Facilitated by Beth Hannley, MA, EMBA
Great leaders get great results. Some managers just seem to bring out the best in their employees, whether they are independent contributors or members of a team. But, it s not by accident. Studies of strong managers in twelve industries found that they were committed to actively engaging employees, managing their performance to achieve desired outcomes. How do they do it? Great managers intentionally work to create a positive work environment so that their team members will provide consistently high levels of productivity, accuracy, and customer service. They focus on four basic practices: selecting the right people, setting clear expectations, giving praise and recognition and confronting poor performance. They assess performance by observing tasks and behaviors or by auditing results. The secrets of great managers are not difficult to learn or to practice. Rather, they are common-sense actions that generate uncommon results. In this session, you will learn the key elements for creating a positive work environment and gain skill in the art of giving meaningful recognition. You ll learn three high impact routines that engage employees in their own development through identifying their strengths, setting clear expectations and monitoring quarterly performance goals. Great managers know the value of giving feedback frequently. They use high impact routines that are simple, frequent, focused on results, and self-monitoring. These routines include daily rounding or daily huddles, strengths interviews, and performance planning meetings. They provide formal feedback at least twice each year, evaluating past performance and setting new goals. Objectives After successfully completing this session, you will be able to do the following. List twelve core elements of a positive work environment and how they relate to business results. Describe the power of recognition and praise List the four steps to meaningful recognition. Essential Questions: 1. What does research tell us about the practices of great managers? 2. Why is a positive work environment essential to achieving strong business results? 3. What are the core elements of a positive work environment? 4. What are the three levels of engaged employees and how do they impact the bottom line? 5. How can you make recognition meaningful? 2
Effective Managers, Positive Environment, and Results Is a positive work environment important to business success? Gallup s research with more than a hundred thousand employees shows the practices of top performing companies across industries. Responses were distilled into 12 statements to assess the employee s satisfaction with the organization. Every statement was linked to at least one of the four business outcomes: customer satisfaction, profitability, productivity and employee retention that relate to top performance, regardless of industry. Core Item 1. I know what is expected of me. Customer Satisfaction Profitability Productivity Turnover 2. I have the materials/equipment needed to do my job right. 3. I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. 4. I have received recognition or praise for good work in the past seven days. 5. My supervisor, or someone at work, cares about me as a person. 6. Someone at work encourages my development. 7. My opinions count. 8. The mission and purpose of my organization makes my job seem important. 9. My co-workers are committed to quality. 10. I have a best friend at work. 11. In the past six months, my supervisor has talked with me about my progress. 12. In the past year, I ve had opportunities to learn and grow Overall satisfaction Six of the questions were the most powerful in terms of satisfying employees and driving business results. Put a star by the ones that you think are most powerful. Beth Hannley, MA, MBA, 3
When employees are engaged, they feel connected to the company at a deeper level than those who are simply satisfied. Clear goals, open communication, trust, accountability, and recognition turn out to be the leadership traits that drive employee satisfaction and engagement. Engaged employees demonstrate a greater need for goal setting and accountability than satisfied employees. Satisfied employees wanted more trust and communication from their managers. Workplace attitude surveys that measure both satisfaction and engagement yield important data. Seven additional survey questions that reveal employee engagement. A major study conducted by Healthstream, in which they surveyed more than 200,000 employees, was reported in The Carrot Principle by Gostick and Elton. Their research reveals a statistical correlation between highly engaged employees and positive responses to the following questions. 1. Employees in my department consistently put in extra effort beyond what is expected. 2. Employees in my department are highly motivated to contribute to the success of the organization. 3. Employees in my department consistently look for more efficient and effective ways of getting the job done. 4. Employees in my department have a strong sense of personal accomplishment from their work. 5. Employees in my department understand how their roles help the organization meet its goals. 6. Employees in my department always have a positive attitude when performing their duties at work. 7. My manager does a good job of recognizing employee contributions. Similar results were found by Towers-Perrin, in a 2005 study, which indicated that engaged employees have clear expectations of their work situation. The survey revealed that those highly engaged employees wanted the following. A leader who connects with them Opportunities to grow their career A leader who is inspirational and enthusiastic A good reputation and pride in the company. While the research is consistent, beware of relying solely on external benchmarks. You will have the most to learn by asking your own employees, particularly those who are top performers with strong loyalty to the company. 4
