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...

Before I began working with a recent client, a couple of talented employees and the management of a group got into a tiff. The employees perceived the value of what they gave to and received from the company one way, and management saw things another way. The employees felt things were out of balance, leaning towards their inputs. The management felt the outputs were in balance with the employee’s inputs. The disagreement started small and was allowed to continue over time without any intervention until it reached a boiling point. Ultimately, a less than satisfactory outcome resulted.

I think the situation could have been resolved with a better outcome if management had considered a management theory by John Stacey Adams. His approach, Equity Motivation Theory, builds upon the work of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as we all Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory.

Equity Theory is a helpful tool that will allow you to put workplace psychology in place and increase your...

The other evening I was involved in an “intervention” or counseling session with a fellow physician. Complaints were raised by nursing staff regarding his demeanor and type of communication he has with them. Technically, he’s a good physician, very well-read, and does a good job of caring for his patients. However, he continually has “run-in’s” with the support staff. This was the topic we were addressing at this particular meeting.

As we began to discuss the events, his body language shouted “I’m right. Everyone else is wrong.” The tone and tenor of his voice were coated with pride. Why am I here? I don’t deserve this. I’m the best in the group. He had a hard time displaying any empathy towards the nurses. “I’m sorry they received the message that way," was his typical reply. Suffice it to say, but his attitude was impairing the progress of the meeting.

A few of the members of the meeting wanted to...