CMS FY 2022 Final Rule for Skilled Nursing Facilities

Annually, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services update regulations to Medicare payment policies for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). Reviews and updates of the regulations account for patient-care-related payment adjustments, inflation factors, and wage index adjustments.

The CMS FY 2022 final rule included updates for Medicare payment policies and rates, SNF quality reporting, and the SNF Value-Based program. This final rule allows SNFs to continue to focus on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic with streamlined requirements and regulations. 

Many of the changes made in the CMS rule have a minimal impact on many organizations. But, it is important to be aware of any changes that are impacting an organization and its fiscal health. 

Below you will find our key observations from the CMS final rule for skilled nursing facilities. 

Key Observations

• CMS confirmed payment increases by 1.2% for SNFs. This will result in an estimated $410 million increase in payments compared to last year. 

• The SNF quality program had minor changes. Changes included the introduction of two new quality measures. 

• The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) did not have any changes. 

• SNF readmission rates will still be calculated but will not be used to score facility performance for the FY 2022 Value-Based Purchasing program. 

• Introduced Part A billing exemption for blood clotting factors and related services and items.

Need help understanding how the CMS final rule might impact your skilled nursing facility?

The team at MCA is here to help!

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For more detailed information on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid FY 2022 final rule for skilled nursing facilities, you can download the full rule from the Federal Register. Or, check out the CMS fact sheet.

Overview of the CMS FY 2022 Final Rule for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs)

Market Basket and Payment Update

CMS has set the market basket rate for FY 2022 at 2.7%. This rate update increases payment by 1.2%. Resulting in an estimated increase of $410 million for Medicare Part A payments to SNFs. The rate increase includes a forecast error adjustment of 0.8% and a productivity adjustment of 0.7%. These are subtracted from the market basket percentage.

Consolidated Billing

To account for the exclusion of certain blood clotting factors, CMS finalized a reduction of the Medicare Part A SNF rates. Additionally, the final rule did include added HCPCS codes that were not included in the proposed rule. These codes are billed separately under Part B when associated with a SNFs Part A resident. CMS finalized a $0.02 in the adjusted urban and rural rates to reflect the exclusion of the blood clotting factors.

Find more information about the excluded codes on the SNF Consolidated Billing website under our resource section below.

Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM)

CMS determined that the PDPM had paid approximately 5% more in FY 2020 than it would have under the previous payment model. CMS had noted that a recalibration of the PDPM parity adjustment is needed. They proposed various methodologies in the proposed rule. It was determined that no changes to the PDPM will occur for FY 2022. Instead, CMS intends to propose recalibration methods on the FY 2023 SNF PPS Proposed Rule.

SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program

The final rule acknowledges that COVID-19 has impacted the readmission measure and resulting performance scores. Because of this, CMS will continue to suppress the use of SNF readmission measure data for scoring and payment adjustments in the SNF value-based purchasing (VBP) program. 

CMS confirmed that SNF readmission rates will still be calculated. But, the score would not be used to rank SNFs, score facility performance, or calculate the incentive payment. Instead, all SNFs participating in the VBP program will receive a score of zero regardless of their performance. To compensate for suppressing this score, CMS plans to reduce each eligible SNFs adjusted federal per diem rate by 2% and return 60% of the withhold as their incentive payment. This results in a 1.2% payback to the SNFs.

CMS does plan to report the FY 2022 SNF readmission rates noting the data limitations due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Quality Reporting

CMS confirmed that the SNF quality reporting program (QRP) will continue as a pay-for-reporting program. Additionally, any SNFs that do not meet the reporting requirements may be subject to a 2% reduction in their annual update. 

CMS finalized the adoption of two no measures for FY 2023.

• COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel Measure –  CMS has determined that it is important to assess whether SNFs are taking steps to reduce COVID-19 transmission. This measure requires facilities to disclose healthcare personnel vaccination data to the CDC and National Healthcare Safety Network. 

• Skilled Nursing Facilities Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Outcomes Measure – This risk-standardized measure is being implemented to help identify facilities that may see higher rates of infection in the event of another pandemic. This is a claims-based measure so no additional data will be required from the SNFs. 

CMS also finalized updates to the Transfer of Health Information to the Patient – Post-Acute Care Measure. For this measure, the denominator will exclude residents discharged home under the care of an organized home health service or hospice. 

How can we help

We recognize that the CMS final rule changes can have a broad impact on your organization. The information and breakdown of the CMS final rule is our summary. It is our goal to ensure that all our clients remain informed of any changes that may impact the financial health of their organization.

Should you have questions about the CMS final rule, we’re always here to help. But, we also encourage all our clients to review the final rule with their legal and compliance teams. This helps to ensure you’re applying these decisions to your organization appropriately.

At the end of the day, we strive to provide you with information and support. So, if there is anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to reach out.

Contact MCA

Resources

FY 2022 Skilled Nursing Facility PPS Final Rule

FY 2022 Skilled Nursing Facility PPS Final Rule Fact Sheet

Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program

Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program

Patient-Driven Payment Model 

SNF Consolidated Billing  

 

The phone is ringing, your to-do list is piling up, and your employees need support or direction. You are being pulled in multiple directions. And admittedly, you feel a little overwhelmed at times. Sound familiar?

