Risk Management

For the last unit of the course, this was a good one to bring some things together.  I always knew that part of the nurse manager’s job was putting out fires and dealing with problems, but I don’t think I really ever would have thought to call it risk management, but that is exactly what it is and what things escalate to require when not managed at a smaller level.  It was good to learn more about the risk management process and to look at ways to manage the problems that persist.  I have also come to realize the importance the risk management plays in health care, and how much it encompasses. 

I really liked the discussion and the lecture from the risk management person for the south region at IHC.  She helped to put some things into perspective.  She helped explain things in a way that helped risk management make more sense.  The discussion also helped to really make me think about how things happen and the ramifications of our actions.  The scenario is something that I have had to deal with, in the fact that I’ve had very combative patients that needed to be restrained, and I have had similar thoughts to the nurse in the scenario, I’m just glad that nothing happened, but it makes me think about the problems that can arise. 

This information, as I stated above, will have a number of uses in my career, whether I get into management or not.  This is definitely helpful for charge nurses, but also for the staff nurse, and thinking about the actions that we have.  As we are in health care, we will always be scrutinized and looked at through a magnifying glass.  We need to make sure to protect our licenses, as that is our livelihood. 

Motivation and Collective Bargaining

This was an interesting unit, as I don't think that I really knew how collective bargaining agreements worked, aside from the fact that it was between an employer and a union, which I learned from being a sports fan.  The thing that I liked the most was learning more about the unions and the pros and cons associated with it.  The employment laws will vary from place to place, but this is a good base to build upon or refer back to.  Motivating is important when it comes to the nurse leader’s employees.  The best ways to maximize motivation through leadership methods.  Also, I would have never known that a formal reward system would have to be taxed, but it does make sense and it is worth it from a leadership and employee standpoint. 

I really enjoyed the activities and discussions.  They helped to put the collective bargaining assignment into perspective of seeing the different sides (employees and employers). Also, the discussions were great to see the different perspectives that people can take on an assignment.  I am a big self motivator, so I think I had a hard time coming up with things that will help motivate others, but it was good to see how the girls in the group would motivate others, especially since most nurses are still women. 

I will use this moving forward in my career.  It will impact whether or not I work for a facility that has unionized employees.  As of right now, I don't think that I would want to be a part of one.  There are definitely a number of pros, but I mostly want to be able to stand up for myself and my own merits and I feel I will do much better for myself.  Also, I like trying to motivate my fellow employees to work harder to see how it would work. 

Each and every individual person has the right to feel however they want to feel, but we can definitely make a difference in the environment that surrounds us.  It is the responsibility of the nurse leader to establish a work climate that motivates others to accomplish organizational goals while addressing individual employee needs.  Hopefully all the employees will take it upon themselves to motivate each other and make the place of employment a better place to be.  I know I will. 

Conflict Resolution

I learned that there are multiple ways to handle conflict.  We all have a default way that we handle conflict which may be completely different from our neighbor or co-workers way to handle conflict.  We need to find what works for that individual.  I learned that conflict isn't always a bad thing.  Many times when we have a conflict in one part of our life it can spill over into other parts of our lives. 

                I really liked the activities associated with this section.  The discussion was a great forum to be able to express our different opinions about conflict and certain types of communication that are involved with conflict.  It was a great way to see how differently people view and perceive conflict and to help remember that this is the way it will be in the workplace.  I also liked the movie “The Guardian.”  It was a wonderful depiction of conflict and the ways that different people can view and deal with conflict and think that others don’t understand what they are going through. 

                I will utilize the information I learned by making sure I use effective communication techniques when I'm involved in a conflict with a coworker or someone at work.  I need to realize what battles are worth fighting for.  I need to make sure that I stick up for myself and not let people walk over me.  And I will be able to know that while we might all be working toward a common goal, many people will have different approaches to getting there. 

                As much as we would rather just think positively and believe that everything will just work out, it is necessary to know that conflict is everywhere around us.  Perception is a big part of conflict and being willing to work with other is important.  I have learned techniques that will be able to help me deal with conflict in the future.  

Strategic Planning

I expected to learn what strategic planning is and feel that I have a better grasp now.  I actually learned that there is a lot more to strategic planning than I thought. I learned that strategic planning has been used in multiple professions. Strategic planning has multiple elements that need to be considered.

