Review of the Human Resources Material for the ACHE BOG Exam

Transcription

1 Review of the Human Resources Material for the ACHE BOG Exam Carson F. Dye, FACHE

2 Overview The HR section deals with assessing the need for and the supply of professional and other personnel. Functions include recruitment, selection, training, compensation, and evaluation of such personnel and examining ways to evaluate productivity and monitor accountability for results. 22 Questions / 11% of exam

3 Overview of the Exam Understand How to plan for numbers and types of staff needed in a department/organization Basic human resources functions recruitment; selection; employee relations; labor relations; compensation; benefits; employee education and development; employee evaluation Methods to influence motivation levels Well-known motivational theories (Maslow, Herzberg)

4 Overview of the Exam Understand Process used for approving staff privileges for professionals Principles of negotiation The framework of the NLRA / Labor laws Within the context of collective bargaining, what is good faith bargaining; what are the components of a grievance procedure; what are arbitration processes under a union contract

5 Overview of the Exam Understand Factors that affect work group cohesion and performance Factors that increase intergroup and intragroup conflict Approaches to measuring productivity Different types of conflicts and conflict management techniques

6 Overview of the Exam Understand Federal work statutes that prohibit workplace discrimination and individual employee rights Regulations on employee compensation and benefits Acuity-based staffing; flexible staffing; fixed staffing Recruitment and selection techniques Employee satisfaction and engagement measures Rewards systems Disciplinary policies and practices Performance management systems and principles

7 Suggestions on preparation: Consider breaking the HR section down into its component parts Take a legal pad for each section and. outline the key elements of those parts Generally speaking, each topic area should dictate using no more than a single page Continual revising of each page will inculcate the material into your memory

8 Special Tips: Be certain that you know each of the key labor and employment laws and generally what they cover While it is helpful to know dates passed, it is unlikely that will be asked on the exam Knowing the phrases - with cause / without cause and due process (very likely this language will appear)

9 Sample Question to help with cause With growing frequency, employees who have been dismissed are resorting to lawsuits for redress. In such cases, the court may find in favor of the plaintiff if the employer dismissed that plaintiff: 1. for cause, but without using progressive discipline. 2. without cause. 3. before the end of the plaintiff s probationary period. 4. for union-organizing activities.

10 Sample / Answer Answer 2 is correct. The question requires a basic knowledge of human resources issues. Courts are increasingly finding in favor of employees who are dismissed without cause.

11 Key Human Resources Laws 1. Fair Labor Standards Act 2. Civil Rights Act (especially Title VII) EEOC law 3. Equal Pay Act (amendment) 4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 5. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 6. National Labor Relations Act (including Taft-Hartley Amendments) 7. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 8. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 9. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) 10. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 11. Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection

12 HR Laws Touch all aspects of HR Common themes fairness, equity, equal treatment; balance of power Provide for some outlet an administrative body often adjudicates Frequent emphasis on termination Understanding of: due process and with cause or for cause

13 Performance Management Systems Performance management is more than just discipline or performance appraisal -- it involves all processes that impact employee performance, including: Expectations of employees knowledge, skills, abilities (KSA); codes of behavior and evaluations Organization training and orientation Employee performance measurement system Reward systems Disciplinary policies and procedures

14 Employee Performance Evaluation Performance Evaluation Methods Critical incidents - recording key incidents during the year both positive and negative goal is to present a balanced look at employee performance Narrative essays 360-degree feedback

15 Two Types of Disciplinary Issues Performance Mgt also touches discipline Work / ability related does employee have the ability to do the work? Are expectations around the work and work processes clear and explicit? Has the employee been adequately trained? Behavior related often inappropriately called attitude, this relates to how an employee acts

16 Sample Discipline Question Which of the following would be considered the most effective approach to preventing the need for employee disciplinary action? a. Having an accurate job description b. Having an employee orientation program c. Implementing a performance-based compensation system d. Giving managers a small span of control

17 Answer Which of the following would be considered the most effective approach to preventing the need for employee disciplinary action? a. Having an accurate job description The essential building block of human resources management is the job description. The job description is used, for among other purposes, to provide guidance to supervisors, inform training decisions, and to document and defend disciplinary actions. Without a current and accurate job description that is understood by supervisors and employees, it is difficult to identify gaps in employee performance and justify disciplinary actions.

18 Performance Evaluation Question The evaluation of senior management is best administered: a. When criteria are established and known to both parties b. On a scheduled periodic basis c. After consultation with the executive committee of the board d. In conjunction with a salary adjustment

19 Answer The evaluation of senior management is best administered: a. When criteria are established and known to both parties In any evaluation of performance, it is essential that all parties understand the criteria upon which the evaluation is based. It is certainly important to be sure that the board supports the criteria, and that evaluations be conducted on a regular basis. However, these are secondary to clarity of criteria. An evaluation may be tied to a salary adjustment, but ensuring that everyone agrees on the criteria is essential.

