Boost healthcare employee engagement: Know what front-end revenue cycle staff want
Medical practices nationwide continue to face healthcare staffing shortages for positions in the front end of the revenue cycle (e.g., schedulers, receptionists, and referrals coordinators) that hit especially hard during the first few months of the year. This is when annual healthcare deductibles reset, and patient confusion about what’s owed and why is at an all-time high. It’s also the time of open enrollment when patients switch health plans. Front-end staff must collect updated insurance information, explain coverage restrictions, network status, and more.
Even one vacant position could set the entire revenue cycle management team behind. Two or more vacant positions only exacerbate the problem, adding a significant burden on existing front-end revenue cycle staff. Worst case scenario is a sustained domino effect of employee turnover due to poor people management. Still, patients need care. They can’t wait while a medical practice scrambles to hire enough front-end staff. Nor should they.
Ways to curb front-end healthcare staffing shortages
Instead of asking employees, ‘What can you do for us?’ forward-thinking medical practice managers ask, ‘What can we, as an employer, do for you?’ This approach to people management can make a significant difference.
What exactly do today’s front-end revenue cycle staff want and need? Of course, everyone wants to be paid fairly. That’s table stakes. Here are five additional things that can help elevate a medical practice employee engagement strategy:
1. Plan for long-term hybrid work. Not every front-end position requires onsite work five days a week. Some medical practices may be able to enable staff to work from home part of the day or part of the week, for example. A hybrid work strategy is all about thinking outside the box so staff can achieve a better work-life balance. This strategy should include ways to empower revenue cycle management teams to collaborate more effectively as well as ways to train revenue cycle managers to become effective hybrid leaders.
2. Internal mobility. Everyone wants job security, and many people also want the ability to move up within the medical practice and obtain new skills while also earning more money. Consider creating career paths that align business needs with front-end revenue cycle staff goals, interests, and skills. For example, a scheduler may aspire to become a medical assistant or medical coder. This is ideal in a medical practice facing a shortage of medical assistants. How can the medical practice support the employee in reaching this goal? Tuition reimbursement? Job shadowing? Other types of formal and informal employee development?
3. A sense of pride in one’s work. Some front-desk staff members seek employment elsewhere (even in non-healthcare industries) when they don’t feel fulfilled or challenged intellectually. One of the most effective ways to improve job satisfaction? Leverage automation to remove mundane, repetitive tasks that zap the joy out of working in a medical practice. For example, 91% of medical groups increased their use of online patient portals in 2023 to mitigate staffing challenges, according to a recent survey. Sixty-six percent leveraged self-check-in/kiosks.
These and similar patient engagement technologies enable front-desk staff to focus on tasks that bring greater job satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment (e.g., making patients feel welcomed, answering complicated coverage questions, or helping sort out a confusing medical bill).
4. User-friendly technology. The electronic health record (EHR) and practice management system can make or break employee engagement. In particular, lack of integration can be a source of significant dissatisfaction because it requires manual transitions from scheduling to encounters to billing. In addition, without the ability to generate comprehensive reports and drill down into the root causes of problems, front-desk staff may feel frustrated and even helpless at times. Choosing the right health information technology is one of the best ways to retain employees. This includes partnering with a full suite EHR and practice management vendor that provides comprehensive training as well as unlimited support and upgrades.
5. Recognition. Did a front-desk staff member go out of their way to comfort a patient who was upset after receiving a poor prognosis? What about someone who stayed late to accommodate a provider who ran behind schedule? Small gestures can go a long way in terms of making front-end revenue cycle staff feel valued and appreciated. Here are several low-cost ways to do that.
Conclusion
Front-end revenue cycle staff are often the first point of contact for your medical practice, which is why it makes sense to identify what they need and want and try your best to provide it. Doing this not only reduces staff turnover; it also improves the patient experience. Happy employees equal happy patients. Learn how edgeMED can help and be sure to check the Healthy Snacks blog for more expert insights, best practices and industry trends.
