FEATURE


“I have gone to our board to push for better healthcare benefits and paid time off,” she says. “We are now much more competitive in those regards compared to other facilities in our market.” Wiebel says interviewing prospec-


tive team members is not only a way for her ASC’s management team to get to know these candidates better, but also an opportunity to sell working at the ASC. “We anticipate and are prepared to answer questions about any aspect of employment that would directly affect the applicant. If there is a specific request that cannot be honored, such as a desired schedule, we explain why this would not currently work but verbalize our ability to be flexible and reevaluate the request in the future.” Even though recruiting staff can


prove difficult, Solipaca says, ASCs should avoid jumping at an oppor- tunity to add a team member if the “fit” is not right. “By doing so, you run the risk of adding someone who is not adequately qualified for a posi- tion, does not buy into your culture, may not remain with your organiza- tion for very long or any number of other problems. You want to find peo- ple who are as close to perfect for the position and your ASC as possible.”


Hold on to Talent


Adding team members is only half of the challenge of forming an effective staff. The other is keeping those team members for the long term. Spencer suggests beginning reten-


tion efforts the moment a new employee first walks in the door of your ASC. “We work to make them feel welcomed right off the bat. Everything is ready for them when they arrive, whether it be setting up a workspace to purchasing equip- ment to printing business cards. What- ever we need to do, we do.” Wiebel’s ASC provides compre-


hensive training and education so new employees are as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible. “We also place a high priority on relation-


A lot of people leave jobs because of how they are treated by leadership and management. We want to make sure that is never the case here.”


—Paula Solipaca, RN, Jefferson Surgical Center


ship building early in a staff mem- ber’s time with us. They know who to go to with questions and or to get any variety of issues resolved.” While some positions might be eas- ier to fill than others, your goal should be to avoid needing to replace any employees, Solipaca advises. “Every- one at Jefferson Surgical Center gets treated the same, from housekeeping to the charge nurse to the surgical tech- nician,” she says. “When we hire these individuals, I know their goals for the next five years and will do all I can to help them achieve those goals.” Solipaca relies on rounding and roundtable discussions to maintain ongoing contact and communication with all her staff. “By getting staff engaged and involved day in and day out, we hope to create long-lasting bonds with one another and the ASC as a whole.”


Learn from Experience To strengthen recruitment and reten- tion, Spencer’s ASC conducts 60-day and six-month evaluations with new


hires. Part of that process involves ask- ing for feedback on orientation and training. The ASC’s management team also asks for suggestions on what it can do better for future new employees and finds that staff consistently pro- vide great feedback.


Once team members have been


with your ASC for some time, Wiebel recommends exploring ways to help them grow professionally. “Ask if employees are interested in expand- ing


their work beyond their job


description. This can include helping with areas such as regulatory com- pliance, credentialing and surveil- lance. Staff can find such experiences rewarding and the ASC can benefit from added assistance.” Do not lose sight of the fact that underappreciated or underutilized employees are likely in strong posi- tions to find new work that will bet- ter meet their needs, Solipaca says. “A lot of people leave jobs because of how they are treated by leadership and management. We want to make sure that is never the case here.”


ASC FOCUS APRIL 2020 | ascfocus.org 13


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