6 Essential HR Practices for ASCs

Tags: ASC HR | human resources | MedHQ | surgery center management | Thomas Jacobs

At the 19th Annual Surgery Centers Conference in Chicago on October 26, Thomas Jacobs, president, MedHQ, shared six key human resources practices for ambulatory surgery centers that can improve performance.

1. Hire "A" players. ASCs can ensure they hire the best employees for the job through a few key steps:

• Develop a well-written job description.
• Define the ASC's true core values. That is, what makes it unique from other ASCs in terms of culture?
• Determine clear critical attributes required for success at the job. Then, use behavioral questions to determine if candidates have those attributes.
• Use peer interviews to select candidates. "Use the 'A' players already in your organization"  to help hire new employees, Mr. Jacobs said.

2. Employee benefits. Employee benefit packages need to be attractive to the best candidates, said Mr. Jacobs. Inform your employees about the value of the benefits your ASC pays on their behalf, he recommended.

3. Compensation strategy. In addition to benchmarking surveys, Mr. Jacobs argued ASCs need to factor in any unique circumstances — such as greater educational requirements, complexity of the job, experience, etc. — of the job when determining salary for a role.

4. Coaching and mentoring for front-line supervisors. According to a recent survey by MedHQ, managers are most concerned about employee disciplinary issues. Therefore, centers need to provide managers with training and mentoring around disciplinary issues. Moving low performers "up or out" is critical to an ASC's success, said Mr. Jacobs.

5. Employer risk management. ASCs must ensure they are compliant with government regulations surrounding employee issues, such as discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environments and more.

6. Automation for everything else. With so many HR issues and activities to oversee, Mr. Jacobs advises ASCs focus energies on the HR issues described above and use automation and software for everything else. Examples include employee self-service portals, applicant tracking software, etc.

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