I enjoyed the strategic planning activity as a team and helped me to understand what it takes to make a strategic plan.  The plan was more difficult that I originally thought and we had unlimited resources, so I can only imagine what it takes when there are limited resources.  It was also interesting to see the different perspectives that people have and the ways that people approach a strategic plan.  I also liked the discussion and the different views that people had on the types of classes and programs that should be offered. 

I will utilize the information I learned into my nursing practice by looking for strategic planning committees. I will look more into the graduate schools offered in the state. I will be most respectful and interested when changing is coming and how I can be involved in the planning.

Overall, I feel that this was an interesting topic. I had never really considered it before. I feel that there are so many elements and behind the scenes committees that make healthcare work.  It was cool learning about strategic planning.

Managing Change

I wanted to learn more about change and how it impacts different people in different ways.  I also wanted to learn more about the ways that change happens in the workplace and the best way to implement change to lessen the impact on the staff.  I do feel that I was able to learn quite a bit more about the ways that people are affected by change.  I learned that I like the book/video "Who Moved the Cheese."  I also learned there are people that actually like it when things change, and I think that I might have a little bit of that in me.  I like to see progression, and often times that means change is inevitable. 

I enjoyed the video of "Who Moved the Cheese," and the discussion that followed.  It was a great way to learn a bit more about my team and how they handle change and how they perceive change in the workplace.  I also liked the assignment related to the Power article.   It brought up things about men and women in the workplace and perceptions.  While talking about change, that is something that needs to be changed.  Both the stigma of men in nursing, and also women, in general, in the workplace being lesser then men.  Neither of those are true.  

I will use this information gained in this lesson to be able to help those around me at work and other places to realize that change is bound to happen and realize it is better to embrace it than fight against it, because all it will do is leave us unhappy and dissatisfied with life.  While change isn't always easy to take, it is important to continue to progress forward.  

Budgeting Interview

This week, we had to conduct a budgeting interview.  I chose to interview an individual that is in charge of business operations and finances at a small electronic hardware company.  His name is Steven and he is also co-owner.  My team came up with the following questions for our interview:

1. What is the most difficult aspect of budgeting?

Taking the time to do it.  Doing a budget isn’t rocket science, he said. It is merely creating something and sticking to it.  He said they weren’t very good at it when they first started about 12 years ago, but they have gotten to where it doesn’t take nearly the same amount of time as it used to. 

2. What areas of the budget are the first to be affected when making cuts?

He said that there are standard costs that have to be done every month, such as required supplies, rent, utilities, and salaries.  The first things that get cut are marketing expenses, part-time employee hours, and the owners pay. 

3. What do you enjoy most about creating a budget?

He says that he is a self-proclaimed nerd.  The thing he enjoys the most is the numbers and the spreadsheets.  He said that it sounds dumb, but it still gets him excited to make a new budget.  Also, when he sees how well they are doing, it makes him happy. 

4. How much flexibility do you allow in your budget?

Steven said that this question depended on the definition of flexibility.  If it means to spend more than what is budgeted, then no flexibility.  If it means that midway through the year, the budget can be altered to for something specific following a meeting of those that need to be involved, then there can be a lot of flexibility.  As long as the individuals who oversee the spending and budgeting are aware of the changes that need to be made, then it is important to feel free to make changes as they arise so as to always be working with the best information. 

5. What are your feelings on making annual budgets widely available for publicly traded companies?

They are a pretty small outfit, so he didn’t really know much in terms of that.  He and his business partner have talked about making their budget known to the staff of their employees, but they chose not to, as it wasn’t really necessary.  Also, each department knows what they have to work with within the budget and can always requisition for changes. 

6. How many previous years’ budgets weigh into the decisions for the current year's budget?

Definitely 1 year, and sometimes it is good to look another year or so for comparison.  It is good to see where things were, so that plans can be made in terms of expectations.  It is also important to take into account all of the reasons for the budget and year doing what they did in the past. 

7. How accurate do you budget; do you budget down to the penny or do you tend to be more liberal with your budget?

He said that they place a cushion in most areas, but that cushion has gotten smaller and smaller the better they get at budgeting.  It isn’t down to exact pennies in the budget unless it is an expense that never changes.  The budget is round numbers based on information gathered and then the actually spending is obviously tracked to the exact penny. 

8. How does going over the budget affect you or your team?

Steven said that going over the budget is not an option.  Aside from the first few months in business when they were working out the kinks in the budget, they have never gone over budget and it is because that is a priority that was made a long time ago. 

