HR in the ASC:
An Employment Process That Works
By Walter J. Flynn, SPHR
In today’s complex ambulatory surgical labor market, a carefully designed selection process that is conscientiously followed is the key to making successful hiring decisions. A “best practice” selection process includes the following components:
Job Analysis
The development of an accurate job description detailing position duties, responsibilities, qualifications and requirements is critical to truly understand what the job entails and requires.Develop an Applicant Pool Advertising, networking, internal postings, and school contacts are all approaches to developing a quality applicant pool. The larger and more qualified the applicant pool the more likely a qualified individual will be identified. As a rule of thumb, having a minimum of three to five qualified applicants to screen will yield a successful candidate.Screening Applications and Resumes This is a very important process component, the value of which is frequently overlooked. Careful evaluation of both the content and the form of a completed employment application or a resume is a very important part of the process. The way applicants present themselves, such as their neatness, completeness of responses, use of grammar, spelling and thoroughness, are all indications of how they will represent your organization. Certainly the content of their completed application and/or resume is very telling and should be carefully evaluated as this reveals what they think about their skills and abilities.Conducting a Legal, Evaluative Interview An interview should be very purposeful and focused on evaluating the applicant’s education, experience and personal characteristics relative to the position responsibilities, duties and qualifications. The interview must be conducted in compliance with federal, state, and local laws that relate to equal employment opportunity.Checking References Checking previous employment and criminal records is important to ensure that the applicant has accurately and honestly represented themselves. Even if employment references cannot be obtained, verifying previous employment is very useful.Making the Offer Once the most qualified applicant is identified, extending the offer in a manner that increases the likelihood of acceptance is crucial. The work invested in getting to this point can all be for not if the applicant rejects the offer. Making the offer with a positive, respectful attitude and a welcoming approach, mindful that the needs of the applicant will increase the likelihood of the applicant accepting the position.New Employee Orientation After a successful recruitment effort and applicant acceptance, the start of a positive employment relationship is facilitated by an informative orientation. The orientation should include information about the organization, department, job, benefits and working conditions.
Consistently following the type of selection process described above will increase your ability to predict the future job success of a new hire and start the employment relationship off on the right foot. Walter J. Flynn, SPHR, is principal with Langan and Flynn, LLC Human Resource Consultants, and author of Healthcare Human Resource Management. He may be reached through the company’s Web site at: www.LanganFlynn.com.
Keeping In Step with EmployeesHuman resources is a major part of managing any business, but the unique challenges faced in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) environment may be an even more mountainous task to overcome. Thomas Jacobs, president of MedHQ, a Chicago-based company that offers outsourced HR functions and onsite staff management, shares some tips on how best to handle the challenges of staffing. Q: What are some of the more common legal pitfalls concerning human resources (HR) issues in an ASC and how can management best avoid them? A: “Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, through Title VII of that Act, protection of employees from discriminatory behavior by employers has been part of the American business landscape. That Act told us, ‘It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’ In 1967, age (i.e. someone over 40 years old) was added to the list of ‘protected classes’ by the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA); and disability protection was added in 1990 in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Recently, however, there is another area that has garnered a lot of attention, and created a lot of headaches for administrative staff: managing through the myriad ‘protected leave’ statutes. The professional employer organization (PEO) trade group NAPEO recently published a legal review entitled, ‘You Can’t Make Me Come to Work!’ A Guide to the Complex Law of Protected Leaves. This effectively captures what we, as employers, sometimes feel some employees are saying to us. The NAPEO publication describes eligibility for FMLA, certification of ‘serious health conditions’ under FMLA, related ADA issues, pregnancy protections, jury duty leaves and involvement in Agency proceedings, and federal military leave protections. Having the involvement of a PEO in your surgery center will give you access to a team of people that can cost effectively ensure compliance with protective leave laws, as well as the many other employment laws, while relieving your clinical and administrative of unnecessary burden.” Q: How often should a manager reassess his/her current employees? A: “Employee assessment is constantly on the mind of a good manager. An effective assessment process is critical to the success of a surgery center. Any significant milestone in the employee’s tenure is deserving of an assessment of performance, whether at the completion of an important project, or as a minimum, the employment anniversary; this latter milestone should include a written assessment of performance. However, using the wrong assessment criteria can backfire on a manager. Are managers focusing on the right criteria? Do they include factors that assess how well employees perform relative to the values and beliefs that are espoused by the organization? “Ineffective employee assessment process can cost employers money in the short run by allowing unsatisfactory performance, but it can also destroy the culture that is desired by the management and leadership of the surgery center. And, if the assessment is purely operational and financial ratios, the manager may be missing the mark. To develop the culture development of an organization, the manager must look much more deeply, while constantly reinforcing the most important values of the organization through reminders, rewards and relationship building.” Q: What are the tell-tale signs that change is in order in staffing? A: “Some of the signs that there are issues include dropped assignments, the excessive need for re-work; productivity not up to par; lack luster attitude among the staff or leadership; patient safety concerns; low patient or physician satisfaction scores; poor control of inventory and medical supplies; etc. There are many indicators that may lead to the conclusion that change is needed.”
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