About A. Woodward & Associates

Our company’s primary focus is to create a more humane healthcare system by helping clients develop healthy patient and staff relationships. Our consulting services are customized to your organization, and your specific needs. Areas of expertise include service excellence, the patient experience and employee morale and engagement. A. Woodward & Associates was established in 1999 by Anita B. Woodward, MBA, FACHE. We have clients in all parts of the country. Anita has over 25 years of healthcare management, service excellence, and human resource experience, and her associates have a variety of complementary skills and experiences.

Making Recognition & Reward Strategies Work for You!

Most of us try and influence someone's behavior many times a day. We ask for something from a co-worker; we need a patient to answer our questions; we want our child to make her bed or our spouse to do the dishes. Recognition and Reward strategies can help us get what we want, and leave the person who complied feeling good, too. At work, this leads to better productivity, better morale, and an improved bottom line.

In the many focus groups I've done with front line staff, middle managers, and physician groups, none feel they are really appreciated for what they do. People repeatedly tell me their contribution is only noticed when they do something "wrong." This is sad, because people who feel this way become dejected and are less emotionally engaged in their work. They simply are not giving it their "all" anymore. It is also sad because our colleagues deserve to be noticed for the good they do. And when they are noticed, they will extend themselves further, notice the unspoken needs more, and do a better job for their patients and colleagues.

We do not have to be someone’s boss to recognize or reward them. In fact, we can even manage up by recognizing our own supervisors. How? Let's start with the power of "thanks.

The Power of Thanks

In the same focus groups where people say they do not feel appreciated, they also say that what they most want is to hear the words "thank you" once in a while. Using those two simple words makes a huge difference to the person hearing them, and also helps shape others' behavior. Use the power of thanks effectively by:

• Being sincere
• Being timely in your thanks
• Being specific about what you are thanking them for; don't assume they know
• Linking the behavior to a greater goal they can relate to
• Use the words "thank you" if you can

Some examples, starting with washing the dishes:
"Thank you so much for doing the dishes, honey. It makes me feel so relieved after a long day not to have that chore, and makes me feel like you care about me."

To a maintenance staffer who has fixed a patient's TV:
"Joe, thank you! I know you have a lot to do, but Mrs. Jones really relies on that TV to distract her from her pain and fear. This will mean a lot to her."

From a manager to a staff member:
"Maria, thanks for hanging in there today and never losing your cool. I know it was a crazy day, and I appreciate your hard work."

From a staff person to a manager:
"Sarah, we all really appreciated you checking in today to see how we were doing and ask if we needed anything. It felt good to know you noticed how hard we were working. Thank you."

In all the above instances, the person receiving thanks will feel good. They might be more likely to do the dishes, fix the TV, keep their cool or offer assistance again, because behavior that is recognized gets repeated. If you want the behaviors repeated, remember to use the power of thanks. It costs the giver nothing, but leaves them feeling better too, because they know they brightened someone else’s day.

Other Forms of Recognition Individuals can Give

Recognition, as we are using it here, implies there is no cost. No gift is given. Here are some other ways to recognize people, beyond the verbal "thanks" described above.

• Write thank you notes. This idea got a bad rap when there was a fad of having all managers write a set number of notes per week. Recipients figured this out, and often felt the notes were insincere; just a way the manager could check a chore off a list. The good part of this fad was that it reminded people to show appreciation. So find a way to remind yourself to write notes regularly. Follow the same tips as for saying "thank you" and just jot it down.
• Write a note to someone's boss praising them. Copy the individual, and maybe Human Resources as well. You’ll reap goodwill from everyone for this, especially from the person you are recognizing.
• Verbally praise someone publicly. Most of us love being recognized in a public forum. Notice if someone reacts uncomfortably and back off if they do, but 90%+ of the time this will make someone's day!
• If the person deserving thanks sees you as a leader or role model, give them the gift of your time. Offer to meet them for a quick coffee break or lunch in the cafeteria. You don't even have to buy, although that would be a nice gesture. This is exceptionally effective if you are the person's supervisor.
• Also if you are the supervisor, give them a desirable task as a way of saying thanks.
• Share an article from a healthcare publication that you think they would be interested in. This can be especially effective if it relates in any way to what they do that is earning your thanks.
• Post names of people who have done a good job on a bulletin board or in an employee newsletter or intranet. These could be people recognized by patients or peers.

Rewards Supervisors Can Give

Rewards, unlike recognition, imply a gift or something tangible is given. As supervisors, we often feel as if we cannot give any rewards beyond annual raises, which we may have no control over. Here are some ideas for low cost, fun rewards that any supervisor can give to his/her own employees, or to those in other areas who have done something deserving of thanks.

A great way to prepare for doing this is to collect some information about your direct reports. Ask them all to fill out an index card listing favorite snack food, favorite color, hobby, types of books or puzzles they enjoy, etc. Keep those in a file for handy reference. It is more powerful by far to give someone who likes chocolate a candy bar than a bag of chips, so you can customize small gifts for greatest impact.

Other rewards you can give include:

• Small items from the hospital's marketing department, like pens or sticky notes
• An extra 15-minute break during a day
• Something small for a workspace, like a magnetic picture frame
• A simple flower in a bud vase
• A helium balloon that says "thanks"
• A package of Stars candy for a "star" performer
• One or two movie tickets
• A gift certificate to the hospital gift shop, coffee shop, or to a gas station

By now, you probably get the idea. Your imagination is your only limitation. Always couple a reward with the words "thank you" for maximum impact. And make sure the employee knows exactly what you are thanking them for. After all, you want the behavior to be repeated!

Remember, employees who feel their efforts are noticed have better morale, are more emotionally engaged in work, and are more likely to cheerfully put in extra effort on behalf of a customer than employees who feel unappreciated.

In our next issue, we will write about some Recognition and Reward strategies that your organization can use at a whole hospital level, or between departments. If you have some good ideas, please email us and share. Let us know if we have your permission to use your name if we include your idea in our article.

Case Study

The following situation really occurred. Consider using it as a case study for quick discussions in staff meetings.

A patient complained about a hospitalist's bill, saying it was "a scam." The physician's reaction was to dismiss the complaint as a person who did not want to pay the bill. Further conversation with the patient revealed, however, that she never understood this doctor's role, did not know her surgeon had asked the hospitalist to become involved, and so felt it was an unnecessary service designed to wring extra money from her.

• How well do our various professionals explain their role to patients, especially when the role is not commonly understood?
• How can we be sure they understand?
• How often do staff members or physicians dismiss patient complaints as being only about a desire to beat the bill, without understanding that patients unhappy with service often do not bother to tell us until they get a bill that seems to add insult to injury?
• Is there a good way to help physicians and staff understand this phenomenon?

About This Newsletter

This newsletter is published for clients and colleagues of A. Woodward & Associates, and for others who are interested in customer service, employee relations, and organizational communication, especially in healthcare organizations. If you would like to add someone to our subscriber list, please contact us at anita@anitawoodward.com(or simply reply to this email). Be sure to provide the subscriber's name and organization.

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