9. How much influence do you have on your budget versus getting it handed down to you from corporate?

He and his partner have full decision making abilities in regard to the budget since they are the highest up that it goes.  They do not have a corporate entity to answer to. 

10. How would you change corporate’s budgeting style?

As he is a small business, this question didn’t apply to him.  There isn’t a corporate to report to. 

11. What do you do when you go over your budget?

They have a once a month budget planning meeting and a once a year meeting to look at previous months and years and make decisions based on current business and projects that are in the works.  They also look at marketing and planning for the future.  They will also hold a special meeting as needed to make any changes to the current budget if there is a need expressed to do so. 

12. What does corporate do when you go over your budget?

As they are a small operation, this question did not apply to him or his business. 

13. Has the budget ever been so restrictive that it prevented you from doing the job properly?

He doesn’t feel that a budget is restrictive.  It is more freeing.  It is what allows you to do things, because it has been budgeted to do that thing, whatever it might be. 

14. How important is staying in the budget?

One of the most important things about running a small business is being able to stay within a budget.  His estimation is that not staying in the budget is probably one of the top reasons a company will go out of business. 

15. What are some things in your budget that may not typically be thought of as important to include in a budget?

He initially said toilet paper in jest, but said that if money is going to be spent on something then it is important and needs to be included in the budget.

From this interview I learned that there is a lot that goes into budgets.  I discovered that I don't want to work in the budget department.  There is too much pressure to make sure the money is going to all the sources that it needs to be going.  I get a headache just from figure out my own personal budget.  I respect the people that do work with budgets though.

Staffing and Career Development

This week, I expected to learn more about helping myself and others to develop a plan and a career.  I also wanted to learn more about staffing and what it takes to staff a unit in the hospital, and the role that the nurse manager plays in that process.  Most importantly, I wanted to take a introspective look at my own career as it is in the beginning stages and make some plans for the future.  

The group assignment on staffing was a fantastic way of looking at what it really takes to staff a unit.  It is not as simple as it might initially seem, and while realistic, it was even easier than real life.  It showed how much time it can take to do staffing.  The staffing discussion was also good to look at the ways that different places do staffing and see the pros and cons of each type.  The career development discussion and activity was good to see what others are planning to do and to be a help in coming up with things they might not have thought of in their own plans.  

In my current nursing practice, I will have much more respect and appreciation for my manager and those that work on the schedule for my unit.  It is very time consuming and everyone will ultimately not ever be pleased with the decision.  You just need to do what is best for the unit and try to accommodate as many as possible while making the staffing the priority.  I will also always have a plan for my nursing career and life in terms of moving forward, so my career development doesn't become stagnant and suffer. 

Budgeting

I expected to learn what goes into budget planning. I wanted to learn what are the different elements that are needed to form a budget. I expected to learn how much budgeting goes into nursing and healthcare. Also I wanted to learn the terms used for budgets.

I learned that there are fixed and variable elements of budgets. Even though a budget may seem overwhelming it can help in the long run. I learned that you can't charge an individual for equipment used during their hospital stay. I also learned that there are different types of budgets as well.

I had a difficult time trying to come up with the right places to cut.  I felt like the activity was very difficult and I understand why it can be easier to just say that we are going to make cuts than deal with the budget because my group seems like they essentially came up with the same idea.  I don't have much desire to be a manager of a hospital unit after that activity.  

I will utilize the information covered so that I can learn what my manager has to deal with for our unit. I will be better prepared to help plan a budget. I will try to be more sensitive to the amount of products that I use so that I can help to cut down on supply cost.

My feelings on the material was that it was interesting to learn about budgets. I had never really thought about all that goes into planning a budget. I know that I need to sit down and do a budget with my husband so that we can find ways where we can save money. Learning about budgets made me not want to be a nurse manager. It seems kind of overwhelming.

Leaders as Educators/Future of Nursing

This unit intrigued me quite a bit purely from the title only.  I have often wondered about the future of nursing.  As I began to consider a career in healthcare, the Affordable Care Act was passed.  I believed and still believe that this piece of legislature will play a huge role in the inner workings of careers in medicine.  I steered clear of chiropractics because of it.  It actually pushed me towards nursing because I believed that the future of healthcare, due largely to the ACA, would be led by nurses.  I hope that I am right!!

