Managing Employee Stress in Out-patient Settings - Research Paper Example

Managing employee Stress in Out-patient Settings A culturally competitive workforce is one of the competitive advantages of every modern healthcare organization. In order to maintain the expected standard of workforce, organizations today pay exceeding emphasis on Human Resource Management strategies. The effective implementation of proposed strategies often involves organizational change which presumably causes employees resistance and other associated issues. The various steps involved in monitoring the operation of proposed organizational changes and different communication techniques are described in this essay. The quality of proposed changes alone does not necessarily contribute to stress management; instead, the systematic and thoughtful implementation of those strategies also play vital role in building a culturally competent workforce in a healthcare setting. Hence, the organization must take appropriate steps to monitor the effectiveness of the proposed changes among employees in out-patient setting. Initially, it is advisable for the organization to appoint a project manager in order to carry out the policy implementation and monitoring processes effectively (Buzzle.com). This system should enable the organization to collect weekly or monthly performance reports regarding the newly introduced programs so that it can make adequate modifications to the running program. The ultimate beneficiaries of a stress management program are the employees. Therefore, it is necessary to collect feedback from them regarding the usefulness of the introduced changes. For this purpose, the firm can make use of company website, by which it can acquire the employee feedback with the application of online voting methods. Similarly, the company can conduct general meetings for out-patient department so that the employees would get the opportunity to express their opinions in detail. The general meeting procedures will not be practical for big concerns; in such situations, it is advisable to conduct sessions for department supervisors’ who can act as the employee representatives. It is recommended that the organization should compare its turnover reports before and after the introduction of the proposed changes. If it does not show any noticeable difference in figures, the management can understand that implementation of the proposed changes was ineffective. According to McConnell (2007, p. 53) a sequence of related processes such as planning, organizing, directing, monitoring, and controlling constitute an organization. The active functioning of each of these processes requires the application of different systems and human resources. In short; humans, systems and processes are interrelated components which determine the efficiency of the proposed organizational change. The various systems and human elements play a big role from the planning phase to monitoring phase of an organizational change. The first process, planning involves some complex procedures and takes long time to get completed since it is the foundation for the following processes. In this phase, the management formulates various strategies after considering a wide range of factors such as size of the organization, byelaws, governmental regulations, human power, and other organizational features. Once a change is proposed, it transfers to the organizing phase. In order to introduce the proposed change successfully, a good organizing team is necessary. Under this phase, various duties and responsibilities are subdivided into respective officials for the effective implementation of the plan. It is noted that the responsibilities of the officials will not be disposed just after the implementation phase since they need continuous monitoring and control over implemented changes so as to produce fruitful outcomes. The systematization and effectiveness of the above mentioned activities have a tremendous impact on the proposed organizational changes. A flaw in any of the above processes may cause the failure of introduced changes. In addition, the efficiency of the officials and employees has also a great role in establishing the proposed strategies. Communication techniques are very essential for the exchange of information and to communicate internally within the organization. The communication techniques implemented in an organization falls into two categories; upward communication and downward communication. Upward communication It involves all sorts of information exchanged from the employees to the management. Several techniques can be implemented for this category of communication which may vary from company to company. According to Baldwin, Wilkinson, and Barkley (2000, p. 269) it is always better to have a supervisor to present the employee problems to the management. The supervisor must be well aware of the internal problems faced by the employees and need to present them effectively to the management. At the same time it is vital that the supervisor maintains a healthy relationship with all the employees so that the employees feel free enough to express their actual problems. The unhealthy relation between the supervisor and the employees may not encourage better exchange of information between them and hence most of the issues may remain unrevealed. Obviously, it will affect the overall quality of the service provided in out-patient setting. If the hospital consists of several departments, it is advisable to have one employee as a representative or head of the particular department so that information exchange from the employees to the management flows systematically. It must be ensured that the individual elected keeps monthly record of the matters of that particular department sincerely and efficiently without showing the act of partiality. Downward communication The flow of all kinds of information from the management to the employees can be regarded as the downward communication. Bovee, Thill, and Chaturvedi (2008) suggest that one of the techniques which can be implemented for this communication includes creation of an email program or newsletter (p.5). Through the email program or news letter, various updates regarding the company can be conveyed to employees .Though this allows the update of information cheaply and in a simple manner, it may not be accessible for all employees. Arranging meetings and group discussions at regular intervals of time can be implemented to convey the information from the management to the employees. At the same time the ideas and policies discussed in general meetings may create various confusions among the employees. The passing of information from the management to the employees through departmental heads is one of the best techniques for downward communication. To conclude, in today’s busy competitive world, stress management has great significance in organizational management. Hectic work schedule would weaken employees’ physical as well as intellectual abilities. In order to keep a healthcare organization culturally competitive, employees must be provided with peaceful working ambiance. Employees with higher level of stress would adversely affect the organizational productivity and thereby business sustainability. Effective introduction of stress management programs can keep employees stress-free to a great extent. References Baldwin, D. A. Wilkinson, F. C & Barkley, D. (2000). Effective management of student employment: organizing for student employment in academic libraries. Libraries Unlimited. Bovee C. L. Thill & Chaturvedi (2008). Business Communication Today. India: Edition-9, Dorling Kindersley. McConnell, C. R. (2007). The effective health care superviso. Canada:, Edition-6. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ‘Project manager duties and responsibilities’. (n.d.). Buzzle.com. Retrieved 10 Feb 2011 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/project-manager-duties-and-responsibilities.html Read More