Motivating Front Line Staff to Fan-Inspiring Service

By: Guest Author, Posted on Monday, May 1, 2017 12:56 pm

Medical practices are service businesses whose long-term viability depends on patient loyalty and word-of-mouth. That’s why, for instance, Medical Practice entrepreneurs spend tens of thousands of dollars in selecting the right locations, equipping them with the latest technology, and then devising creative marketing campaigns to bring new patients through the door. But while these investments all contribute to medical practice success, they’re still minor compared to the one that makes the greatest impression on patients—the front-line staff. The “front-line” includes any staff member who regularly interacts with patients—in physician offices this typically refers to front office specialists, medical assistants and technicians who support physicians and other providers. The following points demonstrate why the attitude, efficiency, competence, sense of urgency, attention to detail, and communication of the front-line staff impact a patient’s willingness to return to the Clinic and tell others to do likewise:

• The majority of a patient’s interactions are with the front-line staff, not medical providers.
• Front-line staff enables the medical services for which the Clinic exists.
• Front-line staff assures the Clinic gets paid for the services it provides.
• Front-line staff controls communication between patients and providers.
• Front-line staff controls patient flow and documentation.
• Front-line staff knows most intimately patient expectations, impressions, and satisfaction.
• Front-line staff is typically the largest expense item on the Clinic’s profit and loss statement, after medical providers.

Consider how a registration specialist greeting a patient walking through the door contributes to that patient’s lasting “first impression.” No matter how well clinicians treat a patient—a disengaged or disgruntled registration specialist can still undermine the entire operation. Because most medical visits are reimbursed by insurance, errors or shortcuts in benefits verification and data entry at registration can result in costly re-work by the billing function, patient frustration with the collections process, and ultimately, in the Clinic going unpaid for services administered. Yet despite their obvious importance, all too often registration specialists are viewed as an expense to be “controlled.” Because they’re typically the Clinic’s least educated and lowest paid employees, they’re often excluded from Clinic meetings, their opinions on how to improve operations are frequently overlooked, and in extreme cases, they may be treated as “disposable” and easily replaced. Anyone who debates the value of the front-line staff should consider the operational impact of a practice manager taking a day off—the operation will continue without a supervisor—but when a Clinic is short-staffed, everything can spiral into chaos. Moreover, when the needs of front line staff are ignored, consequences include:

• Frequent turnover—contributing to periods of short-staffing, high unemployment premiums, and increased recruiting and training costs.
• Poor quality service—contributing to patient hostility and negative word of mouth.
• Non-compliance with internal policies and external regulations—contributing to mistakes and legal liability.
• Conflict and power struggles between staff members, staff and managers, and staff and patients—contributing to the development of subversive subcultures.

Two Mechanisms to Establish Authority As a medical practice leader, there are two mechanisms to engage staff around the Clinic’s mission and values and to get staff members to enthusiastically follow: First is authority by title—“I am your boss and therefore you must do what I say.” Such managers derive power from their ability to scrutinize, question, punish, harass or even terminate an employee. The result is staff who questions the manager’s competence, resents the manager’s interference in their work, ignores the manager’s commands, goes over the manager’s head, or who simply does the minimum work required to avoid the manager’s scrutiny. Staff rarely trusts a manager whose authority comes by title. The second mechanism involves “winning the hearts and minds” of the staff. If you want to motivate someone to act, you have to establish affinity with that person. Affinity is a liking, agreement, or resemblance to another person that is the basis of becoming "real" to somebody. Until you establish affinity, being “non-real” is the same as being “non-human.” And one cannot effectively lead if he is an “object” and not a “person.” Is there any wonder why surveys show that up to two-thirds of American workers do not trust their bosses? Affinity establishes a leader’s “personhood” and thus willingness for staff to follow. In order to establish affinity with front-line staff, medical practice managers cannot be wishy-washy leaders. They must have a firm understanding of the values that guide the Clinic and be personally committed to those values. Managers get exactly what they focus on. So if a medical practice manager believes, for instance, that patients are human beings who are invaluable to the Clinic’s success—he will develop staff that treats patients with respect, compassion, and understanding. However, if the operator believes that patients are merely a means to an end—such as the Clinic meeting its financial objectives—staff will begin to treat patients as “objects” to be “processed” or in extreme cases, “annoyances to be dealt with.”

Fortunately, unlike other service industries like retail and hospitality where front-staff “happens upon” employment without thought to their values and beliefs—many individuals choose health care professions because they sincerely want to “help” people. A successful medical practice manager will tap into the staff’s innate desire to provide a welcoming, compassionate, and skillful experience to every patient served. Establishing Affinity with Front-line Staff “Winning the hearts and minds” of staff entails helping them feel that they are important to leader and to the organization. Through the leader’s authentic communication, staff comes to understand the humanity of the leader, realizes that they actually do share the same values, and believes that the leader has everyone’s best interests at heart. By contrast, activities that limit communication, rely on formal structure for authority, or puts staff “in its place” results in attitudes that the manager is self-Cliniced, is without feeling, and is undeserving of the staff’s energy and passion. Which of the following multi-unit Medical Practice operators do you think is more effective in motivating staff to deliver a first-rate patient experience?

• When one operations director arrives at the Clinic, he spends most of his time cloistered away with the Clinic’s supervisors discussing staff-related issues. He paces the hallway with his cell phone, text messaging and talking with his superiors, and when he does look up at staff members, he neither acknowledges them nor calls them by name. After his departure, the Clinic’s supervisor “slams down” the staff for everything the director observed that was wrong.
• Another operations director makes it a point to spend one day a month at every Clinic, to memorize every employee’s name, and to actively listen to employee concerns and suggestions. She purchased a portable charcoal grill to personally make hot dogs and hamburgers for the hurried staff. As staff members take their breaks to grab a bite, the director learns their names, hobbies, interests, and workplace concerns. The act of humility of not only buying—but actually preparing and serving—lunch to the staff creates a strong affinity between the staff and the leader.

In order to create an emotional connection with the Clinic’s front-line staff—to get the staff to like and trust you as a leader—consider the following activities in Table 2. Table 2: Suggestions for establishing affinity with front-line staff.

Conclusion An engaged and happy front-line staff is essential to a well-run and sustainable medical practice. Medical practice managers who dismiss, overlook, or neglect their front-line staff will experience dissatisfied patients, negative word of mouth, increased operating costs, instability in operations, and increased risk. In extreme cases, subcultures may develop that completely undermine management’s ability to control the operation. The best remedy in “wining the hearts and minds” of the front-line staff is to create affinity—that is, through communication, to become “real” to them by realizing shared values, demonstrating humility, and emphasizing their importance to the operation. About the Author:  Alan Ayers Expert in strategic planning, business development, clinical operations, sales/marketing and customer service for Medical Practice, occupational medicine, and primary care facilities of all sizes.   A prolific and award-winning writer, Ayers is practice management editor for The Journal of Medical Practice Medicine (JUCM) and he contributes a monthly column to UCAOA’s Medical Practice Access newsletter.