New to HR? Seeking Clear Explanations on Key Terms and Soft Skills in Healthcare

Dear Friends,

I am someone new to HR but need to work with them all the time. I need help to understand these terms better. I would like you all to clearly explain the following terms:

1. Mission
2. Vision
3. Goals
4. Objectives
5. Service Standards (I would like to learn about 20 words that can be used to describe the service standards in a Health Care Organization)
6. Strategic Plans
7. Operational Plans

It is not that I am unaware of the meaning of these terms, but what I would like to do is to listen to experts rather than learn it from a book.

I would also love to receive and view contents and presentations regarding "Soft Skills" that pertain to employees working in an HCO.

Regards

You can search the board for the various words you have mentioned. About service standards in HCO, please see the following link: http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/health_sc..._Standards.pdf

Regards,
AVS

Dear Mr. AVSJAI,

I looked up the link. I downloaded a version of NABH standards for SHCO and a watered-down version of NABL document of standards. I have also looked through all the available 'similar topics' list. None of them seem to really answer my question. Most of them are below par.

I am actually an NABH assessor for Hospitals. One of the objective elements in HRM Chapter says that "All employees are oriented to the service standards of the organization" (HRM 2e). I instinctively understand what the service standard is regarding the delivery of medical and nursing care. The guidebook for this element advises the HCO to develop benchmarks for its services. In addition, it goes on to say that the HCO should also focus on the development of soft skills, viz. behavior, attitude, communication skills, etc.

This is why I wanted HR experts like you to come up with certain adjectives that could be associated with these characteristics. Probably it is a mundane topic, and not many are too interested!!

Regards and Thanks,
Dr. B. Krishnamurthy
MD DA FRCA
Chennai

Hi Murthy, please find attached the HR Dictionary for your reference.

Dear docbkmurthy,

I have tried to give a few of my thoughts which will give more clarity to you.

Mission: The mission simply answers the question, "Why do we exist?" The mission articulates the organization's purpose both for those in the organization and for the public. A mission statement is a brief description of a company's fundamental purpose.

Vision: The vision statement answers the question, "Where do we want to go?" A vision statement is a brief description of a company's direction in reaching specific times.

Goals and Objectives:

Goals and Objectives are statements that describe what your Vision Statement will accomplish, or the results that will be achieved. Goals are high-level statements that provide overall context for what the Vision Document is trying to achieve. Objectives are lower-level statements that describe the specific, tangible products that will be delivered.

Service Standards:

Value addition, value creation, empathy, health-cost benefit, patient's perception, lateral thinking in diagnosis, patient psychology, etc., are a few examples that can be considered for benchmarking. These were given at random only. As your needs are 'industry-specific,' give an example so that more factors can be explored.

Strategic Plans:

Very simply put, strategic planning identifies where the organization wants to be at some point in the future and how it is going to get there. The "strategic" part of this planning process is the continual attention to current changes in the organization and its external environment, and how this affects the future of the organization. Skills in strategic planning are critical to the long-term success of your organization.

Operational Plans:

An Operational Plan is part of your completed Strategic Plan. It defines how you will operate in practice to implement your action and monitoring plans – what your capacity needs are, how you will engage resources, how you will deal with risks, and how you will ensure the sustainability of the project's achievements.

Hope these inputs will be useful to you.

Regards,

AVS

Excellent! I am compiling a document aptly paraphrased as "Deft Definitions." I will post it once it's ready.

Service Standards in the Healthcare Industry

In service standards related to the healthcare industry, I was looking at words like "compassion, empathy, sympathy," and the like. Can you help?

Thanks

Dear Doc. Murthy,

I suggest a few characteristics that may be suitable for formulating standards:

- Conscious
- Consequences
- Consistent
- Courage
- Crisis
- Devotion
- Empathy
- Excellence
- Experience
- Hygiene
- Gesture
- Morality
- Multiple Intelligence
- Perception
- Pride
- Proactive
- Respect
- Silence
- Sympathy
- Understanding
- Tolerance
- Frankness
- Zero defect, etc.

Regards,

AVS

I have attached a list of definitions. I would love to hear your comments.