Management of People in Healthcare Organizations Essay

Management of People in Healthcare Organizations - Essay Example Managers in healthcare organizations usually display leadership coordination and supervision of employees. This is because the nature of job and its complexity is such that employees cannot achieve tasks on an individual basis. These managers must not only take the critical decisions of ensuring that patients receive timely and efficient services but also address performance targets set for the employees. With globalization and the information age, the level of technological innovation has increased in the healthcare sector along with increased clinical specialization. On the contrary, there is a focus towards reducing costs worldwide, which requires doing away with traditional hierarchical structures and working in teams in both managerial and clinical setups. Integrated solutions can then be reached by these cross-disciplinary teams. This is in contrast to the traditional paradigm whereby there was a conflict between the general managers and health care service clinicians. It is im portant to understand that the healthcare service delivery process comprises of inputs in the form of medicines, equipment/technology and other health systems and the outcome of patient’s well-being. The role of healthcare service employees is quintessential in the intertwining â€Å"process† since health care is a people-oriented job and cannot be done with automated techniques. The personalized nature of job, therefore, makes the contribution and management of these professionals critical to the achievement of organizational outcomes. For healthcare employees, employees may be considered as internal customers whose satisfaction is equally necessary to guarantee organizational success. One of the most important techniques to ensure employee commitment and satisfaction is to indulge in cross-training. Cross-training is practiced in healthcare organisations as job rotation is highly demanded by healthcare jobs. For instance, a file clerk, a data entry expert and a secre tary may work in each other’s roles in case either of them is ill or on a vacation or during times of heavy workload or emergencies (Fallon & McConnell, 2007). Cross-training is, therefore, extremely necessary considering the demand for flexibility in today’s globalised world. On the other hand, most healthcare managers may simply hand over folders of information to be reviewed by the new employee which is a poor way of learning and results in low levels of information absorption. This is mostly done on the grounds that managers cannot devote sufficient time for training of new staff. This problem can be overcome by cross-functional training as people other than the manager (who are skilled at particular tasks) can be used to train the newcomer. Furthermore, the compensation plans of health care employees may also require management. Since the compensation of people in healthcare organisations constitutes the major part of expenses, organisations find it lucrative to r educe the pay and/or size of its staff in order to provide affordable healthcare to patients. In the modern age, however, techniques for managing employee pay and compensation has changed with third-party reimbursements tracking the nursing hours per visit, technological expenses and services utilized by clinicians. Furthermore, health care organisations mostly insist on offering â€Å"bonuses† as a primary incentive for enhancing performance of healthcare service professionals (Hernandez & O'Connor, 2009). Also, benefits in the