June 22, 2007

Inspiring discretionary effort

MGH leaders often desire to enhance the patient's experience at the hospital without knowing how to fully tap into one of the keys to achieving this goal — discretionary effort, which is the initiative, interest, motivation, dedication, commitment, enthusiasm and loyalty each employee possesses. Discretionary effort also is a critical success factor for managers, as it ensures that staff voluntarily express consistent responsiveness to patients and colleagues.

On May 30, the MGH Service Improvement Department, part of the MGH/MGPO Practice Improvement Division, hosted the latest session in its Service Learning Series, "Great Leaders Inspire Discretionary Effort," to provide managers and leaders with the tools to encourage their staff to practice discretionary effort. Guest speaker Susan Keane Baker, MHA, (seen at left) author of Managing Patient Expectations: The Art of Finding and Keeping Loyal Patients, taught participants a wealth of strategies for motivating staff to use discretionary effort so that patients and staff have the best possible service experience at the MGH. Keane Baker described methods ranging from identifying individual staff needs to quick recognition methods such as placing words of praise on a centrally located board.

For more information about the Service Learning Series, contact Cindy Sprogis, senior project manager for the Service Improvement Department, at csprogis@partners.org or (617) 726-1030.