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Deb Beaulieu |
"Buddy," our family's scout elf, is quietly making his naughty-and-nice observations from the comfort of my bathroom light fixture today. If you want to try to emulate the Elf on the Shelf magic with adults in your practice, you'll probably want to skip that location.
Think about how a brief visit from one of these omniscient characters could help your practice celebrate the holidays while improving productivity and morale at the same time. Here are some suggestions:
1. Celebrate what's "nice" about your practice.
As per North Pole rules and regulations, your elf can't speak (or move or survive being touched by a human), but you can place a notepad in your waiting room, inviting patients to speak for him (or her). In this twist on the often-ignored suggestion box, make the comments public.
To do so, create a festive display on a bulletin board or large posterboard with the heading, "Buddy (or whatever your elf's name is) says…" In this space, encourage patients write short descriptions of the nice things they notice staff or doctors doing.
At the end of the day or week, reward this praise with things, such as a pizza lunch or small gift cards. Even without prizes, this activity can help boost patient and employee satisfaction by highlighting and celebrating the things your practice does best. Consider allowing coworkers to contribute positive observations, as well.
2. Give gentle feedback.
Because no office is perfect, use your elf to dole out some constructive criticism. Although it's probably not appropriate to communicate about serious problems through a doll, a lighthearted elf note giving some customer service pointers or reminding an employee about an upcoming or overdue deadline might achieve results without making the employee feel reprimanded.
Use your judgment to decide when a face-to-face conversation is best to avoid misinterpretation. Be careful to avoid using this tool to convey passive aggression. Most often, the elf might provide a gentle reminder of something you and the staffer have already discussed.
3. Obtain a wish list.
And of course, make sure your elf is all ears to employees' and patients' wish lists. While you should always be tuned in to hearing what people desire from your practice, this exercise lets them dream a little bigger and perhaps provide more honest feedback. With this tactic, keep comments concealed and anonymous.
To do so, take your regular suggestion box or decorate another one with a slot at the top, and label it, "Send a wish to Buddy." Some of these might be tangible while others could be more abstract. They might not all be realistic--like the $5 million raise someone is bound to ask for.
As you compile your wishes, consider delivering on at least one around the holidays. When you place a bow on your office's new scanner or fax machine, be sure the card gives gifting credit to your elf.
If you try this technique at your practice, have fun with it. Depending on your practice goals and culture, use it in just one of the ways described here or come up with others on your own. Of course, be sensitive to the different ways your staff and clientele celebrate the holidays, and emphasize the spirit of warmth, giving, and most of all, listening, with this game. Please let me know how it goes! - Deb (@PracticeMgt)