HR Compliance and Contracting: Steps for Improving HR and

Productivity

By: Nicola Hawkinson DNP,RN

CEO & Founder of SpineSearch AAOE

June 11, 20169-10AM

Managing workforce productivity involves accepting responsibility for

optimizing the ROI (Return on Investment) for labor expense, just as other functions do for their activities.

While some in HR would argue that it’s the manager’s role to increase

productivity, it’s safe to assume that managers are not experts, nor are they

knowledgeable about how to do so.

FIVE STEPS FOR IMPROVING HR AND PRODUCTIVITY

1.Training2.Communication3.Scheduling4.Productivity/Compliance5.Turnover Management

TrainingEmployee Productivity Takes Center Stage in

Talent Management

• What are your training protocols?• Do you have an employee handbook?• Do you abide by the rules you set?

These questions are important and ultimately can make or break your business

TrainingEmployee Handbook

• The employee handbook should be a set of guidelines that are specific to your practice.

• Your guidelines should be clear enough for all employees to follow.

• You should also prepare to edit your handbook at least once a year to fit with any changes at your practice.

TrainingWhy Job Descriptions are Important

• Job descriptions allow employers to give a specific report about what job responsibilities are required by a candidate applying for a position

TrainingWhy Job Descriptions are Important

• Don’t underestimate the power of defining roles.

• The better the job description is written, the more useful it will be.

TrainingTaking Steps to Minimize HR Compliance

Risks• Companies face major potential legal

liabilities if they fail to comply with HR and employment laws, rules and regulations.

TrainingCompliance

• Payroll• Benefits• Risk & Safety• Hiring • Employee Relations• Termination

Communication• Poor communication between managers

and subordinates can seriously damage the productivity of a business and result in employee frustration, low morale and worker departures.

Communication• Your HR efforts should include creating

written job descriptions for each employee to ensure each staff member knows what’s expected so that critical jobs get handled.

Communication• These job descriptions also serve as the

basis for evaluations, ensuring employees aren’t surprised and angered by year-end review results that included work they didn’t feel was assigned to them.

Communication• Employee skills and knowledge must be

continually updated to maintain productivity.

• Effective communications and feedback reduce errors and frustration.

• Providing the right information improves decision-making.

Scheduling • Office efficiency starts with your front desk

staff• Understand how to schedule a physician

– Check-in– Visit– Check-out– Follow-Up

Scheduling • Vacation time• On-Call• Paid Time Off • Sick Time

Scheduling• Understand that employees might be out

of the office for different reasons and it could be at the same time.

• Instead of being bombarded when you are understaffed, it might be a good idea to use temps to fill the gaps.

SchedulingEmployee vs MD may be different

• In other words, vacation can be denied but it depends on who you "report to“

• For employees it may be the administrator but for MD’s it could be the partners or the board

Scheduling • Use vacation request forms that need to

be signed off on by management to avoid potential conflicts.

• Vacation time should be requested at least a month in advance.

Productivity/Compliance

Productivity means getting more work from the same number of employees or fewer, or for the

same amount of payroll or less.

Productivity/Compliance It Pays to be Productive

• Productivity bonuses can be helpful when used correctly.

• Employees are being paid to come to work anyway so why not incentivize them.

Productivity/Compliance• High-performing and innovative

employees are the foundation of productivity

• By far the most impactful factor in workforce and team productivity is hiring and retaining employees with exceptional capabilities and self-motivation.

Productivity/Compliance• Effective managers and leaders set direction

and execute.

• A great manager/leader is the second-most important productivity factor.

• Leaders and managers play a critical role in defining the direction, purpose, priorities, goals, and roles of the workforce.

Productivity/Compliance• Unfortunately, many managers are the

weak link in the productivity chain, so HR must accept the role of developing great leaders/managers and identifying/removing the ineffective ones.

Productivity/Compliance• A defined purpose for teams make roles clear

• Team and individual goals

• Performance metrics for continuous improvement

• Effective rewards drive performance

Productivity/ComplianceBarriers to productivity can limit success

• There may be perceived or imaginative barriers that

keep employees from even attempting any effort aimed at increasing productivity or innovation.

• In both cases, HR needs to work with managers in order to develop processes for identifying and eliminating any real or imagined barriers to productivity.

Productivity/Compliance• Keep current with compliance laws • Laws are different state to state

Turnover Management

Employers believe competitive success is tied to effective talent

management.

Turnover Management

Not all turnover is bad for a business, although some employee departures can seriously damage a

company.

Turnover ManagementExpendability

Although you can say that everyone is expendable, some

employees are harder to replace than others.

Turnover ManagementKnowing your employees’ worth

• If you are unwilling to compensate or reward employees for a job well-done, you could lose them.

• You might also lose employees because they are not the right fit for your office culture.

Know what works for your practice before you hire

Turnover Management

One way to reduce turnover is to limit the possibility of it

occurring in the first place.

Turnover Management

• Have a plan in place for when turnover occurs.

• If you are diligent about your hiring process, you can reduce the incidence of turnover.

Questions?

Thank You!Nicola Hawkinson, DNP, RN

SpineSearch LLCwww.Spine-Search.com

1.516.333.5050