Get input in person. When you create a team, one of the core elements of that is trust. People have to trust that the information that they bring forward and that the information that I’m bringing forward is all of value to the team.
[Trust] comes about, quite frankly, because of interpersonal relationships. I like to have face-to-face meetings with each of my managers. I keep an open-door policy. I really need to know my people. E-mail just doesn’t cut it. There’s a lot that can get lost in an e-mail. It’s a give and take that you can have in a face to face. But you have to make time to make certain that those things happen.
You ask for [input]. I’m looking for everyone on the team to give me honest feedback.
The point is you have to have an environment in which [debate is] allowed to happen. You have to seek that because the last thing you need is a team that does not challenge. I need people to bring forward all of their objections, good ideas as well as concerns. You don’t think of everything. So you’ve got to have a team that feels that they’re empowered to do that and that they won’t be punished for doing that.
We talk it through. I want to know more about what it is that is bringing that concern forward.
Back up ideas with data. You have to have some way to capture data and present in a format that actually is compelling. I can’t just simply walk into a meeting and say, ‘I’d like to do this.’ They’re going to ask for the data as to what makes a good, sound decision for our company.
We’re in the process right now of trying to determine if we want to have a telephone software that contacts patients as a reminder that their appointment’s coming up. So some of the data that I’ve been looking at is talking about the number of patients that come for appointments, how many appointments are actually made for that particular week, how many people no-show for their appointments and how many people cancel their appointments.
We’re pulling our data to reinforce the fact that maybe we need to do this — that this is standard in the community and this is something that maybe our patients might want or need. [We’re looking at data from] within our company, but also I’ve talked with people outside of our company that have implemented different software packages to see what their experience is.
How to reach: Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, (513) 354-3700 or www.beaconortho.com
