There is just ONE step you can take TODAY that will almost certainly guarantee the successful implementation of an EHR in your IDD service business. This way is to the fastest and broadest rollout possible. Read our blog to find out what it is!
INTEGRITY
Table Of Contents
Character Value vs. Survey Prep
How important are State Survey results? Since every Long Term Care provider’s deficiencies and citations are posted online (at https://apps.hhs.texas.gov/ltcsearch/index.cfm, in case you weren’t aware), service recipients and their families have access to important information about each provider’s process and performance failures. This factual information has an undeniable impact on the desirability of your company as a prospective service provider and the view others take of your personal integrity.
How far are you prepared to stretch your moral fiber to ensure that impact is positive? Is the appearance of a solid, high-quality program more important than the (not-always-perfect) truth? As a leader think about how you communicate the importance of your values to your staff. Do you reward those who may fudge their documentation a little to make the program look better? What message are you sending about the integrity of your business?
Defining Integrity
My working definition: Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody’s looking.
Integrity is a virtue; it’s the hallmark of a person who exhibits strong moral and ethical character. A person who has integrity lives his or her values all the time, in all relationships –with coworkers and clients, stakeholders and strangers.
Making Integrity A Fundamental Of Your Business
Honesty and trust are fundamental to integrity, so how do you make these characteristics fundamental to YOUR business?
- Keep your word
Remember when a man’s word was his bond? If you want to build a solid reputation you have to mean what you say and say what you mean.
- Keep your commitments
If you say you’re going to be somewhere at 2 pm, be there at 2 pm. If you think you’re going to be late or suspect your prior appointment might run over, be sure to notify. Being on time and honoring your commitments speaks volumes about your character and that of your business. Letting people down by failing to show up devalues their time and immediately erodes trust.
- Stay Focused
Remember your WHY – why you do what you do. Make sure that focus is evident to your coworkers and stakeholders.
- Surround yourself with honest people
Surrounding yourself with people with strong character is crucial for your company’s integrity as a whole. Make sure you’re not rewarding dishonest work practices, and don’t punish honest feedback!
- Take responsibility
Everyone makes mistakes. True integrity means admitting to these mistakes and not being afraid to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Employees respect leaders who aren’t afraid to take responsibility for their actions and make course corrections when necessary. Serving as a role model to employees lessens the probability that they’ll resort to covering up their own mistakes.
- R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Whether it’s your star Case Manager or a PRN Direct Care worker, a client’s family member or the person who calls to remind you of your dental appointment, your mother-in-law or the barista at Starbucks — people deserve your respect. Communicating respectfully with employees helps encourage them to respect the people you serve (and shows very clearly that you really believe that ALL people are deserving of respect and dignity).
Here at Focused Software we strive to prove our value, radiate integrity and give excellent customer service whenever and wherever we can. We all have opportunities to demonstrate integrity—or lack of it—every single day, not just during survey prep.
From Wikipedia: Integrity is the qualification of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one’s actions.
I recently experienced one such opportunity: A prospective customer asked me whether the Focused Software system would perform certain functions that she needed. These capabilities were the deciding factors in whether she would implement FS for her company. I thought that the software would perform the needed tasks and told her so. However, I also allowed that, as a relative newcomer to Focused, I was not positive and that I would speak to the developers and get back to her that day with an answer. After talking with the others, I discovered that one capability was missing. I called the customer and had an frank discussion about the limitations of the software. She appreciated the honesty and ultimately decided to go with Focused anyway (as she had been unable to find another EHR that did a better job in Texas).
What opportunities have arisen lately in your life? How did you respond?
Deanna Abraham
Account Manager, Focused Software
