An Easy Way to Improve Patient Satisfaction

As a service industry, healthcare has many types of assets. Most appear on the balance sheet. However, the most crucial asset appears in the expense section of the income statement. Those assets are your people. Without people, the work of caring for patients stops. The quality of the care provided is threatened without happy people delivering that healthcare.

Employee satisfaction and happiness are of the utmost importance to you and your practice. Happy people are the ones who stick around and do a great job on your behalf. They are loyal and will stick with you even in bad times. They do so because they are committed to the mission and purpose of the practice and want to help take the organization to the next level. They are passionate or what you’re excited about. Investing in your people yields more significant intangible dividends that will push your practice to the next level.

Factors that Impact Employee Satisfaction

Many factors contribute to employee satisfaction. Crafting a plan that develops many aspects will help you ensure happy and productive people. A few addressed here are working conditions, benefits, acknowledgment, and fostering teamwork.

The working environment of your practice will have a tremendous impact on your people. Is their workspace clean, safe, and comfortable? Do they have a small area they can claim as their own? 

The next important aspect is how management, that’s you and other physicians, treat them. Remember the arrangement all parties have entered; they are exchanging expertise, skill sets, and time for money. They didn’t sell themselves to you. There are limits to what you can and should ask of them. Always treat them with respect and care. 

Another critical factor is their pay and benefits. Remember, they will keep tabs on the market and will compare their pay to that of the prevailing market. Not all comparisons are fair or equal but know that they are doing the calculation. Ensure their salary and benefits are proportional and appropriate to their level of skills, knowledge, and value. 

Perhaps the most critical factor influencing their satisfaction is your recognition of their work. Give credit where credit is due. Don’t be afraid or unwilling to show your appreciation for the hard work they do. Also, continue to invest in their personal development and look for ways you can help them improve themselves. If you invest in them, they are more likely to feel loyal and less likely to leave. It’s a little thing called reciprocity. Every human feels it. Don’t be afraid to induce it.

Ways to Improve Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction plays an essential role in motivating the employees to deliver their level best and also leads to a positive ambiance at the workplace. It is not rocket science, and it does not take much to satisfy your employees. Small but sincere efforts are enough to satisfy employees so they enjoy their current roles and responsibilities and stick to the organization for a long time. Here are the actions you may take to improve the satisfaction of your employees. 

1. Assign folks to their expertise, interest area, and specialization. This will require you to know and understand the abilities of your employees. The step should begin during the hiring process. You will also want to identify key responsibility areas for each job and make it clear what the roles and duties are.
2. Spread the work evenly. Be careful not to overburden any employee. Equally, distribute the work among those employees qualified. Developing this habit will also discourage favoritism and showing partialities. 
3. Foster a healthy workplace culture. Encourage your employees to talk with one another and discuss issues so they might work as a unit. Be open to their suggestions, and don’t be afraid to implement the good ones. 
4. Listen to them. The fastest way to create an unsatisfied employee is to ignore their voices. Remember, what might be a small problem for you might be a cause of significant concern for them. 
5. Help them grow. Provide opportunities for growth. This helps prevent them from losing interest in their work. Education, new assignments, and new challenges will provide them 
6. Appreciate them. Take time and put forth the effort to show your appreciation for the work your employees do. Give them credit for a job well done. 

Look for ways you take one or all of the steps outlined above, and you will begin to create a positive environment for your employees. The care, and more importantly, the attitude, they deliver to your patients will improve your patient satisfaction scores.

David J. Norris, MD, MBA, is a practicing anesthesiologist in Wichita, Ks. He is the author of The Financially Intelligent Physician and Great Care, Every Patient and is a frequent speaker on physician finances. Read more about David at www.davidnorrismdmba.com.