20 Performance Evaluation Question The critical-incidents technique of employee performance appraisal requires raters to: a. Select statements that fit the performance characteristics of individuals. b. Select the highest and lowest performing employee in a work unit. c. Record the degree to which specified behaviors are performed. d. Record behaviors of employees that are related to both good and poor performance

21 Answer The critical-incidents technique of employee performance appraisal requires raters to d. Record behaviors of employees that are related to both good and poor performance

22 Recruitment Perhaps the most important HR function Consider the cost of turnover both tangible and intangible Consider the cost of recruitment Consider how leaders might shape a new culture Consider the possible correlation between patient satisfaction and employee satisfaction and how this may relate to the recruitment process

23 Interviewing Interviewers usually reach decisions within a few minutes. It is easier for an applicant to change an early favorable impression than an early negative one. Once an individual is committed to accepting an applicant, additional information increases confidence in the decision, but not its quality.

24 Avoid asking Questions that rarely produce a valid answer Leading questions Illegal questions Obvious questions Non-job related questions What animal would you like to be? If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?

25 Most effective interviewing Job-based a well-designed job description is critical Structured all candidates asked the same questions; questions designed around the key competencies required to do the job Behavioral - Applicants are asked to give specific examples of how they have performed a certain procedure or handled a problem in the past

26 Question Which activity should precede the beginning of a recruitment process for a new employee? a. Obtaining information from employees in a similar position to assess the validity of the job description b. Assessing the cost of various forms of recruitment c. Making a decision whether to emphasize internal or external recruitment d. Conducting a job analysis

27 Answer Which activity should precede the beginning of a recruitment process for a new employee? d. Conducting a job analysis A job analysis should be conducted that utilizes objective information form a variety of sources. It might be useful to obtain information from other job incumbents, but it is possible, in fact probable, that this information may be biased in a way that reinforces the status quo. At the start of the recruitment process, considering internal versus external recruitment, and recruitment costs are simply premature. Job analysis, properly done, should provide us with information on essential job functions and KSAs, or job requirements.

28 Question Which of the following is an example of a selection test? a. A job interview b. An application form c. Evaluating an applicant s ability to lift 50 pounds d. All of the above

29 Answer Which of the following is an example of a selection tool? d. All of the above The term selection tool is defined broadly as any procedure or data collection effort that provides information that may be used in employee selection. Choices a, b, and c are all examples of selection tools. Selection tools vary in the types of information obtained as well as their validity, that is, how well a particular tool predicts actual job performance. Reliability, or the extent to which a tool consistently yields the same results, is also a concern.

30 Selection Laws This question introduces Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures -- designed to help organizations comply with the many federal laws that impact hiring and promotion --- Provides for general rules applying to interview questions; selection tests A selection procedure is any measure, combination of measures, or procedures used as a basis for an employment decision Important to know these guidelines and how they apply

31 Question A manager has found on the internet a test that purports to measure a nurse s commitment to the organization and likelihood of staying with the organization. In advising the manager whether to use the instrument, which would be your greatest concern? a. Does the test have predictive validity; or, does it work? b. Has it been translated into other languages that may be required in the organization? c. Does it comply with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures? d. Will it be administered to all applicants applying for the same job?

32 Answer A manager has found on the internet a test that purports to measure a nurse s commitment to the organization and likelihood of staying with the organization. In advising the manager whether to use the instrument, which would be your greatest concern? c. Does it comply with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures? The Guidelines include information contained in choices a, b, and d but also includes many other guidelines based on Title VII, the ADA, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other equal employment opportunity laws. Of course, the other choices are also relevant, but if our first concern is legality (which it should be), then complying with federal guidelines is central.

33 Labor Relations - Union membership in the US 1980: 20.1 million 1995: 16.4 million 2000: 16.3 million (13.5% of workers in the US) 2006: 15.4 million (12.0% of workers in the US) 2007: 15.7 million (12.1%) 2009: Only 7.2% of the private sector As a proportion of all wage and salary employees, union membership dropped from a high of 34.7 percent of workers in 1954 to 16.1 percent in and 14.0 percent in 1995 and 12.4% in And health care is a critical target of unions to add members.

