Lecia Scotford – Keep Your Business Healthy, Keep Your Patients Healthier

Lecia Scotford shares her methodology to success in the business of healthcare. The business of healthcare is complex, there are patients, and there is the business. The number one cause for businesses to fail is poor management. Healthcare evolves as we blink. Regulators, Electronic Health Records challenges and its costs, high cost for prescriptions, high cost for employees and high turnover, and lastly but not least, poor management. Add that to the very strict reimbursement system, and you have a soup of problems.

Lecia Scotford said, Leaders choose to not manage, and managers choose not to lead, however, they need to be led. Goals are important and communication a must.

Rule No 1. What is the big picture? What would you want it to be? How can you get there? What do you need to get there?

Rule No 2. Set clear attainable goals for your staff. Do not set them up for failure. Give them credit for their successes.

Rule No 3. “Trust but Verify”. Monitor the progress and provide feedback. Make sure you have open lines with employees and communicate as often as needed.

Rule No 4. Do Not Micromanage. You hired employees for their qualifications and skills, let them shine.

Rule No 5. Tweak your goal if you have to, but see it to the end> don’t ever start something you can not finish or see it to success. 

Rule No 6. Don’t be afraid to disagree or agree, for that matter, if the ends justify the means.  Help your employees become better, mentor them, don’t overshadow them.

Resources are extremely important. Be sure you have them, bodies, dollars, equipment. Use your creative thinking. The goals should always be, excellent patient care!

Oftentimes, during ‘hard times’ the first things managers do is lay off employees. My theory is laying off employees is the last thing you should do, and the first thing should be, try to figure out how to generate more revenues. There can be cost savings in many areas, so it is all a compromise.

Turnover has a huge cost attached to it. People do not realize that every time an employee leaves, it causes a disruption for the patients or operations. Then the cost of the new hire, and lack of performance during their learning curve. There is also training which is very expensive. If you manage to have a stable staff, you are a winner!

Work with your employees, not against them. Make sure they are given the help they need. Their success is your success. To know more about healthcare tips consult with Lecia Scotford.

The ‘work-life balance’ terminology is a new one that most employers are using as a checkbox of choices. To my surprise, people use that very loosely. For example, I asked a number of people what That meant to them. I had various responses. “don’t work too much”, “only work four days a week”, ‘See if you can get away with working as little as possible’ and so on. Not one,  gave me what I would consider an adequate response.  I am old school, and for me, if you can’t work, you ain’t balanced. This is really important when you hire employees, and while this may be a controversial issue, it is my opinion only. All these answers translated to me to ‘no accountability’. I believe in having quality time with your family, I also believe in being accountable at your job. It is probably one of the most important qualities when hiring, that is, if you want to keep your business healthy and your patients healthier. Lecia Scotford shares insight on “managing your business’ She achieved 15% net margin for 8 consecutive years and a 150% business growth.