Attention for the healthcare professional and client or administration?
Next to the care tasks, a lot of time is spent on administrative tasks, which are necessary for the process, but do not add any value for the client or care provider. Think of arranging care alarms, registering delivered care, adjusting time registration, purchasing materials or drafting care plans. Time that cannot be spent on the core task of the care professional; providing care to the client. A different approach and improvement requires a different view on care provision and thereby the delivery of added value in care.
How to increase job satisfaction (and retain your care professionals)
The happiness of the healthcare professional must be increased. To do so, it is important to focus on what the healthcare professional is good at, what gives them energy, and above all, what they enjoy doing. To increase the job satisfaction of your care professionals, you can address these three points:
- Engage the care professional on qualities
Care professionals want to provide care, they want to be there for the client and be of assistance to them. This applies to both planned and ad hoc situations. To realise this, it is important to have a suitable team composition, in which there is a correct distribution of tasks, functions and responsibilities. This is a team that consists of a combination of care professionals and professionals in other fields such as administration, planning/scheduling and knowledge of the ECD. This ensures that everyone does what they are good at and enjoy.
- Unburdening the care professional
The conditional activities to provide optimal care are carried out by the non-care professionals in the team. However, full coordination must take place between the activities of the care and non-care professionals. In this way, a care professional no longer needs to dwell on the what, when and where, but can easily be provided with information on when and where that support should and can be offered.
- Let technology ease the workload of the care professional
Assistive technology (domotics, robotics) indicates the urgency of the care requirement and the proper set-up of ICT resources reduces the administrative and coordination burden.
By taking up these three points, you offer care professionals the space to carry out the activities they are good at, enjoy and derive energy from. In short: increasing the happiness of the care professional!
Conclusion
Increasing the job satisfaction of your care professionals starts with ensuring that you have the right care professional in the right place, doing what he or she enjoys; carrying out the required and necessary care-related tasks. In addition, supporting activities, such as access to homes, supplying materials that are needed to provide care to and support the client, administrative processing and financial accountability are excluded from the activities of the healthcare professional. However, this should be fully coordinated. Technology (domotics, robotics and ICT tools) can support this.
However, it is not that simple. Increasing the happiness at work of your care professionals and tackling the three points mentioned above requires creativity and guts, because you have to think and act outside the box. Not only will the current working method have to be changed, but you will be one of the first to dare to work in a different way.
Want to know more? Put your question to our Principal Consultant Edwin van Putten, vanputten@bostec.nl.
Download the leaflet on the right.
