Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

Human Resources in Doctors' Offices Arnold Garcia Salem International University

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

Abstract In the United States, Human Resources are always present in every business regardless of its industry. It is the skill, ability, and the extraordinary vision of Human Resource Managers and Staffs that determine the probability of every business success. Human Resources Department contributes to the production of good employees and hones them not only for the company they work for, but also for their own betterment. This has been shown through the current standing of the United States today; the productiveness of every employee has been inspired by the Human Resources themselves. On the other hand, challenges of the Human Resources vary from industry to industry. It is not the same with a trade and services corporations compared to that of the entertainment businesses. However, this paper attempts to explore the Human Resources in Doctors Offices, particularly the challenges it faces and how these people handle such per circumstance. The result of this research conducted shows that every Human Research Manager and Staff is prepared intellectually, emotionally, and morally, so as to be able to face every scenario. They are always armed with ideas and theories in order to solve disputes, misunderstandings, and short-comings of the employers in small doctors offices.

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Introduction Background of the Study Human Resources Human Resources (HR) play a vital role in every business. Without HR, it would be hard for the employees themselves to do their work in accordance with their functions. Every problem dealing with employees and their benefits are handled by the HR. The HR deals with the intellectual, emotional, even the technical aspects of every employee to make sure that they are fit to work. What is Human Resources? Human Resources (HR) is the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector or an economy. (Holton II & Trott, Jr., 1996) The HR is responsible for the hiring, training, and oversees the benefits and compensation packages available for every employee. HR department also ensures that members of staff follow a general direction by frequently clarifying and reminding them of the organizations goals. The HR acts as the mediator between an organization's management and its workers. The HR composes the entire workforce in a business, they are as important as carrying out the main purpose of the business itself. They are considered to be an asset in a company. (Snell, Shadur, & Wright, 2000) The achievement of the companys success does not depend on the different functions of the company alone. It is very dependent upon its employees. Therefore, a good company may not prosper for lack of effective human resource.

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

The Human Resources Management is concerned with achieving objectives in the following areas: To assure the Organizational Effectiveness Human Capital Management Knowledge Management Reward Management Employee Relations Meeting Diverse Needs Bridging the Gap between Rhetoric and Reality. (Gratton et al.,1999) Are there Human Resources in small businesses, particularly doctors offices or clinics? Not all. It takes a good investment in establishing an office for this profession. A doctors office is likely to be located in a hospital where employees are hired, trained, and managed by the hospitals HR Department. But in cases of small offices, employers still need the professional help of Human Resources. Sound human resources management practices are essential for retaining effective professionals in hospitals. Given the recruitment and retention reality of health workers in the twenty-first century, the role of HR managers in hospitals and those who combine the role of HR managers with other responsibilities should not be underestimated. (El-Jardali, Tchaghchagian, and Jamal, 2009)

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

The Doctors Office A Doctor's Office is a set of rooms where a general practitioner receives and treats patients and otherwise practices medicine. It is a health care facility which is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients. The Doctors Office is mostly known as Clinic. (Eric Partridge Book Club Associates, 1966) A Clinic may be operated privately by general practitioners through their own investment or capital. It may also be publicly managed, (e.g. government hospital/s, clinics) where the national or local government funds for it and covers the basic health care needs of the people in local communities, and is also ran by general practitioners. In larger hospitals and clinics/offices, specialized treatments and various fields are offered. There is always a room for patients willing to be confined and has enough equipment for treatment. Some clinics grow to be institutions as large as major hospitals, or become associated with a hospital or medical school, while retaining the name clinic." In governmental doctors offices, the workforce is supplied by the local governments own HR Department. The HR sees to it that every employee has passed the required tests and that they will work efficiently. In contrast with privately owned clinics, they have their own HR Department which is very much focused on the clinic itself, setting aside other concerns unlike in a governmental clinic; it covers the entire city/provincial human resources. However, in some clinics, particularly the small ones, does not have an HR Department. The employer himself does the interview, hiring, training, and firing. It is a bit more of a scenario in the medical industry.

