Читать книгу Using Predictive Analytics to Improve Healthcare Outcomes - Группа авторов - Страница 70

Another issue that can be identified by use of the HES is managers who are reluctant to enforce policies because they are too eager to be liked by their staff. Again, using the HES job satisfaction data, when the score for satisfaction with “relationship with unit manager” is high but all 10 of the other aspects of job satisfaction are noticeably lower, it is often because the unit manager has become “one of the gang” and is not tending to the work of actually leading the unit. In this “manager‐as‐buddy” scenario, it is also usually the case that the manager complains along with the employees and does not hold the staff accountable to follow policy, or understand their role, or accountability, or what their level of authority is in terms of patient care.

Something interesting (and initially alarming) shows up in the data when these “buddies” begin to evolve into good leaders. When leaders become clear in their own roles, they usually realize the importance of helping staff members become clear in their roles, which means, among other things, requiring them to follow policies. Not surprisingly, scores reflecting the staff’s satisfaction with the manager will drop—sometimes precipitously—once the manager begins, after a period of having reliably been a “buddy,” to really lead. What is fascinating, however, is to watch the 10 aspects of job satisfaction for the nurses under this person's supervision that were initially so low, steadily improve. If you understand the data, you realize pretty quickly that the falling score for satisfaction with the manager is not a reflection of the manager's poor performance, but actually a symptom of staff members adjusting to losing a manager who did not adhere to policy. It is common for the data analyst to have to spend some time encouraging managers who initially feel bad when their unit's score for satisfaction with “relationships with the unit manager” falls, especially after they have begun working so hard to be better managers. It can take 2–3 years for staff to adjust to the change when a manager shifts from one who lets people do mostly as they please to one who leads with role clarity and policy enforcement. If not for the presence of an analyst who understands the nuances of such data, the data would be disheartening, and nothing productive would likely come of it. It is the real‐life story the data tells that is of inestimable value.

It is the real‐life story the data tells that is of inestimable value.