2010 Web Seminar Series

The Internal Customer:The Internal Customer:Staff Retention and Communication

Presented on January 26, 2010 by: Louise Haynes, M.S.W.Jack Chally M B AJack Chally, M.B.A.

Liz Buttrey, B.S.

"This training has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No.HHSN271200522081C."

Produced by Liz Buttrey, NIDA CTN CCC Training Office

Training ObjectivesTraining Objectives

Why continuity matters Impacting staff retention through management,

workplace culture, job design, opportunities, rewards, and relationship building

f Importance of the "internal customer" Retention through empowerment and growth Mentoring recommendations

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Why Staff Continuity MattersWhy Staff Continuity Matters

Business based estimates for the cost of staff turnover Cost to find, hire, and train new staff Lost productivityp y

In 2006, about 33% - 50% the staff annual salary In 2010, about 50% - 200% the staff annual salary

4About.comBernardin, H. (2006). Human research management an experiential approach. New York: McGraw Hill.

Why Staff Continuity Mattersy yCosts We must consider the impact of lost

training and protocol expertise when a core research staff member is lost

In an ideal situation, research staff within the CTN are hired 3 months before the trial launches 4-6 weeks before investigator’s meeting staff

is hired 4-6 weeks after investigator’s meeting the site

is endorsed 5

Why Staff Continuity Mattersy yCosts Pre-Investigator’s Meeting Six weeks – 75% (180 hours) of staff time is ( )

devoted to training Site-specific onboarding and orientation

Investigator’s Meeting Two-Four days of intense in-person trainingTwo Four days of intense in person training

Impossible to replicate Travel costsNetworking and team building lost

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Why Staff Continuity Mattersy yCosts Pre Endorsement Six weeks - 50% (120 hours) of staff time is devoted to

trainingtraining By Study Launch Approximately 300 hours of training plus the Approximately 300 hours of training plus the

Investigator’s Meeting

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Why Staff Continuity Mattersy yCosts

Staff expertise is developed through operationalizing the study at the siteoperationalizing the study at the site This level of staff development investment cannot be

made with replacement staff

Staff is your most valuable resource Study productivity can stop due to staff lossy p y p

May take months to get replacement

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Why Staff Continuity Mattersy yto Everyone

Not just a management issueSt ff l ff t kl d Staff loss affects your workload

Affects everyone at every level Re-establishing continuity is time

consumingg

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Team Development StagesTeam Development Stages Forming Forming

Just meeting each other and learning their roles Honeymoon phase

Storming Internal conflict / Uncomfortable

Becoming more self directed Individual / Group

Norming Normalizing / Acceptance

Q-TIP (Quit taking it personally) Who am I in the context of this new group?

Performing Performing Norms are established relationships become

functional Adjourning

Project completion Project completion Feelings of loss New change

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Key FactorsyImpacting Staff Retention

ManagementW k l lt Workplace culture

Job design Opportunities RewardsRewards Relationship building

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ManagementManagement

Morale Morale as function of team strength Morale and productivity Individual job satisfaction Supervisory and front line staff morale Team vs. individual approachpp

Research works well as a teamBuilding good supervisors & staff morale to

increase productivity

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Is it workload that impacts your morale the most?

Have you dealt with morale drops during certain sections of the research trial?

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Workplace CultureWorkplace Culture

Environment Team atmosphere Team atmosphere

Positive Interactive Interactive Fun

Evaluation feedbackEvaluation feedbackPeriodic and event drivenPositive reinforcement Individualized

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Workplace CultureWorkplace Culture

E t Empowerment Staff ownership of project Staff driven processes New ideas

Encouraged and implemented when possible

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Job designJob design

St t d b t fl ibl j b d i Structured but flexible job design Clear expectations and chain of command Flexible day to day operations

Suited to employee strengths Managers leverage strengths while mitigating

areas of possible improvementDetail oriented People skills

Bi i t / ll i t thi kiBig picture/small picture thinking

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OpportunitiesOpportunities

O t iti Opportunities Solicit Interests

Growth Personal and professional Water and feed

Career pathCareer path Assist either inside or outside the project

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RewardsRewards Recognition at all levels Recognition at all levels Work team

Sit Site Study CTN-Wide

Tailored to the individual Public vs. private Within the individual’s comfort zone Valuable to the individual

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Relationship BuildingRelationship Building

Have a plan Consistent and genuine effortg Different approaches can encompass equal

treatment Tailored to the individual staff memberValue the person not just the productivity

Research teams are more like family than co-workers because the division is hard “Goal – functional family”

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Life Happens!Life Happens!

Staff loss isn’t always preventable Life circumstances Life circumstances Opportunities

C t i t d i t Cross train to reduce impact Strong SOPs Strong documented procedure notes Staff developmentMentorship

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Management Administrative

& Support& Support Staff

Clinical Staff Affected

Clinical Staff Involved

Core Study Staff

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Internal CustomerInternal Customer

The internal customer is the employee or staff member

Satisfied external customers are a sign of success

Satisfied employees are the reason for that successthat success

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Taking Care of Internal gCustomers

Treat your employees as you would like them to treat your customers/clients Courtesy Respect and value

Their time Their time Their contribution to your project

Be available to them Regular formal and informal meetings Open door policy Prompt responses

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Taking Care of Internal gCustomers

Try to exceed expectations Know what staff expectations arep Care about the person not just their

productivity Continuous communication about the

project’s directionp j Share information in a timely manner

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Taking Care of Internal gCustomers

Collaborate Solicit ideas Solicit ideas Allow staff to design processes

S th k Say thank you Extremely valuable Thanks must genuine

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CommunicationCommunication

Collaboration/Communication Collaboration and ongoing communication Collaboration and ongoing communication

are vital to research project success Keep folks informed Keep folks informed

Develop a communication plan Intentions are good – time is short Intentions are good time is short

Assure that you hear the other person

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MentoringMentoring

Opportunities to reach beyond comfort Support of staff efforts

shaping, not perfection

Conference workshops Posters Posters Manuscript development Budget developmentg p Protocol development Participation in community meetings Leadership/management training

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MentoringMentoring

Funding: agency and RRTC supportF db k Feedback

Share the glory/rewards - recognition Pass it on

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Effective Team CommunicationEffective Team Communication

New project vs. established projectproject

Staff coming from other organizational culturesg

Importance of role definition Clarity of responsibilities andClarity of responsibilities and

expectations

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Clinical Trials Network · Dissemination LibraryClinical Trials Network Dissemination LibraryNational Drug Abuse Treatment

A f hi i ill b il bl A copy of this presentation will be available

electronically after the meeting from:

CTN Di i ti Lib

http://ctndisseminationlibrary org

CTN Dissemination Library

http://ctndisseminationlibrary.organd

NIDA Livelink

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https://livelink.nida.nih.gov