Process optimization can go a long way in executing a large-scale EHR implementation for healthcare organization, but at the end of the day, what we’re really talking about are tools. Wielding the tools? People. You cannot overlook the importance of human resources when it comes to project planning for technical implementations. And while this might seem like Health IT Biz Ops 101, what we often see overlooked is making sure you don’t just have stellar people on deck, but that you have the right people in the right positions.
The Tricky Work Of Identifying Malaligned Implementation Personnel
An impressive skill set and glowing references can only take you so far if you, as a leader in your organization, don’t ensure that the person in the interview seat has the best possible traits for the job at hand. This isn’t just a “square peg in a round-hole” risk; those kind of gross mismatches typical surface and resolve quickly (if not ugly). What can be more difficult to decipher is when lackluster performance or consistent gaps in delivery are a reflection of a great EHR implementation project team member, but a poor fit for the tasks and responsibilities to which they’re assigned.
Sure, some employees or contractors will make it known when they feel a disconnect from innate talents and interests versus the work they’re spending many hours on each week. But more often than not, the desire to just get the job done and collect their check prevails. This is no way to live. Not for you as an employer and leader; not for your resource as a willing team member. If the goa
l of your EHR implementation project is to be successful and thrive, then you’ve got to do what it takes to ensure that the people driving it to release are thriving.
Personality Tests: Insert Eye-Roll Here
Team retreats and robust company culture mission statements may seem a little Silicon Valley for many of us. But there is a lot to be said for embracing the “Kumbaya” and implementing a personality assessment component when it comes to assembling your implementation team. Configuring, integrating, testing, developing, and training to a new EHR for a health system can be a massive undertaking with many moving parts...and all the personalities that come along with those parts. By adding the element of personality tests, even to well-established rosters, you will find that there could be lingering talents or passions that could serve your project better when discovered and encouraged.
On the other hand, this could also save you weeks to months of struggle when bringing on a new resource to the team who is great “on paper,” but would (via a simple online quiz or favorite internal assessment, such as the Unique Abilities test) surface as sub par on the detailed orientedness front (and therefore flop as a PM, for example). Gino Wickham covers this topic extensively in his book Traction, calling this appropriate alignment “GWC”: Gets It, Wants It, Capacity to Do It. You really need all three, in concert, to optimize your team’s performance and help your hospital or health system get the EHR implementation they need to thrive in their own right.
More on EHR Implementation:
- Harnessing The Opportunity To Do Better In The Midst Of EHR Implementation
- Maximizing The ROI Of EHR Implementation With Clinical Service Desk
- 3 Great Communication Channels for EHR Implementation Teams