Policies also add value...

Over the years I've interviewed a lot of experienced business office staff and the one thing that they all tell me is that they want structure.  When asked what they mean by structure, they talk about job descriptions, procedures and training.  Why, because they wanted to succeed. 

In some ways I was surprised - not because they wanted to succeed - but they associated structure with their ability to succeed.  Healthcare providers often hire experienced people because they've already been trained and can hit the ground running.  Some do, but think about it - if you're not providing training, who is?

When I first launched our e-learning initiatives, I presented the results of a study about Leading Edge Companies.  The companies categorized as leading edge had three things in common: all were earning at least 45% more than comparable companies, all had employee development programs and none were in the healthcare industry.  So the answer to who is, is not many, if any healthcare providers.

You might be thinking that it is impossible to achieve those kinds of results in healthcare services, but it is not.  Some of our clients have acheived those kinds of results simply by streamlining core business office processes, assigning jobs that use people's strengths, documenting their business processes, measuring results and providing feedback.  They are not big companies with big budgets.  They are small, closely held companies with owners that wanted results and made the investment.  

In short, companies that do better provide the tools and support for staff to perform better!