Posted by Kathleen Greely on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 11:03 AM
Behavioral agencies have several options for improving staff efficiency. Sometimes we just can't see the forest for the trees.
In 20 plus years of consulting with behavioral organizations I've found that managers sometimes get so focused on solving problems that they, if addressed, could save their organizations times and money and would boost both productivity and efficiency.
It's time management.
Because of the urgency to address an ever growing number of problems our industry faces, from regulatory requirements to client concerns to staffing and training needs, managers sometimes seem to expect that time management will simply take care of itself. They overlook the need to evaluate how effectively the people within the organization are using the hours and minutes available to them each workday. Perhaps already feeling overwhelmed and overextended themselves, managers simply aren't interested in learning ways to squeeze more work into each day.
Contrary to popular belief, however, effective time management is to improve an organization's overall environment, to help managment and staff work more efficiently and effectly, and to eliminate unneccessary tasks, resulting in more free time and less stress for everyone. In addition, there is a financial benefit to the organization.
I sometimes use a formula to illustrate this point. Let's assume that if each employee in your organization manages his or her time more effectively, you can gain an average of four hours a week in added efficiency per employee. If you multiply that four hours by the number of employees in your organization and then multipy again by the average hourly wage per employee, you will have calulated the potential amount of weekly savings for your organization.
Next, multipy that number by 4.3 weeks per month and then again by 12 months per year. You now have the amount of potential savings per year for your organization, gained by improving your employees' time management skills.
Time Management Example
200 employees X 4 hours per week
X $12 average hourly rate
X 4.3 weeks per month
X 12 months per year
= $495,360 in potential yearly savings
When you look at time management from a finanical perspective, doesn't it make sense to take the time to train employees to manage their time more effectively? Given industry pressures, it is critical that behavioral healthcare organizations implement time management both as part of their new employee orientation training and in annual time-management trainings.
Reprinted with permission: Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow, Dan Brown, Author
Posted by Latosha Warren on Wed, Dec 22, 2010 @ 10:02 AM
Why Should You Outsource?
How do you decide what area(s) to outsource? First, as you look at your organization and its operations, consider what are the most difficult, time-consuming, or expensive jobs. What areas continue to be problematic for your organization? Are there areas that require targeted expertise? What areas are underachieving? Consider the organization’s core and noncore areas. You will identify some as “hands off” – many times these are your organization’s core functions – while others will seem to fit well with outsourcing.
How to Select an Outsourcing Firm
Outsourcing’s effectiveness and success depend on the firm(s) you select, as well as your ability to measure their performance with pre-established outcomes. With an outsourcing relationship you are seeking performance, not just advice. Many independent consultants, as well as consulting organizations, have a difficult time moving from a traditional consulting role to an outsourcing role requiring performance and implementation. Some considerations for selecting an outsourcing firm include:
Experience and References
Experienced outsourcing firms know what to expect, how to deliver the resources they require, and how to manage their resources. How long have they been providing outsourcing? What types and sizes of organizations have they worked with? Check references.
Culture
How does the outsourcing firm’s business culture match up with your organizations? Will the firm be flexible in scheduling? Is the firm collaborative? Will it understand your organizational priorities and the role they have in your organization’s success? Do the firm’s values align with your organization’s values?
Pricing/Value
Will the outsourcing firm improve performance and save you money? Will there be hidden costs? Will the firm provide its own administrative support?
Performance Outcomes
How will you be able to measure performance? Will performance measures (outcomes) be established in the beginning? How will the outsourcing firm be accountable to your organization?
Contracting
What can you do if the outsourcing firm is not working out? What is the contract’s length? Can you exit the contract if not satisfied?
Resources
If you are working with an individual, how will coverage be provided in his/her absence? Is he/she really committed to providing consulting services, or is he/she simply between employers? If working with a firm, what is the infrastructure? Is the company stable? Who will be your primary contact? Who will be on-site? How will the firm manage performance? Who in your organization will manage the contract?