Running a business office is not an easy task. You are responsible for many important operations within your facility. You rely on solid leadership and a strong team to make your department run smoothly. But, how often during your busy day do you reinvest in yourself and your team to build a stronger, more efficient office?

Investing just ten minutes once a week on development for you and your team can have a major payoff. Whether you need to enhance communication, build a more cohesive team, or improve leadership skills here are eight areas to focus on to build a high functioning business office team.

8 Focus Areas to Help Improve your Business Office

Communication

Effective communication in the workplace helps to set a solid foundation for the success of any team. Communication helps to promote innovation and creativity amongst employees. Additionally, employees are more productive, happier, and more loyal to the company when appropriate communication is leveraged within their team.

Evaluate your communication and learn more about how you can revamp your team’s communication. 

Managing Different Generations

Most employers today have four to five different generations represented in their workforce. Managing employees from different generations can present many challenges including work style, communication styles, and technology knowledge.

A multi-generational workforce can also present many opportunities. Consider how you can optimize the strengths of each generation and harness the power of innovation and collaboration. Discover management skills that will help you embrace the strengths of each generation on your team.

Training

Research has shown time and again that employees stay where they feel the most valued and challenged. Improving employee retention rates can be directly impacted through training programs that reinforce the value of your employee. Non-traditional training programs help employees to grow their skills while also feeling challenged and valued. 

Professionalism, interpersonal, diversity, and skillset training programs can all benefit your employees. Whether you are looking to invest in new training programs or are ready to expand your employee training, learn more about unlocking your team’s potential.

Workplace Modernization

Is your office stuck in a sea of beige cubicles from the 1990s? Has it been a while since your workspace has seen a facelift? It might be time to consider some ways to modernize your team’s workspace. Modernizing your workspace is about more than the wall color, desk arrangement, or even technology. It is about demonstrating the importance of an optimal workspace so that your team can be the most productive during their time at work.

When evaluating how best to modernize your workplace consider aesthetics, technology, flexibility, and data to best utilize your budget. Learn more about these areas and more to enhance your workplace.

Coaching

When thinking about coaching in the workplace most people think about the manager to employee coaching. However, coaching can come from all areas and levels within the workplace. It is important to be able to coach your peers, your employees, and your management. In addition, it is equally as important to be coachable. The importance of developing coaching skills for all levels of your team is critical to your group’s success. 

Dust up on four areas to help you be a better coach as well as be coachable. 

Building a Forever Team

Every manager dreams that the team they build will stick around forever. That their hiring and retention practices are so finely tuned that their employee turnover is low. The reality, on the other hand, sometimes just isn’t the same. Building your forever team takes a great deal of time, skill, and practice. 

It is never too late to evaluate opportunities for improvement in your hiring strategies. Review these six steps that can help you hire your forever team.

Keeping Your Team

Now that you have brushed up your hiring practices and found your forever team...you need to keep them! Retaining great talent goes beyond financial compensation. Employee retention is inclusive of training programs, compensation, management, and initiatives. Additionally, keeping a great team is about ensuring you have all the right kinds of players on your team. 

If you are tired of turnover and looking to keep your team, review these three methods to help improve employee retention. Also, consider taking a step back and reviewing your team to ensure you have all the right players. Learn more about the different types of people that help to make up a great team. 

Goal Setting

Goal setting is one of the most difficult tasks that employees are asked to do. Sometimes your goals might be hard to measure. Or, perhaps your goals feel misaligned with the organization’s priorities. You might even feel discouraged because you have tried to set great goals in the past but ultimately not achieved them.

Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals takes a great deal of practice. Honing a goal down to be achievable takes trial and error. And, your ability to set SMART goals as a manager helps your team be more productive. Additionally, as a manager, you will be able to lead your team in setting and achieving their goals. Get started on refining your goal-setting skills with these seven tips.

Investing in your managerial skills and the skills of your team can have a major payoff. Productivity, stability, and happiness amongst your team are all possible when you invest in development for all roles and levels. 

Not sure where to start? Are you struggling to hire the best team or does your workplace need a facelift? There isn’t a specific order to these tips. Begin by reviewing the eight focus areas and decide where your team needs the most support. Then dive in! Each area has more details linked to help get you started. Keep in mind that, executing on all of these areas well will have the biggest payoff for you and your team. But, tackle one area at a time. Ensure that your efforts are paying off before introducing additional changes. 

Need more help to ensure your business office is running smoothly? Send us a note today at info@mcaskilled.com to let us know how we can help!

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What Daily Updates Can Do for Your Medical Billing

How often do you (or your billing team) check on the status of all of your claims? If you're like most billers then you're probably checking on them at least weekly. 

In fact, if you're like most billers you probably are checking them right after you post remittance advices.

It's no doubt this process helps you (or your billers) save time by focusing only on what has not been "Paid." 

On the other hand, this follow-up process may be resulting in your claims (and payments) being delayed beyond the 30-day mark.

