My quest so far...

On the quest to achieving my goals, I ponder, I wonder, what it really takes to achieve success. Trust me it’s not an easy task! It seems the more money I make, the more bills I have to pay. Seems really never enough! Hoping to get that breakthrough, then I ask myself if I would recognize a breakthrough when I see one. Remember the client I told you guys about? Yes I have started work for her, got my first $300 check. That check was gone even before I got it! Seems like the world is waiting to consume every cent I get! I was thinking of saving to buy a house, be the middle class guy J thinking about it now I’m not ready to immerse myself into more debt. I have credit card bills, student loans, in total I pay about $700 a month on servicing debt (thank God my car is paid for).

I have a retainership with this new client where I get $800 a month for helping her with claims and administration for her small home health business. Guess it’s a good start. I just need to figure out how to manage my time more effectively. I worked 18hours the previous day, I work 7 days a week (not 18 hours daily though) I’m down with a cold and feel very feverish. Sometimes I just want to give up! I thank God though, I have a job and I can pay my bills. There’s a saying “be careful what you pray for because you might just get it” yea, very true. I just got what I have been praying for, but can I manage it? I’ll need to get an average of about 10 clients on a retainership that will pay an average of $800 a month before I can comfortably say I am running my own business. Right now, I would assume I am building capacity for that. Capacity in the sense that my body is adapting to the number of hours I need to work, I’ll become more efficient because I’ll be doing the same thing repeatedly and learn easier ways to manage the work load. 

I am not complaining, I am up for this challenge. I would look back and smile when I read this post a year from now. I continue to remain positive, learn from my mistakes, and surround myself with people who would encourage me. I want to believe I am on the path to success. Some of you are thinking about how this impacts my personal life. That’s another story for another blog :)

I’m at work this morning and it is 8.24am 09/23/2014. Wish you all a wonderful week ahead..

My Experience.... Motivating and Coaching Staff for Peak Performance

The Home Health industry from my experience has a high staff turnover rate, this is one area administrators try to figure out the right strategies to invest in employees that would be available in the long-term. Most administrators I have met come from a nursing background, most especially the African dominated Health Agencies. Some of them had to learn the hard way to become experienced in managing their employees others still cannot figure it out. There's a saying that if you “pay peanuts, you only get monkeys”. Another saying is that a “bird in hand, might poop on your hand” :) In a nutshell, investing in employees is as critical as investing in expanding your business. There are some critical factors an administrator should consider as he/she tries to make a success from achieving peak performance from employees
Culture
Organizational culture is spun out of the behavior of the owners of the business. If business owner who also doubles as the CEO is a man of integrity, precision, and shows professionalism in all his endeavors, this will be reflected in his employees. There's a saying that you cannot give what you do not have. If the boss of an organization lacks all the above, he/she cannot expect his employees to do otherwise. Building a culture is very important in developing and sustaining a small business. Most organizations do not see this as a critical part of sustainability.
Synergy
All units need to work together, and I mean together as a team to achieve a common goal. The administrator needs to ensure that employees understand that they would not be seen as productive individually but collectively. Let me explain. Payroll and PAS should work together and advice each other on more efficient methods of being productive, and not against each other, Caucuses should be eliminated at all cost amongst employees. 
Wages
What is the point investing time and money in developing an employee and he/she leaves the company when you need them the most. My experience has shown me that you cannot pay an employee what he or she deserves but you can be fair to that employee. The ones that buy into the long-term vision of the organization will stay, others that are there because of "who pays better" will go (look at the skill-will matrix). Please always ensure employees get paid as at when due!

Incentives
If you know in your heart that your company can afford it, please provide incentives for your employees. Benefits like healthcare, daycare coupons, paid leave, bonuses, etc. Employees need to know that their employer cares beyond just them getting their regular wages. 

Structure
When I interview prospective employees, first thing some of them ask is "how long have you guys been in business, what is the pay structure". Employees need to see a growth plan, they need to know where they would be in 5 years working for you. This will encourage some of them to stay and weather the storms with you. 

Effective Board of Directors
Majority of Home Health Agencies I know have all their family members on board. It's interesting that some of us want our employees to break our backs for us and we have already told them they would never be a part of the business! When you have a board that is not effective, you are only saying you are not accountable to anyone! It's that simple. 

Training
Let your employees go outside the office for relevant training in areas like leadership and not just on using medical record software! This will enable them to meet with other people, exchange ideas, and proffer better solutions to problems within the organization. They most especially become more effective in their jobs.

I guess some of you do not agree with me, but if you do not trust and invest in your employees just like you trust and invest in your family, you cannot build a sustainable business. You will have high blood pressure and work yourself to death!

My Experience... (2)

For those of you that read the first part of these series a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks.. Remember the lady that wanted me to help her with billing? She now wants me to help with restructuring her business! I know some of you will be wondering why she did so, after all I am only an amateur in the home health industry. Let me divert a little bit. A good education background most especially an MBA from a reputable educational institution does one thing to an individual, it opens up his/her mind to possibilities! It enables you to identify, analyze, and proffer solutions to problems from a unique point of view. I identify a problem and I think to myself: How..., Impact..., Next Steps.... In my everyday life, I have learnt not to focus on issues I cannot change but instead look for methods to manage or solve those problems.

When I took up the assignment to work for this client, I only had an idea of what her problem was. The first week was a disaster, all the claims I processed were rejected by the HMO. That did not deter me, instead I called my colleagues in the industry to ask questions. My client concluded I was not the "professional" she thought I was and was a bit agitated. I was honest with her, I told her I had not processed claims for the HMO in question for over 2 years and a lot had changed since then. She said she admired my honesty. A week later all the claims were processed and paid according to contract. She offered me the opportunity of helping her restructure her business from the bottom up. This opportunity I embraced with all my heart. Her reason was she admired my sincerity and my ability to deliver on my promise, which was that i would get the job done no matter what it takes.

I said in my last post that success is defined as a situation where preparation meets opportunity. This is an opportunity I have prepared myself for over the years. I take up responsibilities at work that are totally outside my job description. I work with the mindset of a business leader, wanting to acquire as many skills and tools that would enable me succeed in this industry.

Lessons learnt:

• If you are not a professional or well known in the industry, give your client the impression that you both need each other, it's a win win situation. She too wants to be part of your success story

• When you make a mistake, take responsibility and do not try to cover it up. One thing you do not want is a client not trusting you

• Be humble. Even if you know it all, give your client some credit for what she knows. After all she must know something to be able to start a profitable business

• Take time to analyze the situation and do not jump into conclusions. Discuss with colleagues your challenges, you will surprised that the solution will come from the least likely person

• Never discuss money until you have established the fact that you know the problems and have identified a clear solution. Some clients might take advantage of you in this instance but it's ok if they do, you have learnt something

I never work with people who lack integrity. Once I see there is foul play in the business operations, I walk away. You do too. Don't be penny wise pound foolish!

I am meeting with my client sometime before the end of the week and would let you know how things go. I hope I get some advice from some of you on how to proceed.