Employee engagement is about winning the discretionary effort of employees so that they go beyond simply meeting the basics of the job, flying just above the radar. An engaged workforce is a company full of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. Companies with high employee satisfaction and engagement report customer service ratings that are 20% higher than their low satisfaction peers. Clear goals, open communication, trust, accountability and recognition turn out to be the leadership traits that drive employee satisfaction and engagement. There are three levels of employee engagement. 1. Engaged employees feel a profound connection to their company. They work with passion and purpose, bringing innovation and moving the organization forward. Engaged employees delight your customers. Their commitment to the company is reflected in high productivity, safety, service and teamwork. It s not hard to spot engaged employees they re our go-to people. 2. Satisfied employees are happy with their pay, benefits and work environment. They have a low risk of turnover, but aren t particularly committed to the company s growth or success. They re dependable. However, they often do just enough to get by, without rousing a sufficient level of concern (or grief to the manager) to warrant disciplinary action. 3. Actively disengaged employees aren t just unhappy. They re busy acting out their unhappiness in many ways that are damaging to your customer satisfaction, productivity, profitability. They frustrate customers and irritate the boss. Actively disengaged employees undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish, further impacting a key business result- the retention of the best and brightest employees, who otherwise have high satisfaction and high engagement. Exercise: Consider your employees and their levels of engagement. In the table below, identify those who are actively engaged, simply satisfied and those who are actively disengaged in terms of how they relate to your patients and other customers. Actively Engaged Satisfied Actively Disengaged 5
If you always do what you ve always done, you ll always get what you ve always gotten. As Quint Studer says, the best employees are those who feel that their jobs offer a meaningful purpose, worthwhile work and an opportunity to make a difference. They look for ways to improve their skills, create opportunities to learn and foster a team approach to problem solving. Every employee, and especially the best, wants to get feedback, recognition and ways to improve their performance. Here are some of the secrets of strong supervisors. High performing employees focus on results. They want to know how they re doing and they want to improve on their scores. They achieve the highest results when they set their own targets. When clear goals are combined with consistent measurement and aligned behaviors, results start to come. What are the three leadership practices that create a positive work environment? Again and again, the great ones tell you that they have a few basic practices that make the difference. 1. Be clear about your expectations. Let your employees know exactly what you expect and how you will measure their success. Introduce your behavioral standards early in the selection and onboarding process. For example, describe the specific customer service behaviors and the outcomes you desire. Tie the service behaviors to a particular process, ideally one that is performed many times a day. Train the employee in using key words at those key times to achieve the desired results. 2. Select good people. Hiring the right person takes more than a gut feeling. It takes planning and preparation to find the right person: someone who has the necessary capabilities, commitment and chemistry to be successful in the job. Structure your recruitment, interviewing, selection and onboarding to identify candidates who are naturally oriented to customer service. 3. Recognize good work and tie it to business results. Engaged employees create loyal customers. Whenever possible, catch your employees in the act of serving customers and recognize them for great service. Praise and recognition from a supervisor is one of the most important motivators to employees. You can increase the effectiveness of your praise by giving feedback as soon as possible, with specific detail, in person (if you can) and in a way that shows you genuinely appreciate what the team member did. 6
