Modern Organizations and Healthcare – Week 5 Assignment

Interview

Write a 3 to 4 page paper on an interview with your supervisor or someone in a supervisory position.  The discussion will include the following topics from this weeks reading and the following questions: 

·  How do you staff your department? 

·  How do you interact with the Human Resource Department on hiring? 

·  How do you choose someone for a position? 

·  What do you look for in a new employee? 

·  Do you have others involved in the interview process? 

·  Do you provide mentoring for a new employee? 

·  How do you evaluate them? 

·  Are they on some type of probation? 

You can ask other questions to add to the assignment. Include material from our readings and utilize the university library to research at least 4 current scholarly, peer-reviewed references published within the past 5 years. Cite all references and utilize APA format.

reading  

Dunn & Haimann’s Healthcare Management: Chapters 17-19

Modern Organizations and Healthcare – Week 5 Lecture Transcript

Staffing: Human Resources Management

Slide 1

Let’s discuss the reading for this week.

Week 5 –Staffing: Human Resources Management.

Chapter 17 –The Staffing Process.  The chapter covers the importance of managing your most valuable asset “your staff”.  Human Resources (or HR) is responsible for staffing, recruitment and selection.  Good management requires that supervisors and HR staff work together.  Supervisors must follow policies and regulations.  Please refer to the Exhibit in chapter 17 regarding the labor laws, this is just a partial listing.  Supervisors need to be aware of these laws, further information is available at the US Department of Labor website.  Along with our reading HR has become much more involved in labor practices and regulations that previously fell to the supervisor.  HR oversees the following: personnel files, equal employment opportunity laws, affirmative action regulations, insurance benefit administration, exit interviews, and union contract issues.  Supervisors need to determine staffing needs which includes – Job descriptions (duties and responsibilities) and job specifications (job qualifications).  Recruiting qualified staff is a necessity for an organization.  Creating internships for individuals is an opportunity to recruit staff for the future.   Creative staffing is necessary for healthcare organizations, which includes flexible scheduling.  Working in healthcare I learned that having a solid working relationship with HR staff is necessary to keep the organization operating within the law.

Chapter 18 –The Selection Process.  The chapter discusses the selection process which includes choosing the best candidate for a job.  The department supervisor makes the final decision on the person hired. Types of interviews include appraisal, directive and nondirective.  Other parts of the interview include an application form, scheduling the interview, and conducting the interview.  As you will learn in your reading there are appropriate and inappropriate interview questions.  You need to stay away from discriminatory or illegal questions.  Asking the interviewee questions about the past and how they handle situations is a good predictor of the future.  Prior to 1960 interviewers could ask almost any question, in recent years many laws, executive orders and court decisions that affect equal employment opportunities, discrimination and affirmative action has complicated the process.   In my professional career I will estimate that I have interviewed over 1000 potential employees.  I have found having 4 to 5 individuals on the interview team, including a person from the department, a peer, and HR very beneficial.  Using a standard set process with questions approved through HR and Affirmative Action, keeps things consistent and fair.

Chapter 19 –Performance Appraisals and Position Changes.  This chapter presents what is a performance appraisal and its purpose.  I believe that supervisors needs to use the performance appraisal as an honest and up-front opportunity to discuss what the employee is doing well and areas that need to be improved.  I have seen how some supervisors go through the motions of a performance appraisal and not address anything and then complain about the employee.  Another important part of this chapter presents mentoring, skill building and succession planning, which are opportunities to help an employee become successful and also, prepare employees for when someone retires.  I knew I was going to retire from my position 1 year prior to actually doing so.  I trained a staff member to be able to do my job when I retired. Make sure you use the tools you are given as a supervisor to help yourself and the organization. 

Slide 2

What do we want to accomplish for Week 5?

When we finish this week you should be able to answer the following: 

Let’s Check your Understanding.

These questions are for review only.  You do not need to submit your answers for grading.

Describe the activities in HR Management.

Outline the supervisor’s staffing function.

Explain the differences between job descriptions and job specifications.

What is the primary content of the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999?

Why would a healthcare organization consider establishing an internship program?

Slide 3

After you complete the reading for the week come back and try these fun facts on the chapters and check your knowledge.  This does not count towards your grade but, it will help your learning!  Good luck!