Managing Stress among Employees in Out-patient Setting - Research Paper Example

Managing Stress among Employees in Out-patient Setting Modern business houses spend considerable part of their budget on employee motivation and retention. Employee retention becomes a challenge specifically at the time of organizational change. In order to vie with employee resistance to change and to mitigate subsequent workplace stress, the management has to equip itself with design strategies and emergent strategies. Evidently employees’ performance level can be enhanced by creating stress free environment in workplace. At the same time, the effectiveness of the changes being implemented need to be determined at regular intervals. It is identified that the negligence of evaluation phases causes the breakdown of implemented changes. This paper will discuss various strategies and techniques that can be effectively employed in evaluating the impacts of the introduced changes among employees in out-patient settings. There are three evaluation phases that are scientifically designed for program evaluation; formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and impact evaluation. The formative evaluation phase continuously acquires information regarding the introduced program in order to amplify the performance. According to Lytras, Carroll, Damiani, Tennyson, Avison, Vossen, and Pablos (2008), in summative evaluation phase, the outcomes of the project are assessed; and from those results, the project managers analyze the impact of the outcome on its actual beneficiaries; the shareholders (p.672). On the other hand, impact evaluation phase focuses on the larger group of beneficiaries over a long period of time. Here we can use formative evaluation and summative evaluation techniques for the determination of the effectiveness of the introduced organizational change in an out-patient setting. The organizational changes implemented to manage employees’ stress need to be analyzed from the perspective of both employees and organization; it involves the application of formative evaluation phase. In order to get the status of the introduced change, from the perspective of employees, it is necessary to collect their feedback using methods such as questionnaires, surveys, voting, and general meetings. Similarly, it is suggestible for the project management team to assess the effectiveness of the change by considering its impacts on those employees who were affected by stress. It can be achieved by comparing the individuals’ level of performance prior to and after the implementation of the program. Their new ways of working behavior both as individuals and as team need to be evaluated for knowing whether the change takes a positive effect on them or not. This process of change management is termed as change curve which can be used for assessing the impacts of the implemented measures (Change management: Making organization change happen effectively, n.d.). It is important to evaluate the extent to which the measures being implemented are accepted by the workers and whether the measures are effective in helping employees to bring out their potential completely toward the work undertaken. It would be better to assess the rate of absenteeism before and after the execution of the strategies. The record of employees’ medical leave would reflect the effectiveness of stress management measures, because stress- free life offers physical as well as mental stability. At the same time, the finest way is to judge how effectively employees involve in work and how well this is being reflected in their performance. It is better to evaluate the workers’ contribution towards the development of the organization as a whole. An efficient supervisor would assist the management to evaluate the individual performance frequently. The status of the organization also reflects the impacts of organizational change. To illustrate, it is essential to analyze the impact of the program on the economic interests of the shareholders. In addition, the progress of the organization and its stature in market must be evaluated. Thus summative evaluation phase starts a certain period after the implementation of the changes. It will be better to keep separate work sheets for each employee as it helps the organization to distinguish between their performance levels. It is advisable for the project management to compare the recent financial statements of the organization with those prepared before the implementation of the programs. The changes in various balance sheet figures in the selected consecutive financial years may be very useful for the organizations to valuate the effectiveness of the implemented changes. For instance, a rise in turnover volume clearly indicates an increase in productivity and thereby effectiveness of the introduced stress reducing programs. At the same time, the firm must ensure that there is no considerable increase in the cost as it is the factor that reduces the profitability. If there is an increase in productivity and decline in expenditure, it clearly indicates the improvement in profitability. Similarly, the organization has to assess whether the employees could meet the anticipated quality standards while improving the productivity volume because the quality factor determines the volume of sale and customer satisfaction to a great extent. As customer satisfaction determines the repute of a healthcare organization in the market, it is vital to examine how effectively the organization has satisfied its customers through organizational changes adopted for stress management. The final outcome of the organizational changes implemented can be best obtained by arranging feedback sessions for outpatients. The feedback and suggestions must be well considered so that it would help to initiate necessary modification in strategies. It would also help the organization to meet their outpatient needs in a better way. We have deeply discussed the different formative and summative evaluation tactics that can be employed in determining the effectiveness of the implemented organizational changes. The impact of the introduced changes on employees and thereby on organization can be identified with the help of various financial documents also. The increased turnover is the direct indication of the effectiveness of the implemented program. Productivity is the stimulant which determines the rate of annual turnover and it can be achieved only through scientific stress management programs. Increased quality and reduced cost also precisely reflect the effectiveness of the introduced organizational changes. It is identified that consumer session programs are effective for the appraisal of the introduced changes. Above all, customer satisfaction determines the sustainability of a business; and therefore, the suggested changes must be competent enough to bring forth noticeable effects on customer satisfaction. Reference Change management: Making organization change happen effectively. (n. d). Mind Tools. Retrieved 17 February 2011 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_87.htm Lytras, M. D,, Carroll, J. M, Damiani, E, Tennyson, R. D, Avison, D, Vossen, G & Pablos, P. O. (2008). The open knowledge society: A computer science and information systems manifesto: First world summit on the knowledge society, WSKS 2008, Athens, Greece, September 24-26, 2008: proceedings. Germany: Springer. Read More