement.

  • The Ghost: Effectively scheduling staff can be the most difficult part of managing operations. It is a delicate balancing act between safely meeting care requirements and efficiently aligning resources with demand. Factors like intermittent FMLA, mandatory breaks, and frequent call-outs can make this task even more demanding, allowing employees to appear and disappear like apparitions with little consequence. To reduce the impact of these “ghosts,” leaders should capitalize on cross-training opportunities and build a float pool of per diem staff, when possible, to help fill gaps and create greater scheduling flexibility.
  • The Witch: Personality management is critical in creating a positive, supportive, and inclusive work environment. However, it is not always easy to blend the unique traits, preferences, and behaviors of all team members. Some staff may have a strong, dominating nature that can be off-putting to others. When one’s approach is to either work independently, take charge, or tell and not teach, it can be perceived as “witchy.” Leaders must navigate differing personalities by connecting with each individual to understand their motivations, improve communication, and develop rapport. This will better the overall workplace experience, enhance culture, and ensure the “brooms” stay in the closet.
  • The Prince/Princess: Highly skilled or long-tenured staff can, at times, be less of a blessing and more of a curse. Experience can lead to a sense of superiority or entitlement which is problematic to manage and damaging to culture. Large PTO banks and generous benefit packages can encourage staff detachment, enabling them to retreat when unfavorable circumstances arise. Change is hard, but necessary in the business of healthcare. Leaders must engage their department “royalty” by calling upon their expertise to create achievable improvement plans and guide their implementation. Communicating the value of their continued participation will foster a sense of ownership, eliminating the “above it all” mentality and resulting in an even “richer” professional experience.
  • The Vampire: Sleeping during the day and working all night is not for everyone. Therefore, night shift coverage can be quite challenging for healthcare leaders. With more and more hospital departments moving to a 24-hour service model, recruiting and maintaining minimal staffing levels for overnights can sometimes feel like an “immortal” task. Even if a leader is fortunate to find their areas fully staffed, there is also the lower volumes/reduced productivity of the night shift to contend with. Productivity can be negatively impacted by the need to staff departments during periods of decreased activity. Forget the holy water and stakes to the heart – one way to effectively combat the effects of the night shift on overall performance is to increase cross-training and have overnight staff support other areas with data abstraction, clerical support, or even patient care where appropriate. Keeping staff busy and expanding skill sets will also boost employee satisfaction; as they say, “idle hands do the devil’s work!”
  • The Alien: Agency utilization was at an all-time high during the COVID pandemic. While the healthcare industry has since rebounded, improving the recruitment/retention of employed staff, travelers are still a routine part of daily operations for many hospitals and health systems. This management tactic can be very effective when temporary staffing is needed to help bridge scheduling gaps created by vacancies, LOAs, etc. However, a steep downside to hiring contract staff, besides the price tag, is that they are “alien” to the organizations in which they are working. Despite their potential “out of this world” experience and skill, travelers have no sense of loyalty or motivation to go the extra mile. They are not familiar with the unique policies and procedures of each facility which may lead to additional training time or disruptions to workflow.

A solution that leaders can implement to minimize the need for agency is establishing a float pool of per diem staff, often comprised of current or previous employees that want to maintain a connection to the organization without a strict commitment. They are already part of the culture, not “foreign” to the service delivery practices, are cost-effective, and allow for greater schedule flexibility.

Stop being haunted by these common leadership challenges! ALTIUS provides the data, tools, and education necessary to make healthcare management a little less frightening. To learn more, visit our website or reach out directly here.

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