Additionally, claims take tremendous time to review and re-work.

1. You have to call or check the payer(s) portal
2. Take down the denial reason codes
3. Locate the claim 
4. Make the appropriate correction(s) in order for the claim to be re-processed

This full process can take several hours (if not days) to complete.

No one should have to spend this much time researching denials. 

And, if your billers have other duties they may have to push back working these denied claims until they have more time to review the denials and take the appropriate next steps.

Wouldn't it be great if you had a system that did all of the updates for you and provided the "Next Step" at the same time?

I'd like to introduce our solution - REVEX!

REVEX is an interactive (HYPER AUTOMATED) aging report. Our platform allows billers to work their aging reports without the unnecessary steps of checking claim status with the various payers.

How it works.

REVEX is supported by both professional medical billers and HYPER AUTOMATION technology. With this careful blend of human interaction and technology, we are able to provide daily updates on all of your claims.

You may be asking, "What value would daily updates bring to my billing?"

Daily updates will allow you to make well-informed decisions on your claims.

• For example, if you were a biller who waits until you post a remit to begin your denial management process then you might not start correcting claims until about 7-10 days after the claim was originally submitted.

• With the daily updates, you can identify the claims that were immediately denied and correct these at least 3-4 days earlier than before.

This, in turn, allows you to accomplish 2 things:

1. Reduce claims from rolling over each month.
2. Plan out your follow-ups more effectively.

The claim data is organized using our frameworks so users can easily navigate and address their open claims.

In doing so, your team can now save up to 50% of their work week.

Imagine having 50% of your time freed up to work on more fulfilling duties. Wouldn't this time be useful for you? 

Your next step: Schedule a call with one of our REVEX managers. During the call, we can discuss exactly how REVEX can help you and your organization.

 Please feel free to comment your questions!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates right above this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

How 5-Minutes Could Save You $75K in Annual Cash Flow

Every medical business office knows that it takes time and energy to complete the claims collection process. You have to login to each portal, or call every insurance in order to get an update on your claims. Then, you have to record all of the updates so that during your next meeting with the rest of the business office you are able to present the status of the accounts receivable (AR). 

If you are like most medical billers, your responsibilities include:

Enriching

• Solving resident or resident’s family problems
• Ensuring the care and safety of your residents
• Ensuring the financial health of your skilled nursing facility

Mundane

• Entering Charges
• Posting Payments
• Submitting claims
• Claim Status Follow-Ups
• Corrections/Denial Management
• Monthly finance meetings
• Month End Close

As such, it is likely that you must schedule your follow-ups around these other responsibilities. In addition, if you are like most billers then your primary focus is addressing the resident’s concerns. This means that you push your follow-ups until you have posted the remits or before the next month end close.

Now, let us say you have planned to follow-up on the claims for next Tuesday. You wake up, head into the office, pour yourself a cup of black coffee, sit down at your desk, download aging report, pull up your notes and begin to plan your follow-ups. 

You decide that you will be checking your Medicare claims first. Just as you are about to log in to the portal your MDS coordinator walks in and needs your help. For the next thirty minutes, you attend to their needs. 

You get back to your desk, and your coffee is cold. You have to go heat it up. You sit back down and log in to the Medicare portal. You enter in the first member number and dates of service. You locate the claim and start to record the status. The phone rings – it is a resident’s family and they need your help with understanding their statement. For the next sixty minutes, you review their questions and relieve their concerns.

Again, you sit back down and because of the inactivity, you need to log back into the Medicare portal. In addition, your meeting with the therapy department starts in the next thirty minutes. You know that you need to get your notes updated but you do not have enough time to login, check each claim, record the statuses before the meeting begins. Now you are in business office limbo.

You have your meeting and decide to resume your updates. You log back into the portal, and you forgot to record the first update from earlier in the morning. You re-record your notes. You repeat this over the next several minutes. The phone rings – again. Another family and another fire to put out. 

By the time you finish this call, a pop-up appears on your screen. It is the reminder that the finance meeting is tomorrow. You need to have updated notes ready for tomorrow’s meeting. You need to look prepared for your presentation. 

Throughout the day more distractions and disruptions occur until it is time to go back home. You realize you will not be prepared. You need a glass of wine (I would recommend a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, 2014 was a great year) in order to relieve your stress and frustration.

What I have described is the typical business office manager/biller’s day. When compounded, the business office follows the path of disruption --> stress --> confusion and/or frustration. The result – the facility’s accounts receivable grows until it is no longer collectable and you must write off the balance.

If you are a biller, business office manager or an administrator then you deserve a solution that will help you eliminate disruptions, prevent your AR from growing and allow you to stay focused on your more fulfilling responsibilities. 

As you read this article, I want you to imagine still being able to drink that glass of wine – not in frustration but in relaxation. Specifically, I want to share with you the benefits of our application, which allows you to bypass distractions and never have to worry about your AR growing again. 

REVEX Application

The REVEX application is a cloud-based software that allows for seamless communication between billers, payers and the business office. This means you have a simple and interactive AR portal that allows you to retrieve claim status information in one location – rather than having to synthesize the information across multiple platforms and billers. That is what makes our application unique; it integrates the complexity of automation with the reliability and talents of skilled medical billers.