This unit helped me to see a few things about healthcare and the general public and the way that nurses and their role are perceived in healthcare.  I learned quite a bit about the current structure of healthcare and the way things are done at national and state levels.  I have come to the realization that I wish there were more standardization of roles in healthcare on a national level instead of being different from state to state.  It seems odd that there isn't more standardization, especially since the test to become a nurse is a national standardized test. 

I enjoyed reading other team members views on the future of nursing.  I think that it is bright, but I feel that things need to take place soon or we could see some difficult times ahead.  One team member brought up the need for "money to talk louder."  I think that right now it doesn't "pay" to advance in education and or degrees in which you are still a RN (i.e. BSN, MSN).  I believe this to be true.  I think that nurses need to push for more to blaze way for the future of nursing.  The information gained from the video of Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda will be very important as I continue in my career.  I would also like to become more involved in the decision making aspects of the future of nursing as my career advances.  This will be very important to me. 

Power Reflective Journal Entry

From this unit I expected to learn what goes into determining if a better leader is male or female. I wanted to learn if my class thought that men or women were better leaders and what qualities make them better leaders.

I learned from the reading, that women excel over men in a lot of different areas except for decisiveness. But even with that being said, we still think that men are better leaders than women overall. We couldn’t come up a consensus during our discussion, but overall, everyone had really valid points to bring up. I learned that a lot of our reasons for this come from how society has influenced and raised us.

I will utilize this information into my nursing practice by making sure that I show what I can do as a leader.  I personally don’t think that the sex of an individual is what defines them as a great leader or not.  It is the steps they take and the actions they have.  I also feel that there are situations that men are better suited for and likewise for women.

Overall, I feel that the information that we covered this week was very good. I learned a lot. I feel that some of the information I already knew but it showed or explained it in a different light. I need to be aware of my biases and make sure that I don't judge that something is a man or woman's job.

Firing and Discipline Interview

Firing/Discipline Interview Questions

For my firing and discipline interview this week that I had to conduct, I chose to interview a friend that works as a general manager of a local fast food chain that serves chicken.  My team came up with 15 questions for our interviews.

1.     Who is involved in the discipline interview?

Usually, he likes to have himself and the employee as well as the specific day staff management (day shift or night shift manager), operations manager, or shift supervisors as a last option if the other managers are unavailable. 

2.     Do you try to work things out with the employee, such as a transfer or leave of absence, before termination?

My friend is a big fan of trying to work with his employees and trying to find a resolution of the problem.  Because he is the general manager of 4 separate locations, he has been able to transfer an employee and make it beneficial for all parties.  Some times it is a change of scenery that will benefit the employee greatly, so they feel fresh and alive and it has extended a number of employment opportunities for multiple employees.  Normally, termination is such a hassle, so it can be easier to keep an employee than start over with training. 

3.     How do you start a firing/disciplinary interview?

This depends on what meeting it is.  Most of the time, the employee is aware what is going on.  He said the he usually starts out by discussing a last meeting that took place between the employee and he and his management staff.  If this is the first meeting between the employee and his management staff and him, then he will start by talking about the good things that the employee does and then discuss the problem area. 

4.     What is the most common reason you have to perform a firing/disciplinary interview?

There have been a number of reasons for having to do a firing or disciplinary interview.  He said the most common reason is related to the age of the employees that he has.  He mostly works with young employees and the biggest reasons are violations of certain policies involving timeliness and attitude. 

5.     Are there times where a disciplinary interview is just a formality, always leading to firing?

He doesn’t believe in formalities.  He tries to be a mentor to the employees that he has, especially due to their young ages, for most of the employees.  Therefore, he takes each and every possible change to help them in any way that he can. 

6.     How often is a formal disciplinary interview necessary, where an informal reprimand would not suffice?

Formal disciplinary interviews are necessary when any sort of informal reprimand does not suffice. He tries to work with all of his employees, but sometimes they are unwilling to work with him or even themselves. 

7.     What day of the week is best for firing or disciplining employees?

Disciplining for the most part can be done on any day, but his only rule of thumb is to try not to do a firing on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  He prefers the early part of the week.  This allows the employee to hopefully find something during the rest of that week to be able to move past the firing. 

8.     Under what circumstance would you discipline two employees differently from the same action of misconduct?

This is a tricky question.  The circumstances would depend on the misconduct and how many times a violation has taken place by each employee.  For example, a new employee of a few months that has been late almost every shift for the past 3 weeks and has been talked to repeatedly about this will be dealt with differently than a model employee that has been with the company for 15 years and hasn’t been late for a shift in over 8 years. 

