Change, Challenge & Opportunities - Correct Answer-As a supervisor, your actions can result in liability to the organization and to you
... [Show More] personally.
Experiences play a major role in becoming an effective supervisor.
Supervision requires good judgment and the ability to not over-react or under-react.
A healthcare facility is characterized by a rapidly changing environment.
Regulation of the healthcare industry, ongoing managed care mandates, restructuring of healthcare organizations, impact of technology, and ongoing social and ethical factors.
The Demands of the Security Supervisor Position - Correct Answer-Supervisors serve as the link between the higher levels of administration and the employees at the base of an administrative pyramid.
Physicians do not typically fall into the pyramid, a common complicating factor.
The supervisor is responsible to employees, his/her supervisor, to act as a connecting link between leadership and employees, and maintain good relationships with leaders and supervisors from other departments.
A customer focus and good technical and professional skills are necessary.
Basic Elements of Supervision - Correct Answer-Necessary skills:
Above-average leadership skills
Team-building skills
Good communications skills
Excellent follow-through on projects and special assignments
Regularly demonstrated interpersonal skills
The performance of the security officers you supervise shows your leadership ability.
The most important factor in being a healthcare security supervisor is honesty and integrity.
Suggestions for the Effective Supervisor - Correct Answer-Be flexible - adjust and overcome when things do not go as planned.
Have a positive attitude about your department, your organization, and your profession.
Be technically proficient.
Find time for professional development.
Stay abreast of changes in your local environment and the industry.
"Your ability to create constructive change can be the greatest single indicator of your supervisory performance."
Chapter 2
Supervisor Responsibilities - Correct Answer-
Organizational Structure - Correct Answer-The size of an organization often determines the security department's structure. The larger the organization, the more likely security will have multiple levels of supervision.
Having a champion for the security cause as close as possible to the top executive of the organization may very well determine the success of the department and, quite importantly, its funding.
Success in Supervising - Correct Answer-Your success as a supervisor depends on your ability to:
Make sound, value-based judgments
Be honest, fair, and ethical
Listen with genuine interest
Be accountable—especially when you make a mistake
Make tough decisions
Make timely decisions
Display personal and professional confidence
You must be balanced in the way you interact with staff, subordinates, superiors, and the organization.
Employees are security's most valuable asset:
Security officers make most of the critical (in-the-moment) security decisions in the organization.
Labor and labor-related costs amount to more than 93% of all security operating budgets.
Success in Supervising - Correct Answer-Trust has the most impact on one's ability to successfully supervise.
Advocate for your employees and do your best to put employees in situations where they are most likely to be successful.
As much as you are an advocate for the employee, you are equally, if not more, an advocate for the organization.
Most supervisory work falls into the categories of personnel and tasks.
Key Personnel Responsibilities - Correct Answer-Hiring the right people, training, and retraining
Giving recognition
Coaching and mentoring
Evaluating performance as an ongoing process
Taking disciplinary action and terminating employees
Dealing flexibly with employees' personal issues
Effective listening is key
Key Supervisory Tasks - Correct Answer-Documentation
Often, ability to communicate in writing determines an individual's success as a supervisor.
Scheduling
The schedule must, first, work for your organization and, second, be fair and equitable for your staff.
Budgets
Being able to justify staffing needs is important
Other assigned duties
A means to contribute to the growth of the department as well as your own personal and professional growth.
Policies and procedures
Investigations
Uniforms and equipment
Keeping an Eye on the Little Things - Correct Answer-Every one of us wishes we had a person to take care of the "little things" that affect us.
Schedules completed in advance, supplies ordered on time, etc.
Keep problems small - address them as they arise.
You will be respected for making a decision and standing by it.
Good supervisors do not happen by accident.
They are a product of hard work, tremendous patience, continuous learning, and a genuine commitment to staff.
Chapter 3
Employee Relations and Employee Appraisals - Correct Answer-
Employee Relations - Correct Answer-Employee relations are the employer-employee relationships that promotes morale, motivation, and productivity.
The goal of employee relations is to prevent and resolve employee problems that are a product of or affect employee work situations.
Management has the responsibility to provide employees with a clear interpretation of the organization's mission, vision, policies, and goals.