Done well, outsourcing can be an effective management tactic for behavioral health organizations seeking to improve their performance, while responding to industry pressures. To optimize outsourcing’s benefits and effectiveness, an organization should clearly define and articulate its needs and expectations, as well as select a firm with demonstrated success. The outsourcing firm should recognize the need to partner with your organization and be driven by pre-established, mutually agreed upon performance outcomes to measure success.
Posted by Latosha Warren on Tue, Dec 21, 2010 @ 12:07 PM
Key Questions to Consider Before Selecting an Outsourcing Firm
Behavioral health, in comparison with other industries, has been relatively slow to turn to outsourcing as a management tactic. However, as organizations develop a better understanding of what outsourcing is and what it can bring them, the use of outsourcing is increasing among behavioral health organizations. Outsourcing isn't just being used for technology (a typical starting point for behavioral health organizations) but is being used for management, human resources, fiscal, marketing, clinical, regulatory compliance, corporate compliance, and quality improvement (regulatory and operational processes) functions.
Why Outsource?
It's no secret that behavioral health organizations, given industry pressures, need to be more efficient, effective, and innovative to remain successful. Organizations have to improve internal processes, strengthen competencies, reduce costs, and create new revenue centers. Using outsourcing as a management tactic can help organizations respond to these and other challenges. Outsourcing's benefits include:
- Reducing Costs An immediate benefit of outsourcing should be reduced costs, allowing resources to be shifted to other areas of the organization.
- Refocusing Many organizations have problematic and under- performing areas, which continuously need leaders' attention. Outsourcing can allow leadership to keep their focus, thus preventing a functional decline in performance.
- Enhancing Competencies Outsourcing should bring targeted competencies that the organization lacks. Outsourcing can reduce issues and costs related to employee turnover for contracted areas. A strong outsourcing firm also can offer the organization knowledge related to other areas of organizational performance.
- Creating an Improvement Curve Outsourcing should reduce the learning curve and "accelerate" performance improvements in outsourced areas. Outsourcing firms should bring best practice standards and processes, implementation knowledge, and the resources required for implementation.
Is It Right For You?
When considering outsourcing, leaders should consider cost and performance in relationship to the organization's immediate and strategic needs. What could the benefits be? Could the "right" outsourcing firm do the job better for less costs? What else could be brought to the organization if you outsource? What are the disadvantages? Major considerations include:
Organizational Culture
Does outsourcing "fit" with your organization's culture and management style? Not all organizations and management teams are ready to "open up" and "share" control with outsourcing firms. Will your organization lose control or gain more control? How does your organization handle change? Will your management team be held more accountable for its performance?
Strategic Direction
Will outsourcing support the organization's strategic direction and help your organization keep its strategic focus? Can outsourcing help provide the resources for your organization to grow, maintain its size, or downsize, depending on your strategic initiatives.
Cost
What is the current cost to the organization of the area to be outsourced? How does this compare with the cost to outsource? When looking at costs, organizations should consider salaries, benefits (including holidays, vacation days, and sick days), management resources, training, equipment - everything that relates to having employee(s) payroll.
Organization Performance
If your organization is under-performing in certain areas, processes, or functions, this typically will negatively influence the performance of at least two related areas. Will outsourcing positively affect the performance of other areas of your organization?
Up Next: Part Two - "What Should You Outsource?" and "How to Select an Outsourcing Firm".
Posted by Latosha Warren on Tue, Dec 14, 2010 @ 08:41 AM
Social Media is Strategically Important!
MySpace. Facebook. Twitter. Initially, these services were often associated with "computer geeks", teenagers and "tweens" as a passing fad and nothing to take seriously. Even further, some didn't believe that social networking had any place in business, especially behavioral health services.
To begin the conversation of social media and behavioral health services working together, take a close look at how we have communicated with one another over the past 10 years. We can identify several methods of communication that we already use that are similar to what social media does.
- Medical or industry journals to which we either submit or subscribe or BOTH! These are often in both print and online.
- Newsletters, eNewsletters, websites, etc.