Employees want to know what is expected of them. The more clear we are with expectations, the more likely we are to get the performance we need. Clear expectations ensure that employees know what is expected and how to achieve successful performance and results. THREE AREAS FOR FOCUS Basic job requirements Alignment of goals Behavioral standards or competencies Expectations include the basic job requirements as listed in the job description. Expectations may also include such core requirements as attendance, appearance, mandatory training, confidentiality, safety and infection control., Expectations also include position-specific goals aligned with company goals and metrics. This is tremendously motivating as people want to see how their work contributes to the company s success. Personal goals for development may be included. Behavioral competencies or standards are the third area for focus. In healthcare, behavioral competencies typically specify standards of conduct toward patients as well as teammates, because of the impact that our behaviors have on healing as well as the positive, productive work environment. Tips for Setting Expectations Research shows that goal setting goals increases performance. As a species, humans are fundamentally goal-oriented. Goals direct our attention, increase persistence, and motivate toward strategies to achieve our goals, particularly when team members have helped to choose the goals and metrics. Integrate benchmarking into goal-setting. Benchmarking expectations to other highly performing groups or individuals promotes high performance. It helps to show that the goals are reasonable and achievable in terms of volume and quality. Benchmarking leads to a feeling of fair treatment and commitment and to establishing higher goals. Use the SMART Goal formula to make sure that expectations are clearly understood, are within the capacity of the person to achieve, considers the resources available and the timeframe in which the goal must be attained. The savvy manager chooses metrics that are already being monitored, to avoid creating a lot of unnecessary work. Setting and communicating these expectations takes some "up front" time in terms of preparation and patience to successfully complete. Monitoring performance and sharing results takes time as well. However, the payoff in terms of lack of problems, increased performance, productivity, and quality of work, not to mention the reduced turnover, and employee wellbeing is well worth the time investment. 7
2010 Performance Management Process Behavioral Competency Guide Customer Service Putting patients and customers (internal & external) first (How we relate to our customers) Making customers and their needs a primary focus of one s actions; developing and sustaining positive customer relationships. Does Not Meet Job Expectations (Examples of Behaviors) Successfully Achieves Job Expectations (Examples of Behaviors) Far Exceeds Job Expectations (Examples of Behaviors) Does not acknowledge customers when they arrive; does not give eye contact or greet customer Unwilling to help customers or does the least work possible to meet customer needs; avoids taking on extra work Treats customer as an interruption and places their requests and needs as a low priority Fails to ask appropriate questions to determine customer needs Exhibits disinterest in customer or customer needs; does not give eye contact or looks away from customer Fails to follow up on customer concerns, questions or requests **Used with permission of The Everett Clinic When customer arrives, acknowledges their presence, smiles, and uses formal greeting Meets or exceeds customer expectations; asks questions to determine their needs Treats all customer requests as important Places customers as a priority and is ready to respond to customer requests and needs Responds to inquiries in a thorough and professional manner Actively listens to customer to determine their needs, asking appropriate questions to understand needs; uses open body language Follows up with customer concerns or requests on a timely basis Always ready to welcome the next customer; smiles; uses open body language Consistently displays a positive and responsive attitude towards customers; role model for others; says what I can do for you is. Consistently exceeds customer expectations; asks Is there anything else I can do for you today? Is quick to respond to customer requests; changes approach to accommodate customer requests; flexible Always responds to inquiries in a thorough and professional manner and is willing to make the extra effort to satisfy a customer Is able to anticipate customer needs Is proactive in problem prevention; asks what would you like to see happen? Beth Hannley, MA, MBA, 8
The secret to successful hiring is to know what talents and traits you need and hire for them. If you re focused on customer service, be sure to design an interview process and questions to distinguish good candidates from great ones. You re looking for employees who are hardwired to want to serve customers, who will be highly engaged and willing to learn new ways to work with customers. Use behavior-based questions to gauge a candidate s skill and concern for customers. The best predictor of future performance is the way we ve responded to similar situations in the past. BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 1. Give me an example of how you typically greeted customers in your last position. Tell me what you say and do. How do your customers respond? 2. Tell me about the most difficult patient service experience that you have ever had to handle-perhaps an angry or upset patient. Be specific and tell what you did and what the outcome was. 3. Give me an example of a time when you had to think on your feet to ensure that the patient got the best service possible. How did you handle the situation? What did you do? What was the final outcome? How did you feel? What did you learn from this experience? 