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Lesson Plan CHL 311
Aligning People with the Organization (Part 1: Planning the Plan)
[Reprinted from Communiqué: January/February 2009]

The concept of “teams” and “teamwork” are well-established in general management literature, and their benefits are well-known to most Central Service Managers. Fortunately, there are no secrets necessary to establish and maintain relationships with staff members that encourage a cooperative work environment. Instead, common sense tactics can be used to encourage staff members to contribute to and participate in their most important work responsibilities. This two-part series focuses on employee involvement at two critical points in the management of the Central Service Department. Part 1 considers tactics to involve staff members as departmental plans are developed. Part 2 will address people involvement tactics when departmental plans are implemented.

The importance of staff members in the success of organizations is increasingly well- recognized. Figure 1 compares some beliefs about employees held by contemporary and traditional managers. Even a quick review will indicate significant differences between those who direct the work of staff members “today” and those who did so “yesterday.” (Note: hopefully, readers of this lesson will identify with the views of contemporary managers.)

The term, “alignment,” may be replacing the more frequently used term “participation”—although both terms recognize that numerous benefits arise when staff members are committed to the organization. Both concepts recognize that commitment requires a culture (history) of mutual leader and staff member respect. Not surprisingly, this respect must be earned, and it evolves from a long-term environment in which managers provide opportunities for their employees to succeed and reward them for doing so. This culture, in turn, promotes an environment in which associates enjoy their jobs, and they are enthusiastic about making contributions that benefit both the facility and their department. This best occurs as Central Service Managers work toward a culture that allows people to find pride and joy in the workplace.

Committed staff members want to be involved. They can do so as plans are developed (the topic of this lesson) and as they are implemented (the topic of the Part 2 lesson). Think, for a moment, about the level of your own interest in being involved in decisions and plans that affect you. Would you like to provide input? Do you believe your own boss appreciates you, values your input, and believes that plans and decisions are “better” when your suggestions and comments are requested? Does asking your advice make you feel more important (which addresses your ego needs) while suggesting that other persons think you are important (thereby satisfying your esteem needs)? You probably would appreciate opportunities to become involved, and it is reasonable to expect that those whom you supervise would probably feel the same. Fortunately, there are numerous ways that this involvement can occur and, as it does, benefits accrue to everyone involved.

Let’s start with the healthcare facility’s planning tools because they provide the context for departmental planning. For example, many facilities have a vision: a difficult-to-quantify idea about what the organization would be like if it was ideal. This vision, in turn, promotes a mission statement which is another planning tool that broadly identifies what the facility would like to accomplish and what it plans to do to accomplish it. The mission statement, in turn, drives the facility’s long-range plan which is a statement of goals and the activities that will be undertaken to attain them that will guide the facility over the next three to five years in efforts to move towards its mission. In many facilities, these important planning tools are unknown to department-level associates. Orientation sessions for new employees and ongoing training programs for experienced staff provide initial opportunities for sharing this information.

Figure 1: Perceptions of Contemporary and Traditional Managers about Staff Members

A typical planning model requires department leadership including Central Service personnel to develop plans that are in concert with those of the facility. In other words, departmental managers assess their role (determine what they can do) to assist in the attainment of their facility’s plans.

When employees understand and agree with facility plans, they can begin to align with them. Then they provide input to the development of departmental plans which, after approval, they will assist in implementing. As they do so, staff can be of significant assistance to Central Service Managers.

Entry-level member alignment can begin as the most significant questions about departmental effectiveness are posed. For example, as a long-range plan for the Central Service Department is developed, managers may benefit from their employees’ perspectives about the following types of questions:

• What would our Central Service Department be like if it was ideally effective?
• What would be happening if our Central Service Department was ideally effective?
• How would people know if the Central Service Department was ideally effective?
• What must we do to move toward the goal of becoming an ideal Central Service Department?

Aligned staff members can help answer these questions or, at least, provide their perspectives about the goals which can be considered after these questions are addressed. As this occurs, it becomes even more reasonable to encourage employee involvement about the operating decisions which will allow longer-range goals to be attained.

Central Service Managers will do well to have brainstorming and other discussions with staff members to address basic departmental planning questions. Here are some examples:

• All healthcare facilities are concerned about costs, and financial goals to manage them are always established. Central Service employees may have very useful and creative answers to the question, “How can we reduce our operating costs without sacrificing the quality of the products and services we provide?”
• Central Service departments are concerned about the level of service provided to their constituencies. Associates can help answer the question, “What are practical ways that we can improve the service we provide to the operating room and other personnel whom we serve?”
• Some Central Service Departments may

suffer from higher-than-necessary employee turnover rates. It would be interesting to learn how associates answer the question, “What can we do to increase retention rates in our department?”

Many management observers recognize that decisions about specific operating procedures are best made by those who undertake them. Central Service Technicians involved in everyday processing activities and in interactions with staff members from other departments may be most knowledgeable about their peers’ perceptions of the facility and their department. They are also likely to have excellent suggestions about operating improvements. Another advantage to employee alignment occurs when “our plans” rather than “the manager’s plans” are drafted, tested, implemented, and evaluated. As we’ll discuss in Part II of this series, staff member “buy-in” can significantly reduce resistance to change concerns that arise when staff input has not been requested.

Central Service Managers can incorporate the following tactics into the procedures used to facilitate the work of their staff members:

• They can conduct daily line-up (pre-shift) meetings with associates and include information about facility and department plans on more-than-an occasional basis.
• They can provide professional development opportunities for staff members to enable them to attain departmental plans. As they do so, staff members may become even more aligned with the department. They will be appreciative that limited resources were extended to enable them to become “better employees” with the opportunities for bonuses, compensation increases, and promotions that correlate with approved job performance.
• They can listen to their associates (and they will build credibility as they do so).
• They can foster an environment of genuine respect for staff members.
• They can role model and do what they ask their associates to do.
• They can attempt to address concerns about work ethics, positive attitudes, team spirit, and a caring attitude as employee selection decisions are made.
• They can promote their department’s mission on the job during every work shift.
• They can create a sense of belonging to the team.
• They can learn and practice a wide range of other people management skills with an on-going review of professional literature and participation in their own professional development program.

In many healthcare organizations, relatively few healthcare staff members may fully know and understand their organization’s planning strategies and what is expected of them to help achieve the facility’s goals. It is in the best interests of the facility, the Central Service Department, and its managers and employees to help associates clearly understand how their work relates to the short-and long-term goals of their facility and department. Fortunately, this can be done, and it is among the most important responsibilities of every Central Service Manager.

In Conclusion

The purpose of this lesson is to promote the need for and benefits to employee alignment as Central Service Department planning activities are undertaken. The second and final lesson in this two-part series explores employee alignment as departmental plans, once developed, are implemented.

Take the CHL 311 QUIZ

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