Supervisors' policies and procedures manual for healthcare facilities

Policy & Procedures

Supervisors Policies and Procedures Manual

Indentifying Policy Needs, Overview of Expectations for Supervisors

Supervisors Policies and Procedures Manual Outline

Issues Requiring Formal Policies

Overview Expectations of Supervisors

Measuring Employees Satisfaction, Reward System, Supervisory Communication Skills

Collaboration with other Employee Categories

Delegating Activities

Reward System

Communication Skills

Communication Improvement Strategies

Legal Considerations, Recruitment and Selection Process

Compliance with Legal Regulations

Dealing with Complaints

Employees Orientation Program

Recruitment and Selection Process

Performance Evaluations, Staff Development, Managing Workplace Conflicts

Performance Appraisals

Formal Disciplinary Process

Employee Counseling Policy

Conflict Management Policy

Workplace Safety

Indentifying Policy Needs, Overview of Expectations for Supervisors

Supervisors Policies and Procedures Manual Outline

This manual was developed both in the interest of our facility and in the interest of our employees. Therefore, the policies and procedures manual provides sets of rules and steps to be followed in measuring employee satisfaction, reward system, supervisory communication skills, but also in recruiting and selecting employees, and in developing training programs. As a Human Resources manager I considered useful to develop procedures on conflict management, disciplinary actions regarding supervisors' activity, and others. These necessities are addressed by the policies and procedures manual that has been developed based on the current situation and on the objectives that our facility intends to reach.

2. Issues Requiring Formal Policies

Employees are likely to identify among the pages of the manual certain issues that are not currently addressed by a formal policy. Such issues refer to the management of conflict situations between employees, between employees and their superiors, or between our health care facility's patients and our employees. The importance of such situations for our facility, our employees, and our patients requires that they are handled based on expert advice that is addressed by this policy and procedures manual.

3. Introduction

The objective of this manual is to support supervisors, auxiliary staff and facility managers into improving their activity and providing high quality health care services to patients that our facility serves. The policies and procedures manual were not developed as a tool of control of supervisors' activity, but as a tool that would enable supervisors and the staff they work with to become a standard in health care services. Our patients come first, and this principle will be observed with the policies and procedures described in this manual. Most of all, the manual is intended to determine supervisors to adopt an attitude that reflects our facility's interest towards patents' well-being. In addition to this, the manual is intended to help supervisors improve their relationships with other employees. These are the main strategic decisions that we think are most likely to lead our facility towards significantly improving the quality of health care we provide our patients.

4. Overview Expectations of Supervisors

The general expectations that this manual focuses on rely on supervisors' understanding and compliance with the policies and procedures described in it, but also on their feedback. Although the procedures were developed based on expert advice, it is expected that they are not always in accordance with specific situations our health care facility deals with on a daily basis. Therefore, supervisors and other categories of employees that this manual addresses are encouraged to sustain any corrections that they might feel appropriate to the policies and procedures described in the manual.

II. Measuring Employees Satisfaction, Reward System, Supervisory Communication Skills

1. Collaboration with other Employee Categories

Supervisors rely extensively on subordinates in their daily work. Therefore, they must provide training to such subordinates in accordance with regulations in the field, with our health care facility's standards, and with professional demands of each supervisor. Subordinates must be coached by supervisors so that they understand the nature of supervisors' work, their needs, and daily schedule (Quality Assurance Directorate, 2009). In other words, subordinates must be able to anticipate supervisors' needs before they actually make a demand. This facilitates supervisors' work, saves time, which helps supervisors to check on more people during the same period of time.

Team building sessions will be organized on a monthly basis. Participants to team building sessions are represented by supervisors, their subordinates, and department managers. In order to improve motivation, weekly meetings must be held in which communication issues will be discussed. During such meetings moderated by department managers, each employee will have the right to bring under discussion any conflict, problems or issues they encountered in their relationship with another colleague or patient.

2. Delegating Activities

Supervision activities will be classified as followed: I -- activities that can only be performed by the supervisor, II -- activities that can be performed by the supervisor or by subordinates only in the presence of the supervisor, III -- activities that can be performed by the supervisor or by subordinates while the supervisor's presence is not absolutely necessary. It is recommended that types II and III activities are delegated to subordinates as much as possible for several reasons. This empowers subordinates, it reflects their superiors' confidence in their abilities. It leads to motivation and increased job satisfaction. In addition to this it helps supervisors focus more on type I activities that cannot be delegated. However, when delegating some of their tasks, supervisors must take into consideration the experience and skills of subordinates they delegate these tasks to.

3. Reward System

The reward system for supervisors in our health care facility is based on a fixed salary and additional bonuses. These bonuses are paid quarterly, in accordance with individual performance. These performance levels are analyzed by department managers and are comprised of the following elements: following the established number of visits, exceeding the established number of visits, correctness of health care treatment, communication skills assessed by patients, communication skills asses by coworkers.

4. Communication Skills

As it can be observed, communication skills are of great importance in our field of work. The quality of health care strongly relies on the communication and on the relationship between providers and patients. In addition to this, the quality of service also depends on the relationship between coworkers. Therefore, employees are rewarded when putting efforts into improving their performance.

