Introduction
Mapleton Family Medicine is a medical facility that is faced with challenges in the quality of health services and the productivity of its staff. Patients in this facility have been complaining about the time it takes to see a physician. It is evident that the physicians are taking too long with the patients, which creates dissatisfaction among other patients. The constant complaints from patients are likely to affect the medical facility’s reputation. It would also lead to a shift to other medical facilities offering swift and quality medical services. The management of this hospital is concerned with the complaints and the quality of medical services, which seem to be deteriorating. As such, the company has come up with an idea to improve productivity among physicians while at the same time meeting quality standards. The purpose of introducing a new compensation plan might help to address the challenges of the facility. Still, the owners are unsure of the impact this new plan will likely have on physicians’ attitudes. Additionally, the new policy might be opposed or demotivate employees towards meeting the expected goals. As such, the facility is looking into expert advice on how a new compensation plan would negatively affect the organization. Additionally, the management is concerned with physicians’ reactions toward the new compensation plan.
Advice to the Owners
The company’s owners need to understand the potential impact of rolling out a new compensation plan in the organization. Management needs to understand how the new plan will influence employees’ motivation levels. The owners must first research the causes of the deteriorating quality of health created in their facilities. Getting to the cause of the problem is vital in developing countermeasures for addressing the problem. From the case, it can be noted that there has been a consistent decrease in the number of children being immunized at the facility. The number of people at risk of being vaccinated against pneumonia and flu has also reduced. The cause of the decrease could be a result of quality health care, but this cannot be solely blamed on the physicians. The management must get to the root of this problem and determine if it is related to compensation. In terms of employee productivity, management also needs to research the cause of reduced productivity that has led to persistent patient complaints. Understanding why physicians are taking longer to see patients and provide health services. Once this can be fully ascertained, then the issue of a new compensation plan should be considered (Fried, Fottler & Johnson, 2008).
If the company ascertains its problems are related to employee motivation, it should roll out a new compensation plan. The management should survey how the new compensation plan can influence physicians’ performance. The feedback will help to know employees’ views on the problems the organization faces. It will additionally set the pace on how compensation plans can be used to motivate employees to improve their productivity and the quality of services. Opinions and suggestions from employees need to be considered before rolling out the compensation plan. It will additionally provide a platform for making changes to the proposed plan to promote its acceptability and implementation (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2018).
Management needs to consider additional ways to improve the compensation plan. From the suggestion, the compensation plan is based on the number of patients a physician sees. The plan disregards the quality of health care, as it will base quality on the views generated through patient surveys. The compensation plan should be designed to allow physicians to see patients through other means of communication. It should not be based on the number of physicians who visit the facility. Sometimes, the physician will be forced to follow up with a patient through phone and video calls. Such efforts by physicians should be considered in designing the manner in which physician performance is evaluated. Developing a comprehensive compensation plan is vital in addressing the present challenges faced by the organization. An inclusive compensation plan that considers employees’ views would help Mapleton Family Medicine realize its productivity and quality goals (Fried, Fottler & Johnson, 2008).
Potential Negative Consequences
The new compensation plan is likely to elicit negative consequences among physicians. First, physicians’ motivation level is likely to reduce based on the reduction in base compensation. The management is considering cutting the base salary to 75% of the current salary received by physicians. The move to reduce the salary will negatively affect employees, who will experience a significant drop in their wages. Psychologically, people tend to be demotivated by actions that undermine their hard work. Physicians could end up providing poor quality services since they will lose their passion in this field. Physicians will lack the morale to serve patients and deliver quality health services to patients (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2018).
The other consequence of this compensation plan is the increased emergence of employee-employer conflicts. Management will likely find it hard to implement the plan since most physicians oppose it. If the plan were to be ratified through the signatures of the staff, then the staff would choose not to sign the new plan. The conflict is likely to affect the manner in which services are provided to patients. The new plan could lead to work boycotts and strikes in retaliation for the changes that the management would seek to implement. Some employees would consider not going to work and threatening to quit their positions. If employees boycott their services, the facility’s operations will be affected, and patients will be transferred to other facilities. The hospital’s image is likely to be tainted, and this would take several years to correct. The issue could escalate to a point where physicians had in resignation letters protesting the new rules aimed at overworking them in the name of compensation. If experienced and talented physicians resign, the hospital will find it hard to find experienced physicians in the job market (Fried, Fottler & Johnson, 2008).
These concerns should be addressed by first retaining the existing terms of service. If the facility seeks to improve employee productivity, it should not reduce its base salaries. The organization should consider retaining the current base salaries and introducing competitive pay for additional meeting the set targets. Retaining their salaries and rewarding them competitively for exceeding goals will improve their motivation. The resulting impact will be a reduced waiting time by patients and the ability of physicians to see more patients. The issue of conflict can be addressed through joint negotiations. The management should consider involving the physicians in developing a new compensation plan. The move to include physicians will ensure that an agreement is reached to prevent potential conflicts. Involving physicians will ensure that the compensation plan will be accepted, which, in turn, will prevent possible boycotts and strikes. Physicians will additionally remain committed to their work, and the resignation issue will not be witnessed. Entering into dialogues with physicians will prevent conflicts by agreeing on a compensation plan that will address challenges faced by the hospital (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2018).
Physician Reaction to the Plan
The new compensation plan will elicit diverse reactions from physicians. The physicians will feel that the management does not appreciate their services in the organization. The move to introduce a compensation plan that will require physicians to work to see more patients is a means of underappreciating the efforts of physicians in providing quality health care. Physicians will react to the new plan as a means for the facility to terminate their services. It will be felt that the management will resort to firing employees if they reject the new compensation plan. Some physicians might perceive the new move as a cost-cutting strategy to maintain high revenues. The varied reactions by the physicians will indicate their dissatisfaction with the compensation plan. Some physicians could react to the new plan to make more money. Some physicians could view the compensation plan as a way in which the organization will appreciate the efforts of physicians. Hardworking physicians will feel that the new plan will be more rewarding than the existing plan (Fried, Fottler & Johnson, 2008).
Physicians should be involved in the development of the new compensation plan. The contribution of the physician will enable the management to understand the various challenges faced by physicians that affect their productivity and the quality of health services. Physicians should propose new measures to address the challenges they face. They should additionally provide suggestions on the manner in which the compensation plan should be designed to motivate physicians as well as improve the manner in which they perform their tasks. Physicians can additionally come up with better ways to increase the number of patients they see on a daily basis. The move to propose the changes that should be implemented by the management will improve relationships with management and provide a platform for solving issues that negatively affect their relationships. Physician involvement in developing a new compensation plan will work to address existing challenges in the organization and promote good relations with management, which will lead to improved productivity and better health care (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2018).
Conclusion
The current problems faced by Mapleton Family Medicine could be related to the management of physicians. Some of the quality issues raised by the management do not require much involvement by the physicians. There seems to be a communication problem between the management and the physicians, which has led to decreased productivity. The management’s choice to introduce a new compensation plan might not be appropriate, as it would create division within the organization. The organization must solve its internal problems before involving employees in developing a new compensation plan. The new compensation plan should be designed to motivate employees to attend to more patients and improve the quality of health care offered at Mapleton Family Medicine.
References
Fried, B. J., Fottler, M. D., & Johnson, J. A. (2008). Human Resources in Healthcare. Mananging for Succes. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (Second ed., Vol. 53). AUPHA/HAP.
Ginter, P. M., Duncan, J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). The Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
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