9.     How do you make employees aware of expected behavior and guidelines?

They are given an employee handbook and a policies and procedure book when they are hired on.  They also go through orientation and the expectations are again repeated.  They are also discussed each time in is deemed necessary by any of the management team. 

10.  If an employee violates a company policy, do you feel it is necessary to give appropriate disciplinary action in a timely manner?

Timely manner is one of his biggest things that he pushes for.  He said, that is how actions get rectified and people don’t assume they are being reprimanded for a separate issue.  He said that you have to be very timely in making swift decisions and executing the plan of any sort of disciplinary action. 

11.  Where do you usually discipline employees?

In his office behind closed doors.  My friend said that no one else needs to know what is being said or dealt with and so he never does this in front of another non essential personnel, and most definitely not in a public place.

12.  Do you find yourself frequently disciplining employees or are the majority of employee’s complaint with policies?

Policy mishaps are, again, probably the biggest reasons that he is having to discipline an employee. 

13.  What is the most difficult aspect of having the responsibility to discipline or fire employees?

Firing employees is very difficult.  He works with a number of adolescents and so he likes to give the benefit of the doubt in working with these young men and women.   He feels that he is a mentor for the youth and feels that he has let them down when it gets to the point of having to let them down.

14.  Do managers in your company receive any formal training on how to handle disciplinary situations?

No.  They do not receive any formal training.  He does like to involve the other management team in each and every time that he does anything like this to make sure they do get exposure to it, but no training. 

15.  Is it important to have another person in the room when an employee is fired? Why or why not?

Usually, he likes to have himself and the employee as well as the specific day staff management (day shift or night shift manager), operations manager, or shift supervisors as a last option if the other managers are unavailable.  This is a multi-part reason.  First, for the legal reasons.  Second, to make sure that it doesn’t get out of control, and lastly, for exposure for the other management member. 

My friend said that it is important to not just jump straight to termination.  Termination is a very complex process and lots of documentation needs to be obtained. There needs to be concrete reasons for firing. First, an improvement plan needs to be implemented.  There are always going to be people complaining of someone but shouldn't result in termination. But if the situation is serious enough then he would act and hopefully something positive will come out of it.  Ultimately he is there for the whole team and not just the individual.  If the employee is a bad egg then sometimes it is better for the person to be transferred, fired or laid off.

From this interview, I learned that firing and disciplining employees is a difficult situation.  The manager or boss doesn't want to be in the position with the employee either.  I learned that a lot rides on the performance appraisals that are done each year.  It is important that we identify our weaknesses so that we can improve on them.  Each company has a different way of disciplining employees.  I hope I'm never put in a position that I'm having to discipline employees or am getting disciplined.

Ethics Week

From this unit, I expected to learn what an ethics committee is and how they operate.  I also wanted to learn about who is involved in an ethics committee and how ethics plays a role in my nursing career and how I should operate in and around ethical issues.

I am not sure that I had ever really known anything about an ethics committee, and so I learned that there is a lot more to an ethics committee than I would have previously thought. I learned that an ethics committee can have guests sit on the board as needed to help in a given situation.  An ethics committee is made up of social workers, physicians, nurses, clergy, a lay person, and lawyers. It can be very difficult to try and have an unbiased opinion and look at the entire story before coming to any conclusions.

From the discussion that we had this week, I feel that a lot my team members thought the same way as me with the ethical decision on whether to stop dialysis for a vegetative state individual. We seemed to agree that it is important to gather all our information before we make a decision as an ethics committee and to hear all the different viewpoints. From the discussions, it is evident that we all come from different perspectives and backgrounds and that there can always be good & bad choices and consequences on both sides of the situation. It is difficult to come up with a final determination when you want what is best for both sides.

One of the biggest things that I have taken from this week is that I have resources available to me.  I will come across a number of ethical issues and decisions that will involve a patient of mine or me, and I need to make sure I know where to turn for information and support.  It is good to know that I have an ethics committee that can be utilized if the situation requires it.

Overall, I feel that ethical situations are all around us, and possibly even more than normal in nursing.  Because I currently work with older adults and death is probably closer to that population than any other, especially in the older adult population that is in the hospital with illness there are even more ethical situations that can arise.  I enjoyed the discussions that we had and the thoughts and feelings that it helped me to have hopefully before I would ever need to have them in a real life situation.  

