Post a(substantive) response to the following text:
Using the example of a governance team following a major change process, discuss a situation in which you were involved. Include the problem, the team members involved, identification of stakeholders, processes followed, etc. How effective was the team approach? What major challenges did the team face and how were they resolved? What could your team have done to be more effective?
Peer
I worked as a regional marketing director for a not-for-profit healthcare management company. The company managed several skilled nursing and continuum care retirement communities (CCRC). One of the CCRC’s, which was a not-for-profit and reported to a governing board, had many customer service challenges. As a management company, we managed the whole gamut. That being said the customer service issues were our fault.
My boss, the CEO of the management company, met with the Executive Director of the CCRC and the board. We needed and initiative. The real challenge was to create buy-in among the clinical staff. Census in the facility had been a challenge, due to many external factors, which were out of our control and led to many clinical lay-offs. This did not sit well with the staff and they were very angry, which led to upheaval. The board was upset as well and wanted answers. Customer service and care started to suffer, that being said the “We Care” initiative came to light, but before we incorporated this we had to get the board’s approval. I outlined my ideas and they approved it. I included the facility directors in the process, director of nursing, social service, admissions and marketing and HR.
It was my job to roll this out to 600 plus employees on all shifts. It wasn’t easy in the beginning. The training was mandatory, and all of the staff had to be present. I created a power points, led team building exercises, I ordered and gave out T-shirts, buttons, hung banners, held appreciation lunches and honored those who should have been honored long ago. This was truly exhausting, but these employees deserved this and so did the residents.
Most of the staff would not participate in the trainings, they would sleep in their chair, to prove their points, but I believe in working with employees and giving them the benefit of the doubt, so I worked harder, thus changing the course. Instead of educating them on the complete initiative, I educated them on the census crisis and how it has affected the revenue and how it could affect their jobs and the residents in the community. I asked them to come together as a team and then asked for their help. I asked them for their ideas, and wrote every one of them down. I took their ideas to the board, thus begin an incentive program. The incentive program would be paid out to that staff member for every referral they brought in and was admitted. In return, the census would grow and they would get their friends and staff back. It motivated them.
While I held the staff meetings, the clinical managers in my company rolled up their sleeves. They worked clinical shifts, taking care of the residents, and led by example, which gained the trust of the otherwise insubordinate staff. The CEO and Executive Director of the CCRC called the families and invited them to lunch/dinner and communicated the new initative.
This CCRC was in a small and rural community. Most of the board members knew one another and knew the residents and their families. This was close knit and we had to fix it, it meant our contract as well. It turned out that the initiative that was intended for the staff was for us. We had to show “We Care” for the staff to care. After many months of caring, we fixed it. The board was pleased.
Keep in mind posting, should be substantive based on evidence ( concepts, ideas, evidence-based research or practice which must be cited) and well supported with examples and details (from professional experience is acceptable, but must be substantiated with supportive evidence and cited appropriately [citation in text and a reference list). Brief responses and personal opinions are not appropriate .The response should meet a minimal requirement of at least a paragraph in length, A paragraph should contain at least three (3) complete statements.
APA HANDBOOK:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/