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bonus awards that are significant enough to gain the attention of the employees eligible for the bonus plan;


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bonuses earned that are paid with- in a reasonable time after they are earned; and


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plans that are consistent with the goals of the partnership.


But, Why? That said, let us take a step back, Crider says. It is important to ques- tion why your ASC needs a bonus incentive plan before deciding to set one up. “Before embarking on a new incentive plan, all the ‘why’ questions should be thoroughly examined,” he says. “Why do we need a bonus/in- centive plan? Do we have underper- forming employees—administrators, clinical directors, staff? Why do we think a bonus or incentive plan would


help? Do we have other employee is- sues going on that can/should be man- aged in other ways? Are we paying our team members salaries/benefits that are competitive in our market?” Money could be a short-sighted


way to motivate people, Crider says. “There is a school of thought that says so. So, I’m questioning whether a bo- nus pay program would fix any issues.” This could be a matter of generations, he says. “The older generation was probably not as motivated by money; they were satisfied with a base salary, an annual raise and a discretionary bo- nus. The younger generations, howev- er, expect it more or are more intrigued by an incentive program. “At the end of the day we need to


figure how does what we pay our peo- ple compare to our markets and com- petitors,” Crider concludes.


Resources


When looking for outside help with your ASC’s bonus pay pro- gram, consider the following, sug- gests Ronald L. Brank, group vice president of finance of the Atlan- tic Operations Group of Symbion Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee:


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do an Internet search (“I did an Internet search and quickly found two sources of information on ASC bonus plans,” Brank says);


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look for past or future ASC meetings, such as ASCA’s an- nual meetings and seminars, for educational sessions related to ASC bonus plans; and


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make networking calls to other facility administrators and/or business office managers.


ASC FOCUS JUNE 2013


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