Performance Appraisal Interview

For my interview, I interviewed a sales director, Jim, for a computer software company.  The following questions are the ones that my team came up with to ask for our interviews: 

1. How often are performance appraisals done?

 He stated that in his line of work, they are officially done monthly with each employee and also more regularly as needed.  The unofficial and more frequent times are more for the 1s and 2s than the 4s and 5s.

2. What questions do you usually ask?

 As they meet very regularly, these meetings are very brief and to the point.  They go over current sales in the pipeline.  They discuss prospects to getting more into the pipeline.  They look at the sales that were prospects but didn’t pan out and discuss the reasons it didn’t happen.  He said that he also asks what he could do to be a better manager and in what ways he can assist them to make the sales and the money they would like to make.

3. Have you ever had someone become angry during a performance review?

 Jim said that he has been doing this for so many years that there have been some angry employees, but most of the time they are upset with themselves.  He has said that he has only had to have one employee escorted out by security.  Because they meet so frequently, and he said that he makes himself so available to his team, the performance reviews are usually not a shock to anyone. 

4. What do you think is the most valuable takeaway from performing performance reviews?

 The takeaway is that he wants employees to know where they stand.  He doesn’t want anyone to feel blindsided by a decision that is made.  He wants to make sure that everyone knows where they stand with him and the rest of this managers. 

5. How many strikes does an employee get before they are terminated for repeat offenses?

 This is more dependent on the success of the employee, how often the offenses are taking place and what the offenses are.  In sales, things can often be overlooked due to exceptional performance.  So something such as tardiness may be a bigger deal for a new employee or one that is not performing than one that has been a proven salesman month after month.  Leniencies are granted to high performers as an additional incentive for performing.  For most employees, they use a 3 strike system. 

6. Is there an incentive program for reaching the company's highest level of appraisal?

 As all of these employees are in sales positions, the incentive program is essentially their pay structure.  The better they do at work, the higher their paychecks and commissions will be.  They don’t necessarily get anything extra for getting all 5s on their appraisals, but if they are continually receiving 5s and then have a bad month or two, this can and will often times be looked over due to previous high appraisals.  They also do several monthly daily and a few hourly competitions on a regular basis to incentivize the employees. 

7. Is the appraisal same for each employee? Or specific for each person/role?

 The appraisals are similar for each employee, but they are most definitely not the same.  Each employee is different, therefore, each appraisal will go a little bit different.  He does spend more time with his managers than he does with other employees, but that is just “the nature of the beast,” according to Jim. 

8.  Is the employee able to make any suggestions or set goals for the next appraisal?

 Goals are based on set of base standards as well as things such as the employee’s prior month’s sales performance, year-to –date sales analysis, and the prior year’s performance with a given set of accounts.  All of these things get evaluated to determine the desired goals for a given employee, but the employee definitely has input in this process. 

9. Do you believe appraisals are a helpful tool?

 As he stated before, Jim feels like appraisals are a great way to let the employees know where they stand.  It helps them to know where they can improve and the things that they do which are valued and appreciated. 

10. How do you positively reprimand or motivate employees who have poor work ethics or attitudes?

 As this is a very close team and there are constant meetings between team members and management, there would be a discussion about the behavior to work on a game plan to correct the behavior.  There would then be a 3 strike system put in place to help this get resolved.  As this is a sales team, things are not “fair.”  He actually hates the word “fair.”  The plan for one employee is not necessarily the same plan that would be used for another employee.

11. What is the factors that influence if the employee deserves a pay raise and do you discuss this during performance appraisals?

Every employee has their own pay and commission structure based on tenure with the company, base salary and other factors that are determined in regards to the products sold and other factors.  All of the commissions are unlimited, meaning that the amount that an employee earns is 100% dependent on the employee. 

12. What scale do you use for performance appraisals?

 He use a fairly basic 1-5 system to rate the employees on a number of different categories, and then gives an overall score to each employee.  5 is exceptional, 4 is exceeds all standards, 3 is for meeting the standards, 2 is needs improvement, and 1 is for unacceptable. 

13. Do you have employees do a self-evaluation and compare?

 He doesn’t do this every month, but about once a quarter or two times a year, Jim will ask the employees to rate themselves on certain things to get a sense of what they think of themselves.  This is a way to see if he is being clear with his appraisals and to see if they are on the same page as the employees. 

