Health Information Management

Understand individual needs to effectively motivate your team

HIM Connection, June 1, 2010

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Motivation HIM department staff members is important because it affects performance. It is the process of affecting an individual’s inner needs to work toward the particular goals the individual believes will satisfy those needs. Successful managers recognize specific needs in individual staff members and establish goals that enable them to meet those needs. This motivates team members to strive for goals set by management.

New managers may not have been involved in interviewing some team members and may not be aware of their life goals. Remember that one or more of them may have hoped to advance to the coding manager position but were not selected for it. Trying to understand what makes someone tick or what motivates him or her can be a challenge. A seasoned manager may be aware of individual team members’ goals. Similarly, managers promoted from within may be familiar with the life goals of their former peers.
 
Everyone has goals, sometimes with self-imposed deadlines. They can be professional goals, such as completing the health information technology training program by age 30 or passing the certified coding specialist exam by the end of the year. Often, they are personal goals, such as accumulating enough money to pay off a mortgage or pay for a child’s college education. Both are individual needs that motivate individuals to work. A manager’s goal is ensuring employees’ productivity during their tenure with the organization.
 
Editor’s note: This tip was excerpted from the new HCPro book, “The Coding Manager’s Handbook,” by Rose T. Dunn, RHIA, MBA, CPA, FACHE, FHFMA, chief operating officer of First Class Solutions, Inc. in St. Louis. For more information, visit HCMarketplace.
 



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