Monthly meetings promote effective employer-to-employee relations.
Employee Recognition - Correct Answer-Focusing on employee recognition develops an atmosphere that promotes teamwork, cooperation, innovation, and appreciation for individual and collective contribution.
Goals of employee recognition
Reinforce desired behaviors in the workplace
Improve staff morale and satisfaction
Increase productivity
Promote teamwork
Reward positive attitudes
Deter negative attitudes
Demonstrate value to the organization
Increase loyalty to the organization
Decrease turnover
Create satisfied employees who contribute to satisfied patients and favorable Press Ganey scores
Employee Appraisals - Correct Answer-The Joint Commission mandates that employee performance evaluations be completed and include the following:
(The Joint Commission 2006; HR 1.20, 3.10, and 3.20)
Planning
Determine if staff qualifications are consistent with the employee's job responsibilities.
Assessing Competence
Assess, demonstrate, and maintain the staff's competence to perform job responsibilities.
Periodic Evaluations of Performance
Employee Appraisal An Ongoing Process - Correct Answer-Observe the work being performed
Evaluate the results
Maintain records
Communicate with the employee
Train the employee
Observe performance again
Types of reviews
New hire appraisal, probationary appraisal, ongoing information review, and formal review.
The Developmental Appraisal - Correct Answer-A developmental appraisal uses traditional appraisal components but incorporates a structure of communication between the employee and management.
Focuses on development, emphasizes the organization's interest in employee development for retention.
Most importantly, encourages an opportunity to formally indicate the direction and level of the employee's ambition, without a rankin
Progressive Discipline - Correct Answer-Progressive discipline is a process of applying escalating penalties for repeated infractions.
Four principles of progressive discipline
Immediacy: Discipline should be immediate.
Known Consequences: The employee is made aware of the consequences of his or her actions.
Consistency: The employee experiences the same, consistent treatment each time a behavior is exhibited. Other employees experience the same, consistent treatment.
Behavior-driven: The discipline is based on the behavior, not the person.
Steps in progressive discipline
Verbal warning
Written warning
Suspension
Termination
Employee Assistance Programs - Correct Answer-Most of the workforce will face problems that will interfere with daily work performance.
A supervisor should know what resources are offered at their institution and how to access the resources.
Sometimes disciplinary actions take advantage of an employee assistance program to create an opportunity for improvement.
Employees usually are not required to participate in an employee assistance program as a condition of continued employment unless the services complement the corrective action process.
Chapter 4
Authority and Control - Correct Answer-
Formal and Informal Authority - Correct Answer-Formal authority is authority given to you by an organization to render decisions and perform actions related to your job responsibilities.
Informal authority refers to the "gray areas" in the range of authority. Informal authority is not granted by the organization, but developed by the individual.
Ability to exercise influence because you earned the respect and trust of others in the organization.
Best developed through courtesy and respect for others.
Chain of Command - Correct Answer-The chain of command is often described as an unbroken line of authority.
The empowerment model is characterized by a moving away from rigid management authority, toward open decision making.
Supervisors who exhibit delegation, team development, and self-management skills are the most successful.
The span of control is invaluable to a supervisor, as decisions are best made by those closest to the action.
Separates employees into levels.
A situation can break down if you take on more authority and control than you have been given.
Tools for Effective Management - Correct Answer-The security supervisor counts on several tools to effectively manage:
The authority needed to discipline
Input on who is assigned to the unit
A voice when staff are considered for promotion
The authority to require additional training
The authority to communicate to your own staff, including sending instructions, memos, etc.
The freedom to measure your staff's performance without interference
Training must be continuous for supervisors.
Becoming a Change Agent - Correct Answer-Businesses rarely succeed with sustainable transformation initiatives unless they are led from the top.
Understanding the scope of the task at hand and creating a model to measure the effectiveness of the change are key.
Styles of Authority - Correct Answer-Motivating subordinates to be productive members of the organization is your goal.
The style of authority you use usually depends on the situation at hand:
Authoritarian style: The supervisor is in total charge and is the enforcer in the department. You expect all subordinates to do as you order, without question.
Laissez-faire: A less structured, hands-off approach to supervision where employees set their own goals, make their own policies, and follow their own procedures.