14. Do you do the evaluation by yourself or do you have someone in with you?

 This varies from time to time.  Because he meets monthly with his employees, he doesn’t always meet with another individual, but usually he does.  It depends on what they are going to be talking about and what position the employee holds in the company. 

15. How do you make performance appraisals a positive experience for those involved?

 He likes to keep it short and to the point.  He says that is the most positive experience he can provide.  Also, he is to the point.  He does bring up the things he appreciates about the employee and that they are doing well, but he also lets them know what needs to be improved upon. 

  

After having this interview, I realized that there is a lot that goes into an employee evaluation and the type of team or company will dictate the type or evaluation that is performed.  I think that I always assumed that there were just yearly evaluations and it was mostly to determine if there would be a raise or not.  The type of evaluation scale is similar to what I am used to seeing and what was discussed in our work this week, but obviously different companies look for different things from different employees.  I think that it is good to have a second employee involved in any sort of problem needing to be discussed with an employee.  Also, it nice to see that all employees have the possibility to reach the highest expectations as set forth by the company.  I like that there is a game plan and constant contact and connection made so the employee feels like the company wants them to succeed.  According to this sales director, “it is easier to keep an employee, than deal with the headache of letting them go and then looking for and hiring a replacement.”  Overall, I had a good time interviewing someone involved in the evaluation process at a company and learning more about it.  It is very interesting to see how different companies do them.  

Performance Appraisals and Problem Employees

At the beginning this unit, I expected to learn about performance appraisals and about how different companies do them. I expected to learn how to fire or let an employee go.

I learned that there are a lot of different things that can be done in a performance appraisal and the way that it takes place. I also learned that most of the time, nurses (and employees in general) are going to get the average score and not the highest ranking.  It is important that I don’t let an average score get me down and that I will use it as motivation to get a better rating the next year. I learned that Utah is an employment at will state and employers or employees do not have to give a reason for terminating employment.

I liked the multiple discussions that we had going for this week.  I learned a lot from my different teammates about their thoughts on performance appraisals and problems employees.  Choosing the greatest leader of all time is a very difficult one thing to do, especially coming to a consensus.  I never would have thought that when we are evaluating individuals that we are actually just comparing the person to the great leaders of all time.

I will be able to apply what I have learned this week to my nursing practice.  In the future, I will be able to understand where my manager is coming from when he/she gives me my employee performance rating. I will make sure to do all that is required of me in my RN position so that I'll be able to receive the best rating that I’m able to do.  It also gives me motivation in knowing what they are looking for, so that I can look for opportunities to increase my stock at the company in which I’m employed. 

I have learned a significant amount during this week.  I never knew what went into employee performance evaluation process.  I feel that it takes a lot to fire an employee which makes it nice that Utah is an employment at will.

Team Building Week

Before beginning this unit, I expected to learn how I can become a better team player.  I have learned that it is not nearly as much fun working on a paper as it is to be participating in an in class activity of team building with my classmates.  I learned that it is important to step back and let other people and their opinions be expressed.  There is more than one way to accomplish a task and the other opinions may be better than my own.

My feelings about the class activity was that it is not even close to the same when doing it outside of the normal class activity on campus.  As someone that has participated in this a couple of times now, I think that you are able to learn quite a bit more from activities such as those like this week than in normal class or anything online.  I would even say that if it is to be online, it should also be required to be online at the same time.

I will be able to apply the things learned from this week to my nursing practice by making sure that I'm an active listener, leader, and follower, depending on the times that each is needed.  I need to think about other opinions, instead of only looking at my own.  I will work to gain my co-workers trust and help them to know that they can rely on me.

I feel like this past week taught me a lot about myself and my team members.  I learned that we all have strengths and weakness.  We can put our coworkers in areas where they shine and help them to make their weakness strong.  Overall, I have to say that I wish I could have been there for the in class activity.

Interviewing an Interviewer

For my interview, I chose to interview a previous manager of mine, Jennifer.  She works as the Operations Manager of an attorney’s office.  She is responsible for all personnel and oversees the day to day operations of the company.  My team came up with 14 questions to ask during our interview. 

1. Would you prefer to hire a candidate with strong interpersonal skills or more experience?

Jennifer said that she would obviously like to have both in a great candidate, but if she had to choose one, it would probably be the strong interpersonal skills.  Those skills are harder to teach than it is to teach someone how to do a specific job. 