- Directories and board listings
What social media or networking does is allow us to share this information with a much larger audience. Once we post a blog, article or status update, we can continue the conversation, share ideas and contact information with a base as large as the World Wide Web! This type of networking translates in to real-life networking with people and organizations who have already expressed an interest in your organization or services by virtue of reading your posts and being a part of the conversation.
More specifically, behavioral services, mental health and substance abuse, clients/providers are constantly looking for more information. Clients are becoming more involved in their own treatment and will look to social media for information on a specific topic. This suggests there is potential for behavioral health professionals to use this trend in social media to their advantage. Providers can soften client-staff barriers by authoring blogs aimed directly towards consumers in objective and everyday language they can identify with. A good blog will allow the readers to leave comments and even subcribe to or "follow" the author. This is an excellent method to generate leads that are already interested in what you have to say and offer. As an added benefit, clients and professionals will share valuable information and resources with their own networks, "friends" or "buddies". This can yield more potential clientele as a result.
Does this really work?
I've seen several instances of behavioral health professionals utilizing social networking to promote business and communicate relavent information. As mentioned earlier, blogs effectively communicate information directly to consumers, potential clients and anyone searching for information on a particular topic. One behavioral health professional used her blog to call on readers to contact state legislators to argue against cuts to behavioral health funding. Her blog contained links to the legislators' email addresses and the readers carried on a information rich conversations about the topic with one another. Her staff was able to get in on the conversation as well and established professional relationships with several of the blog readers. Well written pieces will cause the reader to share and pass along information to their peers or those with whom they network.
Behavioral health executive directors and consultants share ideas and best practices by "tweeting" links to excellent resources or "sharing" podcasts from conferences they've attended.
Boards and alliances post links to informative articles, conferences, websites, employment opportunities and requests for proposals on sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.
Organizations that do this are moving fast and forward. Are they your competition? It's time to level the playing field.
Posted by Blog Tipster on Mon, Dec 13, 2010 @ 09:44 AM
Tip 1: Embedding Video into Your Blog
To embed a video like the one above, you'll need to do the following:
- Most video sites like YouTube have an "embed" source code that you can copy and paste. For YouTube, this code is listed just to the right of the video itself, under a person's username.
- Open up the HTML Editor in HubSpot by clicking the "HTML" button in the toolbar. Then, paste in the source code at that point of the article you'd like the video to show up.
- Save! This tip will work on the rest of the CMS as well, not just in the blog. Just click on "Add Module", and add an HTML module. You'll be able to paste in the source code directly, and the video will exist as a stand alone module on your site.
Tip 2: Automate Your Social Media Publishing
If you use the HubSpot blogging platform, then we'll be able to automatically publish your content for you. To set up Social Media Publishing, complete the following steps:
- We need to add your social media credentials before we can automate your blog publishing to their feeds. Under the Promote tab, open up HubSpot's Social Media application.
- Click the "Social Media Accounts" button. When prompted, add your credentials for the social media sites you'd like to publish to.
- Once your credentials are entered, head back to your blog's homepage and click on the "Options" link (to the right of the "Create Article" link).Your blog options will appear.
- Click on the Social Media Publishing tab. Under Social Media accounts, check off the boxes of the social media feeds you'd like your blog to publish to automatically. Remember to click "Update" at the bottom of the screen.
- When publishing content to your networks, you’ll need a line of explanatory text to let people know what they’re seeing. To write this line, write your slug in the "publishing slug" field, directly above the list of your social media acccounts. This is the text that will appear in Facebook and Twitter along with a link to the blog article. For example, you might write "Check out my new blog post!"
Tip 3: Text Formatting 101
You can edit the fonts of your website by going to Settings > Template Configuration in HubSpot, and then click on "Advanced Configuration". Throughout this list, you'll see places where you can change the font of your different headers.
One caveat to this, however: The fonts you can use on a website are dependent on the fonts that are available on a visitor's machine. If you try to name a font that the user does not have on their computer, it will default back to something standard (usually Arial or Helvetica).
Most machines are preinstalled with dozens of fonts, so the trick is knowing which fonts are likely to be installed on which computers. For a list of the fonts supported on most browsers, view this article on Success.