34 National Labor Relations Act Gave most private sector employees the right to unionize Required employers to meet with unions Required employers to make an honest effort to reach agreement ( bargain in good faith ) Recognized the right to strike Limited employer s retaliatory powers Enforced by National Labor Relations Board

35 Taft Hartley Amendments 1947 A management law in response to the power of unions (in 1946, 200 labor relations bills were introduced in the first week of Congress!) Law identified and made unlawful specific unfair labor practices - outlawed closed shop Outlawed secondary strikes and boycotts Prohibited strikes during the term of a collective bargaining agreement Removed not-for-profit hospitals from NLRA coverage

36 1974 NLRA Amendments Placed not-for-profit hospitals and health care organizations under the NLRA once again Began the era of health care union organizing Since 1974, unions winning roughly 60% of health care elections 1991 NLRA Court Case (AHA) Created set bargaining units (8) in hospitals Changed hospital strategy to avoid unionzation

37 Question The 1991 Supreme Court ruling in AHA vs. NLRB resulted in a. A massive increase in hospital unionization b. A significant decrease in hospital unionization c. The establishment of eight collective bargaining units in hospitals d. Unions having more freedom to initiate work stoppages

38 Answer The 1991 Supreme Court ruling in AHA vs. NLRB resulted in c. The establishment of eight collective bargaining units in hospitals The National Labor Relations Board agreed that hospitals be permitted up to eight separate bargaining units, while the AHA argued for a different arrangement, suggesting that bargaining would become costly and fragmented. And there was fear in the hospital industry that this ruling would lead to a massive increased in the success of union organizing. The outcome was a moderate increase in union activity and a moderate increase in union wins. The anticipated dire consequences did not come to pass.

39 Staffing Methodologies and Productivity Management Nurse workload refers to: (1) the number of patients or patient days for which nursing care is required on a unit or within a department or organization, or (2) the number of patients cared for by an individual nurse (i.e., often referred to as the patient-to-nurse ratio). Nurse staffing refers to: (1) the number of nurses deployed, or staffing level, or (2) the process by which the appropriate number and type of nursing personnel are deployed to satisfy nurse workload requirements.

40 Nurse Staffing Regulatory approach that holds health care organizations accountable for establishing and implementing staffing plans based on patient need and other nursing-related criteria, and with input from front-line staff nurses (JCAHO). Legislative approach, whereby specific nurse staffing ratios are mandated by state law (CA). Combination approach that requires organizational nurse staffing plans in accordance with specific legislated nurse staffing ratios.

41 Patient Acuity Relates to the level of sickness and the required amount of nursing care / and professional nursing care The higher the acuity, the higher the staffing requirements

42 Other Staffing Tied to some workload measurement expressed in terms of x FTE per y workload measure. Productivity systems

43 Question Decisions about the numbers and types of nurses employed on a patient care unit are most commonly based on which of the following: a. the patient population receiving care b. the education and skills possessed by nurses delivering care c. an organization s philosophy about nursing and patient care delivery d. all of the above

44 Answer Decisions about the numbers and types of nurses employed on a patient care unit are most commonly based on which of the following: d. All of the above Choices a, b, and c are all factors that influence the deployment of nurses.

45 Employee Satisfaction Employee satisfaction surveys / employee engagement surveys Departmental meetings CEO meetings ( round-the-clock ) Suggestion systems Grievance procedures Employee committees Employee communication tools (flyers, newsletters, letters to home, internet, intranet)

46 Motivational Strategies and Techniques Know key theories such as - Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs; Herzberg s Hygiene and Motivators ; Achievement Motivation Understand employees needs Make sure employees have the knowledge and resources to perform their work Link desired outcomes to performance Reward managers for motivating their employees Monitor reward system for inequities

47 Question According to Herzberg s Hygiene and Motivators theory of motivation: a. Cleanliness of the workplace plays an important role in motivation b. The absence of adequate compensation can be a dissatisfier, but the presence of adequate compensation is not a motivator c. Employees are motivated by money and factors intrinsic to the job itself d. Extrinsic factors are prime motivators

48 Answer According to Herzberg s Hygiene and Motivators theory of motivation: b. The absence of adequate compensation can be a dissatisfier, but the presence of adequate compensation is not a motivator Herzberg believed that the intrinsic value of the work creates job satisfaction and motivation. Compensation is not a motivator, but is considered a hygiene factor. A hygiene factor is an essential but insufficient factor in determining motivation. That is, like a safe work environment, the absence of adequate compensation (or working in an unsafe environment) may cause dissatisfaction, but without a belief in the intrinsic value of the work, these are not satisfiers.

49 Compensation Market pricing Gainsharing Team-based pay Bonuses Skill-based and knowledge-based pay Competency-based pay Differentials (shift; weekend; on-call)

50 Conclusion + Test covers knowledge & application + Don t forget the various laws + Review any human resources textbook