Add sparkle and purpose to your staff meetings
They don’t have to be boring gripe sessions
By Neil Baum, MD
New Orleans
Recently, one of our employees volunteered to assume the role of an elderly patient. We covered her glasses with soap to create the effect of typical cataract vision. She used earplugs to impair her hearing. She wore thick gloves to simulate arthritis of her hands. One of her legs was immobilized with a splint and she used a walker. We put her in a car and drove her to the office building. She went to the bank, made a transaction, negotiated the elevator, and entered our office in the role of a patient and signed in.
After her experience, she described to the rest of the staff her feelings, the difficulties she encountered, and she sized up our office’s user-friendliness. For instance, she observed that the print on our patient information sheet was too small for someone with impaired vision.
Sheryl Bronkesh, whose Scottsdale, AZ, company specializes in consulting with physicians on practice management and staff issues, developed this staff exercise. (For information on contacting Bronkesh and for suggested reading, see box, p. 138.) We do lots of this kind of thing at our staff meetings. The point is that staff meetings don’t have to be boring and static. Following are several ideas that can add sparkle and excitement to your staff meetings and make them more meaningful and productive.
Staff meetings provide a priceless opportunity to hear feedback from the people best able to identify problems and suggest workable solutions. And they can be fun, allowing staff members to discuss their work in an open and relaxed atmosphere. During these meetings, staff members can present any grievances or problems they are experiencing as well as any suggestions they have to increase business.
In my practice, we have three types of staff meetings. We have formal or standard meetings, which are held every other week. Less formal meetings are held once a month during lunch. These meetings don’t have an agenda; they provide an opportunity to have open discussions about the practice. Staff members also hold monthly lunch meetings without me to discuss staff-staff interaction. Staff meetings are held more often if there are any problems or new programs being introduced.
Starting on a positive note
I have always been impressed with the wonderful things that happen to most of the staff. At the beginning of our meetings, I ask that everyone relate some positive incident that has happened since our last meeting. Such incidents might include successfully dealing with a difficult patient, getting new lab coats, or receiving an award. The staff meeting is an excellent forum for sharing these positive events. Beginning each meeting with these presentations creates a positive atmosphere.
I also ask everyone to contribute one idea that will help improve the practice. I borrowed this concept from Stew Leonard, who is the top retail grocer in America. We record each suggestion. Those whose ideas are implemented are rewarded either verbally or monetarily (if the cost savings are significant).
All aspects of my practice have been improved as a result of using this idea-a-month approach. Don’t criticize your staff’s suggestions. You will stifle any future creativity if you indicate that some of the ideas are ridiculous or useless.
You can use staff meetings to emphasize staff teamwork. Team exercises (see sample exercise, p. 137) can teach your staff about the value of teamwork over individual effort.
The role of role-playing
Role-playing is another enjoyable technique for evaluating problems that occur during office hours. For example, one staff member can assume the role of an irate patient calling to complain about a bill, and another can attempt to calm the patient and solve his or her problem. The rest of the staff can critique the dialogue. Role-playing is good training for new staff members as well.
You also can alter the meeting format by designating a staff member other than yourself or the office manager to run one of the meetings. This person should prepare the agenda and the topics for the meeting. Role reversal helps staff appreciate the work that goes into preparation of the meetings. At our office, we rotate the responsibility for leading the meetings.
When thinking about adding sparkle to staff meetings, remember that variety is the spice of life. One of the best staff meetings we ever had was attending the movie The Doctor starring William Hurt. The plot concerns an arrogant cardiac surgeon who develops throat cancer and gets a dose of his own medicine. As a result, he becomes a more sensitive and caring physician and loving husband. I took my staff to see an early showing of the movie. We then went out for dinner and discussed its application to our practice. As a result, I believe that our empathy button for our patients was reset at a higher level.
With the movie now available on video, viewing it could be incorporated into a staff meeting held after hours. I would highly recommend it. Few of us can walk in the shoes of our patients, but all of us can be much more sensitive to the anxiety and apprehension patients carry with them through the door of our practice.
Finally, staff members can take turns presenting mini-lectures about some aspect of the practice. For example, if I plan to do a new surgical procedure, I will give a short presentation of the operation, including preoperative preparation, postoperative care, and complications. This way, my staff is better prepared to answer potential questions from patients and their families. As another example, the office manager might give a summary of a recent coding seminar she attended. This alerts the staff of the importance of proper coding.
Each staff meeting should end with a summary of what has been accomplished and the creation of a "to-do" list for the next meeting. The list can be distributed with a copy of the notes from the meeting. For a staff meeting to be effective, doctors and managers must be good listeners and accept constructive criticism. Listening is probably one of the most difficult things for a doctor to do at a staff meeting — the author included! If good ideas are suggested, implement them. Show your employees that the time spent during staff meetings is well spent.
The bottom line is that by adding a little sparkle, you can transform staff meetings from the typical moan and groan sessions into energizing experiences that will generate effective results for you and your practice.
(Editor’s note: Neil Baum, MD, is a urologist in private practice in New Orleans. He is a frequent speaker and writer on the art and business of running a medical practice.)
More reading and information
• Kayser TA. Building Team Power: How to Unleash the Collaborative Genius of Work Teams. Irwin Professional Publishing, 1994.
• Moran L., ed. Keeping Teams on Track: What to Do When the Going Gets Rough. Irwin Professional Publishing, 1996.
• Sheryl Bronkesh, HSM Group, 4725 N. Scotts dale Road, Suite 351, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Telephone: (800) 776-8078, (480) 947-8078. Fax: (480) 481-0747. Web: www.hsmgroup.com.
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