1. Hire people who can fill multiple roles. If your employees can transition easily from one role to another, you can fill staff shortages and avoid paying multiple staff members for work that could be done by one person.
“Every single one of my employees is either an RN or a surgery tech, even the people at the front desk,” says Lynda Simon, administrator of St. John’s Clinic: Head and Neck Surgery in Springfield, Mo. “If I have a need for a tech because someone has to leave, one of the people from the front desk can step into that role.” She says it makes a difference when every staff member can step into a caregiver role because it places the patient at the center of the facility’s focus.
David Kelly, administrator of Samaritan North Surgery Center in Dayton, Ohio, recommends centers focus on hiring employees with the energy, as well as the ability, to fill multiple roles. “There’s a historical assumption that the outpatient center is where nurses come to [slow down],” he says. “Some people think it’s an easier environment than the hospital, and maybe in the past it has been, but that’s no longer the case.” He says the pressure to increase efficiency means your staff members must be flexible and energetic.
2. Retain your current staff. It costs more money to hire and train a new employee than it does to keep an existing one happy. Ms. Simon says she hasn’t hired a new staff member for three and a half years. Because her staff members are all experienced enough to know the specific needs of her center, they form a cohesive team with a vested interest in cutting costs and helping the community. Ms. Simon says staff retention has two sides: hiring positive people and building a great work environment.
First, she recommends hiring staffers who focus on the positive. An employee who gets bogged down in the day-to-day challenges of working in an ASC will be more likely to leave or disengage from his or her work. She says an interview is the perfect place to identify positive workers. “When I interview people, I ask negative questions, but seek positive answers,” she says. “I say, ‘Tell me about a time you had a problem with your boss,’ and I get everything from a really horrible answer to a nurturing answer.” Candidates who demonstrate a desire to work through problems and overcome staff disagreements are more likely to stay at your center for the long haul.
Second, Ms. Simon says to retain staff, you must make your center a great work environment. Schedule regular social activities for your team, solicit feedback on problems and reward hard work with praise and recognition.
3. Rethink your traditional staffing model. Take a close look at your staffing model to figure out where you can make cuts if you need to. “Instead of having two nurses for one patient, you may be able to use one,” says Mr. Kelly.
Mr. Kelly adds that as EHR become more prevalent, you may be able to employ technology to reduce the number of full-time employees you need. “For example, a patient could go online and enter information, which eliminates the half hour you need for a pre-admission testing phone call,” he says. “Those 30 minutes add up over a year and produce labor savings.”
Rethinking your staffing model might also involve restructuring shift times. “If your volume has dropped off, maybe instead of 10-hour shifts, you can do eight-hour shifts,” Mr. Kelly says. “You need to track that data so you know how many hours you waste.”