First, we have over thirty billers on staff to address specific payers. This allows us to help you fix claims should the need arise. 

Second, we incorporate hyper-automation into the claim follow-ups. The hyper-automation design reduces the burden of mundane and repetitive tasks such as logging into a portal, updating notes and so on [1].

By blending these two items together, we are able to streamline the follow-up process, which allows our team (and customers) to focus on their core responsibilities.

How we use it to tackle the mundane

Most billers underestimate the actual time it takes to check on claims, correct claims and document their follow-ups. In many instances, very few of us (myself included) have ever really taken the time to record how long it takes to flip between screens, save notes, etc.

Although flipping through screens may only take a few seconds – these seconds build up over time. If you have one hundred claims you need to update then you may budget about two hours to check the status and update your notes. Add in all of the disruptions and those two hours are spreading out throughout the day. 

Therefore, we decided to design our hyper-automation program ROXY (we named her ROXY – because of how she ROCKS at updating claim statuses) to take on the preliminary follow-ups.

For example, let us say we have one hundred claims to check with Medicaid. Once I hit the “run update” ROXY will review the corresponding notes, check the claims and record a new note – all in a few minutes. So, instead of me spending anywhere between sixty to ninety minutes checking on these claims ROXY achieves this in a fraction of the time.

The Advantages of Hyper-Automation

The first advantage of hyper-automation is that it increases the accuracy of the follow-Ups. Once you define the steps, ROXY must follow each of them in order to complete the updates. This means that each account will be updated exactly the same way and reflect the information available in the portal. 

• For example, every claim reported in the PAID status on the insurance portal contains a unique claim number and EFT number. These numbers can be fifteen digits long. ROXY will make sure each digit is transposed exactly as it is in the portal.

Additionally, ROXY has a database of automated responses. This means the notes will be free from typos and clerical errors and guarantees the information recorded in the notes will match the information from the portal.

Likewise, ROXY has a built-in database of notes to use based on the situation. For example, if a claim denies then ROXY’s note will be different from a claim in the PAID or PENDING status. This means that regardless of the day or time of the update you can be sure your notes reflect the exact claim status. 

• For example, if the Medicare portal indicates a claim is being denied for invalid qualifying hospital stay date then ROXY will add the built-in response (Next Step – Claim denied for invalid QHSD. Need to double check with Admissions/Medical records for hospital dates).

Fourth, hyper-automation allows you to continue working on your other responsibilities. As we mentioned previously, as a medical biller you have other responsibilities and these usually conflict with the time needed to complete the updates. While ROXY runs through the updates, you can focus on your more fulfilling responsibilities – like addressing resident questions, entering payments or leading meetings with the finance committee. 

Why Automation is Critical to the Follow-Up Process

Did you know that 5% of claims, on average, are denied each month? Likewise, did you know that most skilled nursing facilities will write-off about 1-3% of their accounts receivable each year because of these monthly denials[2]? As an example, if a facility has $210,000 in monthly charges this means a facility will plan to write-off $75,000 by the end of the year.

The primary reason for the write-offs boil down to one critical component – not having time to correct or resubmit claims. 

The standard work-month in skilled nursing is as follows:

• By the second business Day – submit Monthly Medicaid Claims
• By the fifth business day – submit the Part-A and Part-B claims
• By the tenth business day – complete payment posting and month end close.

As a result, the typical business office manager usually will dedicate a few days to follow-ups. Generally, these follow-ups will take place right around month end close or after they post payments to their patient management system.

The problem; however, is that by waiting until they have posted the payments they are missing the opportunity to address the claims earlier in the payment schedule.  In addition, the new month’s billing cycle will be starting on top of trying to address any of these denials. 

With hyper-automation, and the REVEX application, you are able to run multiple updates throughout each month to pinpoint the claims that you need to address. This will allow you to correct or resubmit claims earlier and prevent your AR from rolling over month-to-month. Imagine having an extra $6000 each month. 

How does life look like after hyper-automation?

You are happier! All kidding aside, your life will include a cleaner AR report. Instead of waiting until the remittances are posted you will be able to run an update and re-work the claims earlier in the process. This will allow you to prevent unnecessary write-offs for untimely filing.

You will have less frustration. Instead of being pulled in multiple directions and unable to maintain focus you will be able to reinstall direction to your workflow. All you need to do is allow REVEX to complete the status updates, and complete the next steps on any denied claims. You can even have REVEX fix any denied claims for even more maximized efficiency.

You will have a more efficient and accurate process. Instead of manually checking each claim, flipping through multiple screens and recording your notes one at a time you are now able to simply log in to the REVEX application and read your status updates.

In sum, REVEX supported through the careful blend of automation and skilled billers will allow you to have clarity in the next steps you need to take to keep the AR as clean as possible. All it takes is five minutes – you click update, and five minutes later, you can have all of your accounts updated. With your accounts automatically updated you can save $75K in write-offs and endless headaches. 