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

Methods The method used in this research is surveys through questionnaires in the internet which include open and close-ended questions and those which include educational background, work experience, and demographics, in addition to questions about perceived challenges and key strategies being used with different HR managers and staffs in different hospitals. Results A total of thirty five people out of twenty hospitals responded. The HR managers have varying levels of achievement and experiences in management. The results show that challenges and problems faced by the Human Resources vary from different hospitals. The most recurrently reported challenges of HR in hospitals are the Lack of Quality Employees (54%), Poor Compensation packages to employees resulting to poor performance of employees (19%), Poor work environment (15%), Poor supervision of employees (9%), and Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at the Clinic (3%). Mismatch between reported challenges and strategies were observed. Objective The objective of this study is to assess how the HR Department conduct human resourcing and how they face the challenges and the current strategies being adopted while working in a small clinic or doctors office in America. Statement of the Problem What Are The Usual Problems And Challenges Faced By The Human Resource Department In Small Doctors Offices?

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

1. Lack of quality employees. 2. Poor compensation packages to employees resulting to poor performance of employees. 3. Poor work environment. 4. Poor supervision of employees. 5. Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at the Clinic. Resolution of Human Resources 1. Lack of Quality Employees In small doctors offices, target employees are hard to find. The questions on the part of the prospective employee are: Will I be able to get a raise?, Will I gain the type of experience I need?, or How fast do promotion possibility happens? The growth of an employee in these small institutions is very slow. (Hillary, 2000) Since a small doctors office is presumed not to be always in the midst of entertaining numerous patients at once, especially in isolated places, the quality of employees are not much focused on. Here, what the usual HR manager would do is to simply hire someone with a degree on Human Resources, and would not check on their experiences and background; because, the recruitment is the main concern of the HR. Those who are very much experienced and qualified prefer to be employed in bigger and more successful offices. 2. Poor Compensation Packages to Employees Sometimes, the great deal on compensation packages depends on the location of a business. A small doctors office usually offers a good compensation package when its services are very vital in a community. In such situations, doctors, general practitioners, or physicians are

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

very much in need of employees to run a growing business. The pressure of providing a medical response to every client must always be dissolved in the environment. Although stress is indispensable, doctors offices always provide for a good compensation package to assure that their employees will work efficiently even if they work under pressure. However, it is different in clinics which are located nearby a famous competitor and has better services to offer to patients. Therefore, the employer cannot give a good compensation package due to lack of revenue. Here, the HR Department must have a strong gut to come up with a better offer even when a famous competitors nearby. Costly or not, building a fair and attractive compensation package is critical for attracting and retaining employees. In setting up a compensation package, the HR Department considers the following components: Salary and wages. Salary should be tied to a person's skills and experience. Subsequent increases need to be based on an employee's performance, value, and contribution in the office. Check salary surveys and want ads, and scout out competitors to see if they are underpaying or overpaying their staff. Paying too much is an unnecessary drain on your resources, but paying too little will make it difficult to find and keep the best people. Bonuses. Employee bonuses, which are usually paid in a single lump at the end of the year, are one way of providing performance incentives. Long-term incentives. Stock options or stock grants not only provide long-term incentives to employees, but they can also help retain valuable team members through your organization's crucial startup phase. Health insurance. Employer-sponsored health insurance is fairly standard among small-size companies. Moreover, it is a benefit that has great value to employees.

HUMAN RESOURCES IN DOCTORS OFFICES

An employer-sponsored plan saves employees money, and gives them peace of mind in knowing that they won't be denied coverage, even if they have existing health problems. Retirement plans. Many employees like these plans because they maintain some control over the amount of their contribution and how the money is invested. Most small companies try to put some kind of savings plan in place, even if they don't contribute money to them. Time off and flexible schedules. This includes holidays, vacations, sick days, and personal days. An employer unable to offer competitive salaries may close part of the gap by offering more time off or flexible work hours. Some employers make no distinction between sick, vacation, or personal days, allowing employees a set number of days off each year to be used at their discretion. This prevents employees from abusing sick days, and keeps them from feeling that they need to lie when a child is ill or a personal emergency arises. The HR Department in every small doctors office assures that the abovementioned compensation packages are afforded to every employee. Therefore, even if the workplace is not as good as the competitors, they can guarantee that the people they work with are very much willing to strive to succeed to meet the vision and mission of the clinic. 3. Poor Work Environment One of the following factors of having a poor compensation package is a poor work environment. An employee is likely to work inefficiently and will eventually affect the other employee that will prevent them to excel at work. Having a small environment limits an