Supervisors' communication skills will be assessed during the recruitment and selection process, but also after hiring them, through periodical evaluations. Department managers will approve these evaluations and report hem to facility managers. Evaluations will rank supervisors' communication skills on a scale from 1 to 5. Those evaluated below 3 will become the subject of department investigation. Based on the investigation's results, certain measures can be imposed.

5. Communication Improvement Strategies

It is supervisors' job to ensure effective communication within their work. This refers to face-to-face, in writing, on to one, in meetings, using virtual media communication. Most communication takes place between supervisors and patients, but also between coworkers. Communication with superiors is also of great importance. A series of communication seminars and workshops will be held within our facility on a monthly basis. Supervisors are obliged to attend such seminars at least twice a year. Their performance evaluation includes a section regarding communication that is the object of rewards received by supervisors.

From a technical point-of-view, the facility and its supervisors are fully equipped in order to support rapid and consistent communication. Important investments have been made into providing mobile phones to each supervisor and into developing an extended computer network intended to facilitate employee's work by automating much of it. This allows employees to focus on activities that cannot be performed on a computer.

III. Legal Considerations, Recruitment and Selection Process

1. Compliance with Legal Regulations

Hiring and labor practices within our health care facility must follow federal regulations in the field. Employees recruited for our activity must meet minimum standards imposed by these regulations at least. In addition to this, higher quality standards have been established for our facilities employees (Management Sciences for Health, 2006). A seminar on hiring and labor practices is held within our facility on a quarterly basis. Supervisors are obliged to attend these seminars in order to update their knowledge with the newest regulations adopted. The standards established by our facility for new employees will be transmitted to supervisors by their department managers each time these standards are updated. These standards are mandatory to be met.

2. Dealing with Complaints

There are situations where supervisors must deal with complaints issued by our facility's employees or by other candidates to some of our positions. In such cases, the first thing the supervisor must do is to establish whether the complaint features a workplace environment matter, harassment issues, or other types of complaints, in order to determine which department the complaint will be directed towards. There can be situations where external involvement is required, like in the case of violence between employees.

3. Employees Orientation Program

New employees will receive a written orientation program that details their activity, hierarchical relationships, and main responsibilities. In addition to this, the rewards and punishment system must be summarized in this written program. The map of our facility will also be included in the program. New employees will spend one month with an experienced colleague on the same position. Supervisors must test new employees' skills after one month and determine whether they are required to continue the program or they can begin their regular activity with less supervision.

Existing employees must benefit from details and orientation programs each time their activity is affected by modifications made by the facility's managers. Such modifications must be communicated in written and employees must sign for receiving the information. In addition to this, it is supervisors' job to ensure that employees understand these modifications and the manner in which they must adjust their activity in accordance with the modification.

4. Recruitment and Selection Process

Supervisors must recruit candidates for our facility's health care positions based on existing job descriptions. Candidates' resumes will be analyzed against educational and experience background established for each job. Candidates that meet educational and experience requirements will be invited to take certain tests intended to assess their skills for each specific position, but also their communication skills. After these tests, successful candidates will be invited to sustaining job interviews with supervisors and human resources assistants. Based on candidates' performance, supervisors can decide to hire them for the job they applied for, or they can be offered other positions if they meet the requirements and if the supervisor considers they are suitable for that position. Human resources assistants will provide the necessary tests that candidates must perform. The human resources managers can decide to hire or not to hire certain candidates, even if supervisors have a different opinion. This is intended to ensure that supervisors are not subjective in the recruitment and section process.

IV. Performance Evaluations, Staff Development, Managing Workplace Conflicts

1. Performance Appraisals

Supervisors must conduct performance appraisals of their subordinates on a quarterly basis. In addition to this, they must determine for each month if their subordinates have followed their schedule based on timesheets (Human Resource Management, 2014). They must also analyze whether the duration of each of their subordinates' activities is within established standards. Performance that exceeds standards must be awarded in accordance with the reward system described above. Performance below the facility's standards must be subjected to further evaluation. In such cases, supervisors can decide to financially penalize their subordinates, but only with department managers' approval.

2. Formal Disciplinary Process

The authorities that can take disciplinary action against supervisors are represented by department managers and health care facility managers. Disciplinary action must only be taken after an investigation, and its results must be communicated the supervisor in case in written. Disciplinary action against supervisors varies from salary cuts up to 15% monthly to discontinuing the supervisor's contract with the health care facility. Any disciplinary action taken against supervisors must be approved by their department managers. Supervisors have the right to contest such decision within 15 days. If they choose to contest disciplinary action, another investigation will take place. If necessary, the facility's managers can ensure a mediation process between the organization and the employee in case. The mediator must be external to the organization.

3. Employee Counseling Policy

It is mandatory that the facility ensures employee counseling. The line of work requires emotional resilience, and provides significant amounts of stress. Therefore, supervisors must ensure that employees visit the facility's counselor at least every month. Counselors must evaluate employees' state based on these monthly meetings and make recommendations regarding extended counseling. If certain employees consider they require counseling more often than once a month, they can establish with the counselor a program in accordance with counselors' availability and employees' problems. If counselors are not available and employees require counseling, the facility can pay a certain percentage of external counselors' fee. However, such actions must be approved in written by the department manager.

4. Conflict Management Policy