Please feel free to comment your questions!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates right above this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

[1] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/robotic-process-automation-rpa.asp 

[2] https://managemypractice.com/the-right-way-to-do-write-offs/ 

The 7-Steps You Need to Take to Achieve Your Goals!

 The 7-Steps You Need to Take to Achieve Your Goals!

Have you ever set a goal that you didn’t achieve? Have you ever imagined a better future but weren’t sure how to get there? Whether you have professional or personal goals, all of us have set out to improve our livelihoods.

The real problem; however, is that many of us have a hard time in setting proper goals and taking the actions needed to achieve them.

If you struggle with defining proper goals or need a framework to help align your goals, then continue reading today’s blog. I’ll be sharing with you 7-steps you can take to develop your goal achievement process.

As you read today’s blog, I invite you to imagine how successful you want to be. In fact, by the end of the blog, my goal for you is that you grab some paper, a pen, sit at a desk and begin drafting the future you. 

1. Assess Your Current Reality.

The first step to setting your goals is to assess your current reality. This step involves being honest with yourself and thinking internally about how you work and learn best. The first set of questions you should ask are what are my strengths and weaknesses. As you start to sift through what you do well you should begin to see how your strengths deliver things that bring people value [3]. 

Additionally, you should assess your reality by addressing these questions:

• What are your what current level of skills?
• What are three of your core responsibilities [2] ?
• Is my organization ready for change [2]?
• What resources are currently available?

[1] The answers to those questions will help you identify areas you either need to address or help explore opportunities that improve your well-being. Likewise, they will help you consider where you fit within those trends and how you can take them to address your customer’s (or your boss’s) needs and expectations.

As you finish this step, your objective should begin developing a plan that expands on your strengths and improves on your weaknesses.

2. Visualize the Future You Want to Create.

One of the best ways to set goals is to imagine what life looks like after you achieve those goals. Goal setting requires you to make choices based on how best to use your existing resources. In addition, it requires you to consider the future and develop strategies to help you achieve the future you want for yourself [3].

Several articles, sermons, and discussions have alluded to having the “rocking chair” moment. This is the moment where you are outside on a nice warm summer day, sipping lemonade, in your rocking chair and looking back on all of your accomplishments.

It’s where we all want to be. To know that we have done well and that because of our focus we were able to achieve our goals and dreams.

That said you would want to take the trends you found in our first point and apply them to building your plan and how you will create a positive outcome. Look at the bigger picture to understand what you are trying to achieve [4].

In this step, what’s important to remember is that you should be creative and use your imagination. You need to take risks in this step. You should not be burdened by the need of guarantees and safety. More importantly, you’ll want to picture what you’d see if you were successful in advancing in all three of your core responsibilities [2].

3. Set Your Goals.

Once you know where you want to be you’ll be ready to set the goals that help you get to your “rocking chair” moment. One of the most commonly use goal-setting practices is the SMART method. This method stands for (S)pecific, (M)easurable, (A)chievable, (R)elevant, and (T)ime Bound [5]. 

First, you want your goals to be specific. You should know exactly what you want to accomplish, why the goal is important and what resources are involved. An example of a specific goal might be I want to reduce accounts receivable by 10% within the next 60-days.

• You should set about 3-5 goals that will guide your performance throughout the year.
• Each goal should feed into one another and help you achieve your larger goals.

Second, you want the goals to be measurable. You need to have a way to track your progress and be able to ask yourself how you know accomplished your goal(s). Assessing your goals (which we will cover later on in this blog) are important because they help you stay focused and motivated, as you get closer to achieving your goal.

Third, the goals should be achievable, realistic and attainable. In medical billing, all too of often our customers (and billers) will set goals that may not be as realistic as they may sound. For example, they may set goals with the intent to “get the promotion.” I have fallen in this trap before of setting un-attainable goals. What makes “getting the promotion” un-attainable is that there are factors behind our control that can prevent achieving this. Instead, our goals should be “I am going to get the experience to be considered for that promotion [5]. 

Next, the goals must be relevant and align with matters most to you. As you evaluate the goals, you should be asking whether they seem worthwhile, if it’s the right time, and is it applicable to your current situation. 

Finally, your goals should be time bound. You need to assign specific dates, deadlines or timeframes you are looking to take specific actions. For example, the timetables should be set weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. 

4. Determine the Steps Needed to Achieve Your Goals.

Now that you have set your goals, you need to develop your action plan and strategy. This plan will include the specific actions you need to take to achieve results. Remember, this should be a reference guide and not a systematic project plan [2]. Your plan should consider how you’ll use key projects or processes to achieve your goals.

First, you will take your goals and organize them based on their deadlines and how they contribute to your dream life. For example, if your goal is to reduce your billing office’s accounts receivable then you can organize how you follow-up based on when claims will approach timely filing and which accounts can be addressed later.

As you develop your plan, you will want to consider all of the challenges you might face along the way. This will help you understand how to manage your time and what resources you will use to fulfill your goals [4].

5. Assign an Appropriate Timeline.

The next step to achieving your goals is making sure you assign an appropriate timeline. Specifically, you will want to evaluate how quickly you can tackle your goals. What makes this step important is that it will help you stay focused and accountable to achieving your goals.