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employees possibility to excel and gain more experience. Sometimes, it causes the employees to suffer from depression and anxiety. With this, patients in the clinic may be affected by the behavior shown by the employees. The HR department sees to it that everyones interests are satisfied and has been addressed. Once this has been identified, it is their task to list the possible solutions and evaluate such. If there are options, choose the best one and make sure that it balances every employees interest. Make sure that this has been documented to think through the details and its implications. Agree on contingencies, monitoring and evaluation. The HR must be vigilant with the employees needs so that their performance will not be affected. Poor work environments and the lack of proper recruitment and preservation practices are some of the key HR challenges that are faced by small clinics. These obstacles have resulted in growing staff scarcity, attrition and early retirement, poor staff satisfaction, and high turnover. 4. Poor Supervision of Employees Supervising an employee plays a very important role in the workplace in order to maximize the businesses success potential. In small doctors offices, people usually work under pressure; employees are left to do their own functions with minimum supervision. Even after training newly hired employees, supervision remains necessary for continuing skill and knowledge and development among them. When a company has poor supervision, there is not enough responsibility for taking action for the prevention of problems, mistakes, accidents, and injuries. Poor supervision removes a very important part of the employee support process, eliminating the opportunity for

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reference, learning, and safety. Poor supervision also opens the door for unethical behaviors within a company. With poor supervision, employees commonly feel that their work is not valued by the company, and loyalty is difficult to form if it forms at all. Without loyalty, employees are more likely to deviate from acceptable business practices. Such activities can include theft, decreased employee effort, using equipment without authorization, and falsifying documents, among other things. (Geigle, 2012) 5. Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at the Clinic. Practicing personal courage is essential even in clinics in order to resolve conflicts at work. Many people are anxious of conflict resolution. Sometimes, one party does not have the gut to accept that he cannot have what he wants and the other party can. Conflicts arise from differences of employees. This happens when there is disagreement over ideas, perceptions, and values with other employees. In small clinics, conflicts have no room. The nature of their work requires utmost focus and professionalism. If resolution is not possible, one or both has to leave. The office cannot afford a hitch in carrying out the purposes in this kind of business. The following must be considered by the HR Department for effective resolution of conflicts: The capacity to recognize and respond to the things that matter to the other person; Calm, non-defensive, and respectful reactions; A readiness to forgive and forget, and to move past the conflict without holding resentments or anger; The ability to seek compromise and avoid punishing;

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A belief that facing conflict head is the best thing for both sides. (Segal & Smith, 2011)

The ability to successfully resolve conflict depends on the HRs ability to: Manage stress quickly while remaining alert and calm. By staying calm, you can accurately read and interpret verbal and nonverbal communication. Control your emotions and behavior. When youre in control of your emotions, you can communicate your needs without threatening, frightening, or punishing others. Pay attention to the feelings being expressed as well as the spoken words of others. Be aware of and respectful of differences. By avoiding disrespectful words and actions, you can resolve the problem faster. Discussion The results of this study shows that despite the divergences of scenario the clinics face, the HR Department should be strengthened in order to build capacity to better manage and retain health workers. This can be demonstrated by the challenges and strategies that emerged from thematic analysis. This finding is similar to a past study targeting nursing directors, where retention strategies did not always correspond to the reported challenges. However, this does not automatically imply that the HR managers are not receptive of how to address the challenges they reported. In this study, the chances of faster success for every employer or owner of a small doctors clinic depends upon its HR Department. Due to the lack of better compensation packages and poor work environment the employees will most likely leave. The employer must always make sure that the office must always have a competent and a visionary person on post to

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assure that every employee hired in the office is efficient and ever-flexible to different scenarios in the workplace. Conclusion Human Resources Management is a discipline which entails a diverse knowledge base and training. It is not common in certain areas in the health sector at the moment to find professional HR managers, as they are usually promoted from other disciplines. As a result, further education or training is generally required in order to have the necessary competencies to perform well. There is a need to expand HR professional knowledge and competencies for the effective management of human resources in HCOs. There is also a need to increase the team of competent HR professionals. A new breed of HR managers will need to be trained and enabled to have real contribution into operational and strategic decisions about HRM.

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