Developing an engaged workforce represents one of the key habits of entrepreneurially-minded physicians.

 

According to Gallup—an organization that has done extensive research on the engagement level of employees in organizations and the overall impact on company results—engaged employees are more productive, profitable, customer-focused, safer, and less likely to leave. In the average organization, 30 percent of employees are engaged, 50 percent are disengaged, and 20 percent are actively disengaged. By comparison, in world-class organizations, 63 percent of employees are engaged, 29 percent are disengaged, and only 8 percent are actively disengaged.  

 

Engaged employees are those who have a positive attitude, take personal responsibility for their actions, are passionate and committed to the company’s goals, contribute discretionary effort, and are solution oriented. These are the “A” players on the team.

 

Disengaged employees are those who “punch the clock.” They do just enough work to keep their jobs. They are usually resistant to change. They don’t give the organization their discretionary effort and tend to react passively to problems. More importantly, disengaged employees are those who are poison pills in the organization. They stir up trouble and recruit others to their causes. They blame other people for their problems and make excuses. They erode a company’s bottom line and bring down the morale of an organization.

 

Physician leaders, like other organizational leaders, spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with actively disengaged employees. They are the squeaky wheels on the staff. We often are forced to ignore our engaged employees as we clean up the messes of the disengaged and actively disengaged members of our staff. Effective leaders know how to raise the bar and increase the level of engagement of their teams. They know how to actively listen to and learn the root causes of the problems. They don’t ignore issues, but instead, deal with them head on. Leaders can raise the level of engagement by sharing a compelling vision, coaching their team members, communicating clearly, raising expectations, and insisting on accountability.

 

In a medical setting, a poorly engaged team can lead to disastrous results.   Patient care and safety is obviously first and foremost. Disengaged and actively disengaged employees are apt to “let balls drop” that can lead to safety issues for patients. This could include forgetting to follow up on medications or testing, or even mishandling paperwork or other instructions. Beyond safety issues, disengaged and actively disengaged employees project their poor attitudes to patients. The patients (customers) have plenty of options for healthcare services. Rude treatment by staff can run off patients in a hurry. For better or worse, these staff team members are the front line representatives. The quality of the patient experience will largely be dictated by the treatment from the medical staff. The net effect is that the level of engagement of a practice’s employees has a direct impact on the bottom line. 

 

Interestingly, Gallup’s research found that engaged organizations have 2.6 times the earnings per share growth rate, compared to other lower engagement organizations in the same industry. The engagement level of employees has a direct impact on key performance areas including absenteeism, turnover, safety, customer satisfaction, and profitability.  

 

Creating an engaged workforce is easier said than done. First, sometimes we have to “get people off the bus.” This means we have to recognize and deal with actively disengaged people. While some employees may be salvageable, sometimes the best thing to do is to let someone go. A disengaged employee is obviously not happy. We don’t do them favors by keeping them in a miserable job.

 

For salvageable disengaged employees and the generally disengaged, we need to learn how to be better coaches. We do this by better observing our employees, questioning them to learn more about their motivations, truly listening to their responses, and giving candid feedback. Finally, we have to rally them to action. This means that we establish clear expectations and standards; I prefer to put these in writing. It’s critically important to have regular accountability meetings to track progress towards goals and expectations.

 

It’s also important to remember that employees take action for their own reasons, and not their leaders. In the end, all motivation is self-motivation. While we can yell, scream, and threaten someone into doing their job better, they’re not going to become an engaged worker utilizing that management style. Engaged employees respond best to visionary and coaching leadership styles.

 

The dilemma for physicians is that they’re extensively trained on clinical skills, but not on the entrepreneurial skills of being a great leader. Learning to be a great leader can be accomplished by first embracing it as a real priority. Books and podcasts can be used to grow these leadership skills. Ultimately, it’s a process that the physician must undertake in conjunction with his team. 

 

Regardless of your practice setting, you’ll likely be working with people that either work directly for you or with you. There’s no reason to allow your practice to be an “average” organization, with almost 70 percent of your employees disengaged. Just imagine the patient satisfaction and enhanced profitability that you could experience if you were able to reverse the trend—and have at least 70 percent of your employees engaged! Creating an engaged workforce is a habit that you can start today in reshaping your practice and planning for tomorrow.

 

 

Martin Willoughby is a business attorney and serial entrepreneur based in Jackson, Miss. He may be reached by email mew@msbusinesslaw.com.