Helping Employees Improve Their Image (and making yourself look good in the process!) Maintaining a professional image is critical to the success of any organization. While you may think everyone in your healthcare organization is a top professional, the way they're perceived by others may differ. When it comes to your organization's image, you need to ask yourself a serious question: Do your employees' actions, attitudes, dress, and communication send a positive image to the public, upper management, and/or others in your industry? To ensure that your employees are portraying a positive and professional image, you need to focus on the following four factors: 1. Communication Establish clear connections. Effective communication is paramount when it comes to portraying a professional image. A pleasant, confident telephone voice or the ability to make a good first impression are critical skills your staff needs to impress customers and the general public. Build your staff's communication confidence by focusing on their past successes. Encourage employees to regularly share their achievements in front of others. For example, if you know they hold leadership positions in a professional association or are working toward a degree, ask them how these endeavors are going, and tell them to share their news with the rest of the group. This will help them sell themselves, and thus the organization, to customers and patients who walk through the front door. You can also encourage employees to improve their communication skills by having them attend Toastmasters" an international organization focused on improving speaking skills in a supportive, non-threatening environment. 2. Appearance Appearance isn't everything, but it does mean a lot. Do your employees look like professionals? Remember, your company image is talking, even when your staff is not. Inappropriate clothing, unkempt uniforms and/or poor grooming can invalidate the individual and even the entire department or company. Keep an eye out to ensure that employees are wearing their uniforms correctly. Make sure employees are keeping them clean and wearing them properly (not too loose, not too tightly). Consider sending out a memo with a friendly reminder of your organization's dress code. 3. Attitude A good attitude goes a long way. Every single member of your staff, no matter what their title, does public relations work. This could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing, as just one unhappy worker or one with a bad attitude can debilitate your department's image. If you want staff to sing your company's praises, then maintaining high morale is key. Regularly encouraging feedback and validating employees' ideas are a few good ways to achieve this. Showing a genuine interest in employees' lives (their hobbies, families, etc.) is another way to keep them happy and excited to come to work. 4. Education Put school back in session. Healthcare is a constantly changing field. Providing opportunities and incentives for learning tells your employees that you care about their career, and it tells the public that you strive to stay abreast of the latest developments and innovations. Encouraging ongoing education may seem very basic, but it often slips through the cracks when budgets are tight. Bottom line: make training a regular item in your budget, and follow through. By helping your employees maintain a polished, highly professional image, you're helping them sell your organization to the world. And the best part? By doing so, you make yourself look pretty darn good too! "What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds." " Wayne Dyer Log on For Mental Health: Computers May Boost Seniors' Health For many seniors, staying mentally healthy may involve booting up: a recent study found that older adults who use computers have fewer depressive symptoms than those who don't. The study was sponsored by Village Care of New York, a not-for-profit long-term care provider. Researchers concluded that computers seem to give older adults a greater connection with the world around them. The study also concluded that the social and informational nature of computer practices (e-mail, chat rooms and health information gathering) are likely to be beneficial to an individual's overall mental health. The study was comprised of 206 adults over the age of 65 (mean age 80). These adults reported fewer depressive symptoms, regardless of how many hours per week they used the computer. Researchers did point out that these findings are among a highly educated group of older adults living in a small geographic area. At any rate, the news looks promising. So, if there are computers available for patient and/or resident use in your facility, encourage them to log on! "You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now." " Joan Baez Helping Patients Handle the Holidays Can you believe it's that time of year already?! The holidays certainly present a unique set of circumstances for those in healthcare. While most people are off work for the holidays to gather with family and friends, many healthcare workers and hospital staff remain at their posts. Indeed, few employees really want to be working on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Staffing is usually cut to the bone, and only the sickest of patients remain in the facility. Plain and simple, working the holidays is no picnic. But before you go throwing that pity party for yourself, take a moment to think about the people who have it worse than you: your patients. For many patients and residents, the holidays are no reason to celebrate. After all, many individuals at your facility don't have the "luxuries" that we often take for granted (going to parties, going shopping, visiting family, etc.). Below are some fun and creative ways to make the holidays more warm and inviting for your patients. * The more the merrier. The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends. So, encourage visitors. If you're a nursing home or long term care facility, consider hiring a Santa for the day. Residents can then invite their grandchildren for a day of holiday fun. * Sing it loud, sing it proud. Pick your favorite holiday tunes, and go room to room, caroling for patients" they will get a kick out of it! * Don't forget the tinsel . Capture the spirit of the holidays by decorating your unit. You can also encourage patients/residents to decorate their own rooms. Allow patients to have family members bring in a tree" they can get into the spirit while spending some quality time with their visitors. * Let them re-live the past. Have patients share their favorite holiday traditions. Perhaps they always decorate cookies, or watch a certain movie. Allowing them to participate and share in these traditions is very uplifting. * Recruit volunteers. Reach out to the community. During the holiday season, many groups and individuals are more than willing to donate their time and talents. Bringing in local bands, athletes, and/or comics are just a few examples that are sure to brighten up your patients' day. While you may not like the idea of working through yet another holiday, you can rest better knowing that you are truly making a positive impact on others' lives. Furthermore, by implementing the ideas above, you are connecting with the real meaning of the holidays: giving to others. Look for tips on how you can deal with your own holiday stress in our December issue. At the Nursing Home A man took his elderly father to a nursing home to check it out. He sat his father down on a sofa in the main aisle way and went to talk with the administrators. The old man started to tilt slowly toward the left. A doctor came by and said, "Let me help you." The doc piled several pillows on the left side of the old man so he would stay upright. The older man started to tilt slowly to the right. An orderly noticed and put several more pillows on his right side to keep him upright. The old man started to lean forward when a nurse came by and piled several pillows in front of him. About this time, the son returned. "Well, Dad, isn't this a nice place." The old man replied, "I guess it's ok, but they won't let me fart." |