4. Tell me about a time when dealing with an upset patient didn t go so well. What happened? How did you handle the situation? What did you do? What was the final outcome? What did you learn from this experience? 5. Describe a situation where you had to go the extra mile to support a customer. What did you do? What was the reaction of the customer? What did you learn from that experience? 6. Tell me about a time when your job required you to have a lot of contact with customers. What was the situation? What did you do? How did you like it? What did you learn? 7. What have you done in the past to ensure patient/customer satisfaction by taking action to prevent a problem? What did you do? What was the outcome? What did you learn from that experience? 8. Give me an example of how you dealt with a customer who wanted to make a complaint. What did you do? What was the outcome? What did you learn from that experience? 9
It s meaningful to be recognized and appreciated for work done well. Praise tells us that we re doing the right thing and in the right way. Meaningful recognition also gives us a sense of belonging and motivates us to do more. When others care about and value our contribution, it inspires us to strive for excellence. Giving recognition can often be as rewarding as receiving. When we see excellence in others and recognize it, we see possibilities for our own growth and skill development. When organizations have a culture of recognition, people feel challenged to give their best, to learn and to contribute to the well-being of others. Recognition creates a work environment where cooperation, partnership and teamwork thrive. Instructions: Think of a time when you were recognized for your work. Share your experience with a partner. Together, work together to explore what makes recognition and praise meaningful. Is it the same thing for everyone? What was the situation? What did you do? How were you recognized? How did you feel? What made the praise so meaningful to you? List at least five elements that made the recognition that you and your partner discussed so meaningful. For example, was the recognition more valued by you because of the person who gave you the praise? 1. The person who recognized me is important to me. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1 0
Praise and recognition from a supervisor is one of the most important motivators to employees. You can increase the effectiveness of your praise by giving feedback as soon as possible, with specific detail, in person (if you can) and in a way that shows you genuinely appreciate what the team member did. To make recognition more meaningful, tie it to personal values and business results. People want to know that they are making a difference. Feedback is more appreciated when you make the connection between behavior and outcomes. According to Bob Nelson, an expert in meaningful recognition, there are four components of effective feedback. 1. Observation I saw what you did. 2. Appreciation I appreciate it. 3. Value It s important because 4. Emotion Here s how it makes me feel. Nelson recommends using the ASAP approach for maximum effectiveness As soon as possible As specific as possible As sincerely as possible As personal as possible As positive as possible As proactive as possible Application: Think of an employee or a peer to recognize for good work. meaningful feedback for him or her. Use Nelson s Four Step Process to create 1. Observation I noticed that you 2. Appreciation I appreciate it. 3. Value It s important because 4. Emotion I feel 1 1
Recognition and reward are powerful instruments for managing employee performance. today value more personal here and now sincere recognition. Employees Formal Recognition Programs Herogram - designed to recognize staff and physicians who go above and beyond the call of duty or consistently exceed TEC s Service Standards. It s an easy way to make someone s day. James G. Finley MD Award - Annually, TEC staff members nominate their colleagues for outstanding achievement in customer service and who have made significant contributions to our community. Outstanding Contributor Award - this award was created to recognize employees, manager and physicians who make notable contributions to the success of the Clinic, tied to the goals. Caught in the Act Award on the spot recognition a quick and easy way for leaders to catch and reward staff for successfully demonstration one of the three values: Take Ownership! Say Yes! Be An Ambassador! Informal Recognition E-cards Pocket Praise cards Thank you cards Candy (chocolate is always good) Starbucks card (or an unexpected latte) Office toys Rewards Movie tickets Team events Barbecues and other events Best form of recognition Without a doubt, the single most prized form of recognition is a thank you note sent to the employee s home. 1 2
Engaging employees is one of the best investments you can make as a manager. The research tells us what to do to increase engagement and why it s a business imperative. Intentional use of these three evidence-based practices does take time. However, active management of performance will yield measurable results. Great managers love this work. It gives us a chance to develop our employees so that they grow in skill and confidence and add greater value to the company as well as to themselves. Here s the question. Would you rather spend your time in disciplining bad behavior or in recognizing high performers? 1 3