2. What length of commitment do you look for in a potential employee?

This would differ from position to position.  Jennifer stated that she would love to keep a team together forever, assuming they are hardworking and efficient, but she knows this is unrealistic.  She said she likes to get about a year or so from the majority of her employees.  For management, it would be nice to have at least two years. 

3. Can you give an example where a candidate's answer was too honest? 

She said that she didn’t remember the specifics of what question was asked to the potential candidate, but that he went off on a tangent about how it can be difficult to focus on work when he has smoked too much marijuana.  She said that she just remembers a very weird and awkward feeling in the room after he said that and then he realized what he had done and he said, “I guess I’m probably not going to be offered a job today.” 

4. How much emphasis do you place on an interviewee's attire?

“Quite a bit and not that much,” she said.  For Jennifer, it is not important the brand of clothing or those types of things, but whatever it is, it should be neat, not busy, and look like you care.  She said that this is a person’s first impression to their potential new job, and if they don’t look like they care at this point, what will it be like a few months from then, when they aren’t trying to impress anymore. 

5. What is your favorite part of performing an interview?

For Jennifer, the best part is meeting new people and interacting with people.  She also likes to do the interviews because she says that it helps her to feel a passion for improving the company that she works for.  She says that it is her way of making sure that only the best people get hired so the company will continue to be great. 

6. Do you like to take risks and give people that are not exactly what you're looking for, but show potential in other ways a chance?

Absolutely.  She has offered a number of people jobs that may not have been right for that specific position.  She likes to say that she hires the right person and then finds the right job for that specific person. 

7. What are some of your favorite questions to ask a potential candidate?

She said that she likes to ask questions that dive into a person’s behaviors and traits.  Some of the questions she likes best are, “How would you handle a customer complaint about you?  Give me an example of co-worker conflict and how would you handle it?  Describe a situation where you went against a policy or procedure because you felt your solution was better?  Why would you want to work for this organization?”  She said that these types of questions make a person think and the interviewer gets a glimpse of the person as they think about the answer and how they answer the question.

8. What kind of impression do you try to give the candidate at the beginning of the interview? Do you try to scare them, make them feel comfortable?

At the beginning of the interview, Jennifer said that she tries to help the person feel comfortable and welcomed.  She said that she has found that people respond better and open up more to this type of style that intimidation. 

9. How will you prepare to interview candidates?

She said that she has a few set questions that she plans to ask, but essentially, she just lets the interview take itself where it is going to go.  She does make sure to review their resume prior to an interview, and the other thing she likes to review is the job description of the job they are trying to fill. 

10. If there are two equally-qualified candidates for a particular position, how will you decide between the two?

If they are both equally qualified for a certain position, she said she might like to see if there is another position that one could fill.  But it would probably come down to the little things, like their demeanor, their interpersonal skills, and she said that she might like to call them both back in for another interview to get down to the “nitty-gritty” if it absolutely came to that. 

11. When evaluating applications, what will you look for when deciding who to interview?

She likes to see applications and resumes that are simple but still show everything that is needed.  She doesn’t like to see a lot of fluff.  Like before, she stated that this was a chance to make a good impression, so she wants to be a little bit wowed. 

12. Describe the best boss you ever reported to.

The best boss that she has ever reported to was one that allowed her to work and didn’t micromanage everything that does.  She knows that this is partly a reflection on her and the ability to anticipate and do things ahead of when they are asked for, so that her boss will not need to hound her for things. 

13. What are some "pet peeves" that occur during interviews?

According to Jennifer, there a few things that will completely kill a person’s chances of being hired.  To name specifics, she stated being late to the interview, using offensive language in the interview, and using the word “umm” too much.  She stated that an interview is the person’s chance to make a great impression and these “pet peeves” are deal breakers for her. 

14. Do you have anyone else with you while conducting the interview?

Absolutely.  She said that she always takes at least one other person, but and often times a couple of people.  It completely depends on the job that they are filling and the direct reports that are available to do the interview.  Jennifer said that she likes to get multiple people’s input on a potential candidate. 

Following the interview, I learned that the interview process is complex and a lot goes into it.  I liked how she used behavioral-based questions in her interviews, which are similar to questions I have been asked in an interview.  The qualities that she is looking for in a candidate are not unrealistic expectations to have of a candidate and ultimately an employee.  It was fun to interview someone about hiring that had previously hired me and then I worked under for about 4 years.  Overall, this was a great experience and insight into the interview and hiring process.