As we discussed in Step #4 (above), you need to organize your actions in order of importance. This will give you the best chance in advancing your goals along your timeline.

Therefore, in this step, you will want to be commit to the time you plan to invest in each activity and when you expect to see results. Furthermore, you will need to organize 

You should be dedicate another portion of your time to evaluating and reflecting on your progress. I’ll cover this more in-depth in the next section.

6. Review your progress.

The sixth step in achieving your goals is reviewing your progress. As you work through your goals, you should routinely review your progress. You’ve been working hard and now you need to assess how well you are doing. This step is important because it helps validate your strategy while offering insights on whether you are on track. 

As you and I review our goals, it is important to reward yourself along the way. For example, if you achieve one of your milestones then go out and get a bowl of ice cream. 

Another great way to review your progress is to remember why you are working so hard in the first place. One of the best suggestions I was given was to write down your goals and review them daily. Every morning I will look over my goals and action plan to ensure that I’m still on track to fulfill my weekly, monthly or yearly goals.

One of my close friends is great at framing reminders in the “remember when life was tough” perspective. This constant feedback helps me get right back on schedule and stay focused on getting through my goals.

7. Revise Your Plans.

The final step is to revise your plans. In the step above (Step #6 – Review your progress), we discussed that you need to review how well you are doing. As you assess yourself, you can re-evaluate approach and if those actions still make sense [1].  

After you have evaluated you can back off the goals that are going to be a stretch to achieve and add new goals that are more attainable. Again, these goals should still align with your vision and be adjusted as needed. 

In conclusion, set attainable goals and stay committed to your plan. When you stay committed, you will be able to achieve your rocking chain moment and enjoy a more fulfilling life. 

Please feel free to comment your questions or goals you have for yourself!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates right above this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

[1] (https://benefitsbridge.unitedconcordia.com/4-tips-on-setting-performance-goals-in-the-workplace/_ )

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/hvmacarthur/2019/02/07/how-to-set-goals-that-actually-work/#3b4ef36a48e3 

[3] https://the-happy-manager.com/articles/goal-setting-in-the-workplace/ 

[4] https://engagedly.com/7-steps-to-setting-workplace-goals-and-making-them-happen/

[5] https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm 

Tired of Turnover? Here are 3-Ways on Keeping Your Team!

 Tired of Turnover? Here’s How to Keep Your Team!

Are you tired of hiring employees just for them to turnaround 6 months to a year later and quit? Employee turnover is a vicious cycle of hiring, training, and replacing which I know you and your company’s bottom line are tired of.  What have you tried to break this cycle?  Last week's blog discussed How to Hire your Forever Team, now we would love to help you KEEP them!

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and feel free to comment any questions or additions you may have to the content!

Hire for Forever

The hiring process is crucial in building a team that will stick around.  When it comes to hiring a forever team, you need to have a solid team structure, develop your company culture, consider outsourcing vs in house options, establish a hiring structure, know what you want, be fair & consistent, and you MUST transition the new hire in the best way.  Check out last week’s blog, 6 Steps to Hiring Your Forever Team, for a deeper dive into overhauling your hiring process to lower turnover!

Aside from revamping your hiring process, another way to ensure your prospects are a great fit for your team is to include current employees in the interview process.  Not only does this give you a chance to see how the prospect interacts with future coworkers, but it also gives them the opportunity to meet the great people already working in your office.  With multiple people in the workplace meeting potential hires, you will also learn more about the prospect from varying points of view.

Develop Great Management

A company’s most direct influence with employees is through their managers.  The managers oversee hiring, training, conflict resolution, project organization, and so on.  They are very hands on with employees which is why some of the top reasons employees leave companies is due to their interactions with management.  Training management to retain employees is very important to creating your forever team and will also save you time and money in the long run (hiring, training, hassle, etc.)

When it comes to developing great management, you must train supervisors to instill respect, responsibility, and individuality in their employees.  Respect ensures the employees are spoken to and treated like esteemed assets to the company.  When employees feel valued and seen by higher ups, they are much more likely to stay with a company.  When a manager gives their employees some autonomy and responsibility, rather than micromanaging them, employees feel less pressure and are apt to be more productive. 

Great management makes certain that their employees are heard.  One way to practice this is to survey employees anonymously, which eliminates any threat to their person or position in their eyes.  Personally, I favor the idea of “making rounds” through your department.  This concept is similar to how doctors or nurses make rounds to check on patients, rather it is a manager walking around the office in a more casual approach.  When a manager walks around the office to chat with employees in a more casual manner, they may come across more honest feedback, nonverbal responses, and simple observations.  This can be crucial in recognizing the needs and happiness of your employees to make adjustments and keep them on board longer.  

Great management also needs to focus on the aspect of team morale by holding employees responsible in a consistent manner.  Low performers need to be held accountable and treated differently than high performers.  This is not to be taken in a negative way, but acknowledging those that are high performers and treating them with a bit more regard while the low performers get more resources and hands on help will help employees feel recognized and cared about.  This will also boost performance because focus on employees needs is where it should be. 

