Performance Review in Medicine

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How Spine Practices Stay Ahead of the Curve in Employee Performance Management

Employee performance evaluation is designed to measure job performance and quantitative skills sets that are essential for an efficient work environment. Metrics are generated for the employer to evaluate the quality of work that employees are providing to the company. Annual performance reviews are a critical component of employee development. Therefore, this opportunity gives both the employer and employee the ability to be on the same page of current skill assessment but most importantly set them up for the future company goals and visions. Remember to assure the employee that while the feedback is about their skill sets and performance, the primary purpose of the assessment is to provide feedback to make the company better. Recently there has been a revolution provide better assessment outcomes and system to evaluate employees. Current evaluations are considered to be too time-consuming, uninspiring, and even unproductive.

Older methods are unreliable

The original intent of performance reviews has drastically developed from a straightforward and sophisticated to an increase of criteria and data that managers must collect and maintain, resulting in the less efficient and credible evaluations of employee's work ability. Outdated and inadequate performance management areas derive from significant time lapse between projects and customer interactions, a lack of actual critique and feedback from managers, and collect the wrong data to analyze employee performance.

Many companies have updated their methods to evaluate employees; these include shortening the time lapse between evaluations, identifying the correct data that testifies to the employee's work ability, and providing employees with more coaching and less criticizing. The medical industry is still adjusting and implementing these new concepts.

Maintain the vision and goals of the practice

Before evaluating and analyzing employees take a moment to outline the goals for the practice and break them down into actionable steps. Create an evaluation team or meet with HR representative to train management staff on how to evaluate subordinates properly. This training will serve as a foundation and allow managers to develop more techniques to coach and teach the people that they oversee. For example, does the director of the billing unit of the practice know the objectives and financial goals of the practice? If they are not aware of the desired time limitations and deadlines to work with reimbursement from insurance companies, they are not properly qualified to assess the performance of their subordinates.

Decrease time lapse between evaluations

One reason many employees fear assessments is due to the lack of proper performance timely follow ups. This length of time should be decreased in to maintain objectivity while allowing employees not to feel that their compensation will not be affected due to the subjectivity of the evaluator. Consider implementing a 90 day to a 120-day calendar that managers will adhere. This time point will give valuable time for the employee to grow their strengths while realistically making the needed changes the company needs to become more successful. This time point allows the for the manager to give coaching advice alongside to the employee while they are working on improving their skills.

Coaching Employees

Medical staff and employees need to feel motivated, inspired and needed to feel that they are making an impact on the practice. It is important for the supervisor to find innovative ways to provide feedback through a coaching style. Coaching should frequently happen to maintain the goals established for a job position. An increase in flexible feedback enables the employee to strengthen themselves while simultaneously stretching their personal skill sets. Using a coaching management style enables the supervisor to develop the employees for the future. In a sense they can be seen as a troubleshooter for a management of any issues that may arise, they approach each issue with a "try this" mentality, which enables the development of strengths and contributes to the overall team building mentality.

1.) Build Team Trust Through Relationships.

The routine medical practice provides the opportunity for the medical staff to build a relationship with one another. The manager should maintain the ability to establish trust between each member of the team and themselves. Effective coaching feedback grows on relationships formed. Employees are always able to approach their manager when they believe that the feedback they receive will not only be helpful for the moment but will build them up for the future.

2.) Help Employees to Be Self Aware of Their Actions.

A manager should focus on showing the employees pathways to reach their personal work goals. Providing timely feedback, typically right after a project is completed, and then help the employee notice patterns where they made significant decisions that assist them to accomplish the company goal or even providing correction on how they missed the opportunity, and how they can make up for it in the future. These coaching moments enable to the employee to self-assess themselves and ensure that they can stay on task with the company's overall objectives and vision.

3.) Be Results Oriented.

A manager should remain objective when coaching employees to achieve the needed changes to succeed at their job. Remind employees that results can always demonstrate in the development of valuable data. The manager should identify specific actions and behaviors that for the employee to contribute the needed results for the practice to succeed. For example, a billing director should enforce a policy that 85% of the invoices are complete daily, this will enable the practice to remain on task for financial goals.

Crowdsourcing and Evaluating the Employee in the Moment

While the medical industry is use to evaluating the customer's experience depended on surveys, they have yet to implement the same crowdsourcing tactics in evaluating their employee's performance. Managers can leverage interoffice social recognition to evaluate employee's performance. The input from a team or group of peers on an employee's overall performance provides the opportunity to show the true impact and influence on they provide to the business. This method is effective because it provides feedback in a real-time setting and live environment. The ability for peers to identify the strengths and unique attributes that each employee brings to the table.
Below are ways to implement crowdsourcing evaluations for employees.

1) Create assessment opportunities throughout the year.

Is there are a big project coming up? Have quarterly goals been set? These are great moments for peers to provide recognition among each other and contribution to team goals. Taking the time to allow for feedback on these opportunities provides employees with the ability to understand how they are professional contributing to the overall aims of the company and the team. It also enables for time to readjust for the future to provide better outcomes.

2.) Peer reviews provide inspiration and can eliminate unnecessary competition.

When employees understand that their input is valuable to the company, their mentality towards interoffice competition shifts. The ability for peers to recognize and then collectively reward each other leads to stronger team unity and overall performance.

When properly implemented these new techniques can contribute to the future success of the company.