Positive Attitude

As I travel the country working with HME companies of all sizes, it is clear that employees and managers have one thing in common: Their behaviors feed off one another. Moreover, managers often direct the manner in which the operation functions and set the morale/tone for their employees. So how does behavior impact the functionality of the HME organization?

First ask yourself, what is behavior? According to Merriam-Webster, behavior is the “manner of conducting oneself.” Another definition states “the response of an individual, group or species to its environment.”

Staff behavior is typically a response to that of superiors. In fact, most employees emulate and mimic the ways in which work is done by their managers or supervisors. From my experience in hundreds of HME companies, I've noticed a recurring theme: When managers have no spark, no burning desire to succeed, neither does the staff.

For example, in one company I visited recently, the billing supervisors didn't see the point in resolving open claims. They preferred instead to write off the receivable dollar because they felt their attempts might be futile. This taught me that if supervisors don't work their hardest to overcome challenges in meeting adversity, neither will staff.

Conversely, when managers feel a sense of ownership and urgency to get the job done, so does staff. Motivated managers breed motivated staff.

In today's HME economy, it is imperative that managers behave as the role models staff requires and deserves. Make sure your managers have the dedication and drive to succeed. Those factors, combined with the necessary technical skills, will allow them to get the job done.

Once you find key staff to develop as company leaders, you must provide training and expectations. This translates to setting realistic accountability measures for supervisors and managers. In turn, they must establish objective measures for their employees. These measures should come from a collaboration between staff and management to decipher what tasks the employees undertake daily and how long it takes to complete each task. The exercise will give you an opportunity to learn how each person works and what they accomplish daily. Further, it will enable you to set standard levels of performance and accountability measures.