Lastly, make work/life balance a priority in your management style.  Another major reason employees will leave a position with a company is because they are feeling burnt out.  When you give employees time with their families, adequate days off, and some leeway in leaving work if their kid is sick or something comes up- you better believe they will pay it back with loyalty.

Initiatives. Enough Said.

In psychology, operant conditioning is a method which utilizes rewards and/or punishments to associate with desired behaviors.  You may have implemented operant conditioning if you were potty training a puppy at one point, when they go potty in the house, some people rub their nose in it and say “bad dog.”  When the puppy goes potty outside, you reward them with a treat and say “good dog.” Now, I don’t mean to compare your employees to puppies, even if they are just as cute (lol), but a similar method of operant conditioning can be applied in the workplace- incentives.  

Rather than giving employees cookies when they do a great job on a project or task, reward them with bonuses for reaching certain goals and/or milestones.  Bonuses can be anything from gift cards, to paid time off, or even a free lunch.  By offering incentives, you are not only rewarding your employee for great behavior, but also giving them some control of the benefits they receive.  This can be a great motivator for productivity in the workplace, especially if some of your employees are competitive.  

If you do want to consider giving your employees more time off work, either to help maintain burnout or as an incentive, consider implementing a plan for them not to fall behind.  At REVEX, we offer a non-committal subscription service where we can be a healthcare facility’s “back-up.”  We get setup with the facilities medical billing programs in three simple steps, after this, we are available for them on a pay-as-you-go basis to help cover any employees that are out of office.  This is a great option to keep your employees are worry-free when their off and come back all caught up on their responsibilities!

In conclusion, invest in your employees.  Invest in making your processes effective, invest in making management optimal, and invest in your employees.  When your employees are happy, taken care of, and heard they will be loyal and work hard for you.  Yes, this does mean spending some money and time with new processes and benefits, but when it comes to bottom line you will be saving money by lowering turnover.  It is worth it.

Thanks so much for reading!

P.S. Remember to subscribe for email updates right above this article!

6 Steps to Hiring Your Forever Team

Are you ready to create a team that is going to work hard and stick around for the long haul? Do you want to work with dynamic, hardworking people every day? Have you reevaluated your hiring and retention processes lately? These processes might just be the key to your “dream team”!

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, it may be time to sit down and revamp how you hire to get the most optimal team together for your company.  Let us help you find your FOREVER team with these 6 considerations!

 1)     Establish Team Structure & Company Culture 

When it comes to hiring your forever team, having company culture and a team structure in place are crucial.  An established team structure ensures there is a hierarchy in place and minimalizes unnecessary problems like power struggles and chain of command confusion.  The team structure also guarantees a cohesive workflow amongst team members where everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.[1] 

Company culture is important for establishing a forever team because it ensures everyone’s core values are inline not only with one another, but with the company as well.  The company culture sets the tone for respect, office norms, and expectations in the workplace.  Key steps to establishing company culture are:

1-     Define or Re-define your company’s mission statement and core values

2-     Understand and embrace diversity

3-     Show care for employees

4-     Consistency in practices

For more tips and explanations on establishing company culture, please check out REVEX’s blog, 5 Ways to Revamp Communication in Your Workplace!

2)     Consider Outsourcing and In-house Options

It is important to contemplate all options when you are beginning to expand your team.  This means considering hiring a third-party company for either staffing your new team or to take on the tasks of the position you need fulfilled.[5]  You must also consider in-house options such as promoting employees to fill positions or combining/distributing the tasks of the position you need filled amongst employees already in the company.[5]   

When it comes to outsourcing, you must consider utilizing a staffing agency depending on the position you need filled.  If you have a position that is high-turnover, this may be a feasible option so your valuable time is not spent on interviews for a position you know you will just continue to refill in the future.  However, high turnover positions are not great for a company when it comes to return on investment, so putting in effort to invest in a long-term employee is well worth it.  Stay tuned for our blog next week on lowering employee turnover where we will expand on this topic!

Outsourcing a third-party company may also be valuable to fill a position due to labor costs, efficiency, and expertise.  For example, if you were to outsource your medical billing needs, rather than hire an on-site biller, you could save money on labor, benefits, turnover, and human error.  Outsourced companies, like REVEX, often have experts on hand and automate many of their processes to lower the room for errors.  There is also opportunity to save money on PTO, benefits, workman’s comp, and so on because the third-party company is managing its own employees.  Check out our blog, In-House or Out-House? …I Mean, Outsource!, for more benefits on both hiring in-house and outsourcing!

 

3)     Establish A Hiring Process

The structure behind a company’s hiring process can make or break how well the hiring committee can read a candidate’s potential fit into a company.  A multi-step interview process that fosters a high-touch rapport, dynamic questions, and multiple people on the hiring committee has proven to be very successful when it comes to hiring a forever employee.[3]

For example, Pro Athlete Inc., is an ecommerce company which sells baseball gear online, with only around 50 or so employees, they compete with big names in the sporting goods industry.  Pro Athlete Inc. employs a 10-step interview process which includes an aptitude test, video interview submission, video-conference interview, in-person interviews, task challenge, hiring committee meeting, and more.  They do this to ensure they get a well-rounded understanding of the person.  With so many different methods of communicating with their candidates, Pro Athlete Inc. makes certain they can recognize the candidates strengths incase they communicate more effectively through various methods.  This is an extremely thorough hiring process and because of it, Pro Athlete Inc. has an extremely low turnover rate and is incredibly competitive in the labor market.