Quality management is a group-oriented management style, the preferred supervisory style.
Successful Quality Management - Correct Answer-Successful quality management is to use the skills and abilities of your individual officers in a group-oriented management style, giving employees the ability to make decisions that positively impact their daily assignments:
Communication is open
Explanations are given and reasons are provided for policies and procedures
Employees have increased pride in their work and a sense of ownership
Eventually, productivity increases and the quality of work is higher
The Security Supervisor - Correct Answer-An inverted chain of command encourages supervisors to place themselves in the front-line, in the employees' shoes.
The nursing, medical, facilities, risk management, legal, and other quality assurance departments need to understand the capability of the security officers and the resources they have been given to create a safe and secure environment.
At any time, you may need and rely on external support from local, state, and federal authorities.
Beyond the supervisory responsibility to manage security personnel, you also are responsible for maintaining an orderly facility.
Influencing Others to Follow Orders - Correct Answer-Set a good example in following orders yourself.
Make certain that orders are clear, concise, and understood. Be aware that what to do may be understood, but how to do it may not.
Be thoroughly familiar with the levels and experience of subordinates.
Delegate assignments to those officers whose experience is sufficient to assume the assignment.
Focus on coaching those individuals who are unfamiliar with assignments to increase productivity and knowledge.
Conduct yourself in a professional manner that influences loyalty in others; in return, you develop subordinates' confidence so they follow orders.
Explain why assignments or orders are to be done. In
Chapter 5
Leadership - Correct Answer-
The Manager vs. The Leader - Correct Answer-Managers manage the status quo; they oversee a department or process to ensure efficiency and productivity. Leaders, on the other hand, go beyond that to create organizational change.
Managers maintain the balance of the operation, while leaders create new approaches and imagine new areas to explore.
Where managers act to limit choices by holding staff accountable to established procedures and processes, leaders work to inspire staff to challenge the established procedures and process and to develop fresh approaches to long-standing problems.
The essence of leadership is found in the leader's ability to move the department to a higher level of performance.
Characteristics of Good Leadership - Correct Answer-Hands-off management style
A good leader recognizes when to get out of the way to let people do their jobs and when to challenge them.
Focuses on staff retention and morale
Employees are not loyal to organizations, they are loyal to people.
Champions the staff
Work is personal and what happens to someone at work is taken personally.
Emphasizes accountability
While employees need to feel rewarded and appreciated for a job well done, they also must see discipline imposed for unacceptable work or behavior.
Actions of a Successful Leader - Correct Answer-Develops the Team: Develops a team of highly qualified officers who are jointly responsible for achieving the department's goals.
Creates the Vision: Constructs a crystal clear mental picture of what the staff should become and then transmits this vision to others.
Clarifies the Values: Identifies the organizational values and communicates these values through words and actions.
Positions: Develops an effective strategy for moving the group from its present position toward the vision.
Communicates: Achieves a common understanding with others by using all modes of communications effectively.
Empowers: Motivates others by raising them to their "better selves."
Coaches: Helps staff members develop the skills they need to achieve excellence.
Measures: Identifies the critical success factors associated with the group's operation and gauges progress on the basis of these factors.
Types of Leaders - Correct Answer-*The Transformational Leader:
Motivates others by using visionary, inspirational, and intellectually stimulating approaches and paying high attention to the individual differences among people.
Moral leadership style
Demonstrates how effective that individual is as a person and how well they are understood by others.
Subordinates who respect their leaders emulate the leader's style and actions.
The Transactional Leader:
*Adopts the belief that when people have agreed to do a job they cede all authority to their manager as part of the deal; and that the prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what the manager assigns.
*Bureaucratic leadership style
*Communicate and enforce rules
*Progressive leadership style
*Set objectives and then go about reaching them in an organized, orderly, and conscious way
Becoming a Leader - Correct Answer-Leaders should always endeavor to train their staffs to become good leaders.
An effective leader needs to manage time effectively and feel comfortable sharing power and authority with staff through delegation.
Effective leadership skills are not necessarily second nature. Rather, as a supervisor, you must learn them and put them into practice.
Wanting to be a leader and believing that you can lead are only the starting points on the path to effective leadership. [Show Less]