Human Resource Policies and Procedures
Healthcare organizations are integral to the development of the community. They are responsible for the provision of healthcare services, effectively taking centre stage when it comes to overall community health. Like any other organization, healthcare organizations have a leadership structure that is important in overseeing all the activities at the facilities. Key among the leadership structures in these organizations is human resource management (HRM). HRM is a unique part of any firm and is responsible for critical activities in the human resource sector. Some of the primary activities of HRM are recruitment, selection, induction, orientation, capacity building and appraisal of employees. Furthermore, the department also oversees employee compensation and motivation, as well as maintenance of proper relations at the workplace. Healthcare organizations need to create a set of policies and programs that are helpful and important to the overall organizational growth and development, as is evident in the discussion provided in this paper.
The Joint Commission Influence on Basic Functions of HRM
Healthcare service providers are responsible for the provision of healthcare services to patients, and as such, they are supposed to be managed uniquely, different from other businesses and profit-oriented organizations (Siewert et al., 2018). There has been a need for such organizations offering essential services to be vetted, accredited and closely monitored so that they remain aligned to proper patient care and service provision, hence the creation of the Joint Commission. The Joint Commission is United States-based organization that is tasked with the accreditation and approval of healthcare service providers; the board sets standards and ensures that healthcare service providers follow these standards (Siewert et al., 2018). Through guidelines, regulations and the requirements of the board, healthcare organizations put in place the necessary measures, policies and procedures aimed at ensuring quality healthcare service provision and maximum patient safety.
The Joint Commission helps HRM in healthcare organizations in a unique. The commission sets standards that should be adopted by healthcare service providers. By doing so, the commission directly influences HRM in all healthcare organizations. HRM is responsible for critical functions and activities that span over all other healthcare organization departments. Thus, to properly carry out these services such as recruitment, employee appraisal, compensation and motivation, the human resource department has to adopt the standards and guidelines set by the Joint Commission (Siewert et al., 2018). The HRM department is required to stay up to date with all the Joint Commission requirements, and the commission periodically reviews the accreditation of the healthcare organizations. This way, healthcare organizations continually strive to adopt the best policies and procedures as required by the board. The overall result is the provision of safe, affordable and quality healthcare services to patients.
At the acute care hospital, the policies, standards and procedures set by the Joint Commission will be vital in guiding the daily decision-making processes to be made by the HRM. This way, the acute care hospital will improve in critical areas such as employee recruitment, capacity building, compensation and motivation, as well as dispute and conflict management. Employees are vital factors in the overall organizational success; healthcare organizations have to get everything right when it comes to HRM.
Importance of Collaboration Between HR and Department Managers
Collaboration between the human resource department and the line managers is crucial to the success of any organization. The two are essential in coordinating vital activities at the workplace. Guided by the firm’s vision and mission statements, the two departments are required to adopt the best policies and practices that effortlessly meets the organization’s goals and standards. Open positions at the organization can prove to be a tricky issue between line managers and human resource departments; the two departments need to collaborate and ensure that they both get it right when dealing with open positions.
Collaboration between the HR and departmental managers is vital in the prevention of conflict of interests when it comes to open positions (Bratton& Gold, 2017). While the two departments need to work together, there might be situations when each department has got a preferred candidate. However, through collaboration and consultations, they can both settle on the best candidates; this way, they will be adhering to the organizational guidelines. For healthcare organizations, this collaboration would help in adhering to and adopting the recruitment standards and procedures set by the Joint Commission.
Additionally, the collaboration between the HR and department managers provides the HR department with enough time to prepare the recruitment process (Bratton& Gold, 2017). The departmental managers are tasked with the responsibility of giving vacancy information to the human resource department; the managers may also provide the HR department with their preferred profile for the vacancy. The HR department will then have enough time to prepare everything pertaining to the open positions. Moreover, the HR department will also be in a place to conduct the recruitment process as required by the organization’s rules and procedures. Through effective collaboration between HR and departmental managers, organizations end up recruiting the most qualified individuals; this contributes to organizational development (Bratton& Gold, 2017).
Training Program for Managers and Interviewing Techniques
Training and capacity development is an integral part of HRM. There are numerous changes, new courses and skills that employees need to learn in the course of their career. Thus, the human resource department in organizations plays a crucial role in seeing to it that the employees continuously acquire new skills and get exposed to the current developments in their line of work. This move is essential in the overall growth and success of the organization. Several steps are involved in the development of an effective training program for managers. Moreover, proper interviewing techniques are essential since, through them, managers gauge the capacity of the employees and settle on the best candidates.
Performing a training needs assessment is the first step in outlining a training program for the manager (Bratton& Gold, 2017). This way, managers identify key areas that require capacity building. The second step is to incorporate adult training and learning principles; adult training is different from regular juvenile training. The next process is the development of the training objectives; the SMART objectives technique is recommended. Designing of the training materials should be done, taking into consideration the objectives. Once this is done, the training can then be implemented. Once the training has been completed, the remaining steps are evaluation and recommendation of changes to be made in subsequent training and capacity development forums (Bratton& Gold, 2017).
When interviewing employees, managers can adopt any of the three interviewing techniques; these are structures, semi-structured, or unstructured interviewing techniques (Bratton& Gold, 2017). Regardless of the selected interviewing techniques, managers need to be directed by the firm’s needs, mission and vision statements during the entire recruitment process. Moreover, the recruitment process should follow approved guidelines and procedures outlined by the regulatory bodies. In the case of the acute care hospital, the interview process, as well as the training and capacity development process should also follow the Joint Commission’s approved guidelines and procedures.