As I was researching the hiring process and best ways to find the optimal employee for a position, there was one point that popped up no matter what article I read.  HIRE FOR ATTITUDE, CHEMISTRY, & POTENTIONAL OVER APTITUDE.[2]  Obviously, some job position are going to require a certain level of knowledge or training, but for the most part, if a person meets the basic requirements, their attitude, chemistry, and potential are going to carry them much further than someone who exceeds the requirements but is not a good personality fit.  An employee who can be a team player, communicate effectively and be coached is extremely valuable to the growth of a company.

There are also some other small things that may help you to get better insight into candidates during interviews such as assigning them a job-related task, asking very open-ended questions, and asking about their passion.  Sometimes questions not directly related to the job position can give understanding to the thought process of the candidate in a more veiled manner.[4]

4)     Know What You Want

Flexibility in the hiring process is a must because as you meet candidates, they may express qualities you find valuable that were not necessarily on your “must-haves” list.  However, it is necessary to understand what you want out of a new employee.  If you have specific qualifications such as experience, education, and characteristics then have a checklist of important qualities as well as deal-breakers.[5]  This will help you to not forget some key elements that may get lost in the interview process, help you keep your candidates straight, and also help you to prioritize what you are looking for in a candidate.  Priorities are important when hiring because you will have different applicants with differing qualities and you need to know which are most important to your team.  You can’t just go into the interview all Willy-Nilly!

5)     Be Fair & Maintain Consistency

Be fair in the job description you are posting.  Many times, employers will try to mislead employees with a job description because they are having are hard time hiring for that position and want it to seem more appealing to applicants.[2]  Although they will get a higher turnout, they will also have higher turnover because the individual hired was misled into a position they did not want.  This also diminishes trust in the employer immediately.

Be sure to post an accurate job description, even though some duties may not seem favorable, in the long run the employee will know what they are getting into from the beginning.[2]  Also, be sure to answer any questions as honest as possible because sugar-coating things will eventually come to light and build frustration within the hired candidate as well. 

Consistency is also important when it comes to the interview and hiring process.  Be sure to maintain the same behavior and attitude in the interview as you do in the office.  The more transparency and consistency present on your end, the more you will see consistencies and discrepancies in the candidate’s behavior as well.  If you are making formal phone calls to follow up with candidates, but sending informal emails, and then a mix of both for in-person interviews, this will confuse the applicant on how to conduct themselves.  They will then be confused on the atmosphere of the office before they even make it into the company.

6)     Transition, Transition, Transition

Transitioning your new employee can make or break their success in their new position.  If there is not a smooth transition, the employee may not ever be fully confident nor comfortable in the workplace.  A smooth transition into a new job entails the supervisor giving them a proper introduction to their coworkers and others in the office.  This will set the tone for their interaction with colleagues for the foreseeable future.  Try to make introductions personal or one-on-one rather than bringing the new employee in front of a large group.  This will help them to remember names and connect personally rather than feel the pressure of an “audience”.[2]

Training is also crucial to transitioning a new employee.  A proper training program is well organized, efficient, and makes the employee comfortable asking questions and for help.  When an employee must constantly second-guess their work and what is expected of them, they are much less likely to stay in a job.  Make sure processes and expectations are clear.  We highly recommend a training manual the employee can take notes in and refer to for help.

 

In conclusion, creating your forever team is a process which does not simply rely on just a good interview and decision, it is an active and lasting effort that must be nurtured through the search, hiring, and retention of employees.  You cannot simply hire a great employee and expect them to stay forever without lasting support from you and your company.

 

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates on the left-hand side of this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

Dani Barry 

Marketing Manager 

REVEX

REVEX is a Medical Billing Service & Software Company serving the Healthcare Industry. 

(Specifically, Skilled Nursing Facilities)

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^[1] Dyck, B. (2017, September 18). How To Hire Your 'Forever' Team. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/09/18/how-to-hire-your-forever-team/#375cf5b01e67

^[2] How to Attract Candidates Who Will Become Long-Term Employees: Part II. (2019, October 21). Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.celarity.com/blog/how-to-attract-long-term-employees-part-2/

^[3] Ternynck, J. (2014, September 29). Hire for the Long Haul: 6 Tips to Find Candidates Who Will Stay. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.inc.com/jerome-ternynck/hire-for-the-long-haul-6-tips-to-find-candidates-who-will-stay.html

^[4] Wofford, M. (n.d.). Tips to hire employees who'll stay longer, complain less, produce more. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/7231/hire-employees-produce

^[5] Zipkin, N. (2019, April 23). Use These Steps to Hire the Best Team Every Time. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/332606