Development of a Fair, Competitive Compensation and Benefits Plan
Employee motivation is a crucial factor in promoting organizational output and progress. Happy employees translate into massive success for the organization. One way to keep the employees motivated and determined is to put in place a proper and useful compensation and benefits plan (Armstrong & Mitchell, 2019). Several factors should be considered when adopting organizational compensation and benefits plan. Among these factors are employee experience, education level, the technical characteristics, location, supply and demand, as well as the in-demand skills and training (Armstrong & Mitchell, 2019). It should be noted that the status of the organization may also contribute to the compensation and benefits plan adopted; the organization could just be a startup one or an already established one hence the disparities in the benefits plans.
Out of all the various factors that influence an organization’s compensation and benefits plan, the most important one is the in-demand skills and training. This factor is vital in adopting a fair and competitive compensation and benefits plans, that is also aligned to the firm’s strategic objectives. Employees are supposed to take the initiative of sharpening their skills through training and capacity development; they do not need to wait for the ones organized by the organization (Armstrong & Mitchell, 2019). Taking such initiatives show the commitment of employees to their work and their efforts to equip themselves better to give an exemplary performance. When they do this, they gain essential additional skills that make them stand out; they become candidates for promotion, somewhat. This further leads to the organization, rewarding them with better compensation and benefits plans. They also increase positive competition among themselves; the result is an organization with excellent, well-trained employees who contribute to the achievement of the set goals and strategies (Armstrong & Mitchell, 2019).
The “360- Degree Feedback” Appraisal
Performance appraisal is an essential component of HRM. Through performance appraisal, organizations examine employee output, determine factors that could be hindering optimum employee performance, and adopt various ways of improving employee output (Fleenor, Taylor & Chappelow, 2020). Several performance assessment approaches exist. They include “Management by Objectives (MBO),” “360-Degree Feedback,” the “Assessment Centre Method,” the “Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS,” the psychological evaluation, as well as the “Human Resource (Cost) Accounting” appraisal method (Fleenor, Taylor & Chappelow, 2020). For the acute care hospital, the recommended appraisal method would be the “360-Degree Feedback” method.
The “360-Degree Feedback” appraisal method utilizes opinion from an employee’s associations at the workplace for appraisal. Every associate of the employee (departmental colleagues, managers, friends and other staff) provides feedback regarding the employee on various issues such as benefits and weaknesses (Fleenor, Taylor & Chappelow, 2020). This type of appraisal is a good one since it does not give room for comments that could show bias; every person offers their independent review. This way, the appraisal team gets honest reviews (Fleenor, Taylor & Chappelow, 2020).
Management of Performance and Behavioral-Based Employee Problems
In the course of working and associations in the workplace, problems are bound to happen. However, if not well solved or prevented, these problems could significantly hurt the development and progress of the organization. Employee problems could both be behavioural or performance-based. The management is required to adopt the best and most effective strategies which are crucial in solving problems. Some of the most proven organization problem solving and management techniques are extinction, discipline, and positive reinforcement techniques (Allen, Alston & DeKerchove, 2019).
Positive reinforcement problem-solving technique would be the recommended one in the management of performance and behavioural-based employee problems. This strategy considers the importance of employees adhering to an organization’s mission and vision, and working towards achieving them (Allen, Alston & DeKerchove, 2019). The strategy determines that rewarding employees for adhering to the company values and visions encourage them to continue doing so, ultimately preventing several problems. Through rewards, employees will eventually feel motivated and work as a team towards achieving the set goals and standards (Allen, Alston & DeKerchove, 2019). Moreover, this strategy offers a positive way of preventing or solving problems at the organization, unlike the extinction and discipline strategies.
Conclusion
HRM is a vital part of any organization. Some of the primary activities of HRM are recruitment, selection, induction, orientation, capacity building and appraisal of employees. The Joint Commission is United States-based organization that is tasked with the accreditation and approval of healthcare service providers; the board sets standards and ensures that healthcare service providers follow these standards, hence being integral to the functions of human resource. Collaboration between the human resource department and the line managers is crucial to the success of any organization; it prevents issues associated with conflict of interests and helps in recruiting the most deserving employees. When interviewing employees, managers can adopt any of the three interviewing techniques; these are structures, semi-structured, or unstructured interviewing methods. Out of all the various factors that influence an organization’s compensation and benefits plan, the most important one is the in-demand skills and training. Performance evaluation is an essential component of HRM. The “360-Degree Feedback” appraisal method utilizes feedback from an employee’s associations at the workplace for the assessment; it is the recommended appraisal method for the acute care hospital. On the other hand, positive reinforcement problem-solving technique would be the recommended one in the management of performance and behavioural-based employee problems.
References
Allen, P. M., Alston, F. E., & DeKerchove, E. M. (2019). Peak Performance: How to Achieve and Sustain Excellence in Operations Management. CRC Press.
Armstrong, S., & Mitchell, B. (2019). The essential HR handbook: A quick and handy resource for any manager or HR professional. Red Wheel/Weiser.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Fleenor, J. W., Taylor, S., & Chappelow, C. (2020). Leveraging the impact of 360-degree feedback. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated.
Siewert, B., Hochman, M., Eisenberg, R. L., Swedeen, S., & Brook, O. R. (2018). Acing The joint commission regulatory visit: running an effective and compliant safety program. RadioGraphics, 38(6), 1744-1760.