ROMHC: Nice place to work, but I wouldn’t want to socialize there!

I had the pleasure of attending a wedding during the summer with an ROHCG retiree who had devoted decades of work to the organization. She was also an icon of the ROHCG social circuit that existed in those days.

“The place isn’t the same anymore. Nobody cares about each other. The place has lost its spirit.” she said.

Still being a member of the home team, I wanted to disagree so badly. “It’s not that bad! There is still a sense of community! Don’t give me that good-ole-days stuff! But unfortunately that was the voice in my head talking. Visually I could only nod my head in agreement. I was part of that social scene in the 80’s and 90’s. The parties were the stuff of legend.

I still hold out the hope that things can change – but every few months that hope takes a hit, and the cancellation of this year’s Christmas Party is just the latest blow. I thought that last year’s party was great fun; awesome band, food, prizes, convenient location, it should have been a momentum builder. It wasn't even close to breaking even.

I don’t have a clue as to why this is the case.
· Are we so burnt out on change we don’t want to spare a single social minute off the corporate clock?
· Has our technical environment so stripped us of person-to-person contact that there simply isn’t enough to bond us for an evening together?
· Is our demographic profile too dominant with old boomers who prefer the comfort of home over most social gatherings?

One thing I do know is that it isn’t from lack of effort in creating social opportunities. The Royal Boosters worked their butts off organizing the event and trying to create the buzz and ticket sales. What a great bunch of people with the unconditional enthusiasm to create a party for us all – only to be denied with such silent pessimism.

I haven’t thrown in the towel. I probably never will. But that’s just me. I just hope when my days are done, I won’t be like my retired friend, bemoaning the good ole days at the ROHCG – but today it seems inevitable.

Forum Hot Topics Deserve an Action Plan

We asked our staff to contribute their burning topics for staff forums and we should honour their efforts.

The response to this OREO Survey poll was terrific, and contained a few surprises in my opinion - but that's the beautiful thing about surveys; they check your perceived reality with the reality of the group. Hopefully this results in better decisions.

Here are the list of survey topic suggestions. The only modifications that have been made are the occassional spelling and grammar corrections. If the process works then you should witness better informing on many of the following issues:

· The state of our corporate finances and the decisions being made around our financial state (e.g. job freezes, slow hires, operating and capital budgets) Finances of hospital
· I think the staff forums have been doing a good job at addressing different issues each time.
· TRANSITION ISSUES
· Strategic direction and focus of the Leadership Team
· Budget plans, program/staff changes; personal safety, parking updates; on site relationships with THICC,Carillion,Montfort
· Anything that is relevant to our day to day work requirements.
· Safety in the workplace. Is the staff to patient ratio truly correct?
· community integration efforts
· The budget. Exactly what is the deficit and where has it been incurred? Why are we funding IMHR when clinical services are suffering? Why as a centre of excellence do we now have no education coordinators, no clinician in learning and development and no funding for staff education?
· use of Zen gardens by staff, more security staff available
· Contract Negotiations
· Malfunction, safety and security on units
· risks that were identified post move
· More open communication on current issues/ changes, and impacts.
· Not enough places to meet with patients on the units.
· OPSEU Negotiations as a STANDING ITEM
· Hold sessions more often. Including a session re.budget issues - ROP, ROHCG, IMHR, Brockville
· Attitude among staff/ lack of respect for management/ poor work ethic
· Any changes, youth program move update, cutbacks etc
· Updates on changes throughout the hospital with respect to new roles, new leadership, etc.
· Focus on accomplishments, applaud initiatives, congratulate teams for their efforts, status of financial situation, status of facilities (e.g. Youth wing, wireless network, parking, plumbing, rental office space), introduction of new organizational initiatives, updates to organization chart and status of filling vacancies
· Perhaps at the next BMHC forum you can mention the giving tree and encourage people to grab a tag
· Communication throughout the Hospital
· Budget, future directions, youth program direction
· Continue to update us in changes in the organization as they occur
· Issues happening at the hospital, ex: phone, computer, budget, morale, etc.
· financial status and it's implication on services and personnel
· Staffing; budget and finance; IM update; Construction;
· More discussion on financial issues, as well as planned changes.
· The inappropriateness of using the hospital wide email to discuss personal views- Peter Youell's blog seems like a great democratic alternative for discussions
· Issues that have been raised in past forum - provide what have been taken care of.
· update on wireless, updates on Brockville's future
· Occupational Health - the importance of reporting incidents and proper procedure for doing so.
· There are different issues affecting various programs/areas in the organization, though it is unreasonable address all in a forum, it would be nice to see someone take ownership of some of the issues similar to what Bill Gillis has addressed with IT issues.
· Why it takes management so long to sign a collective agreement with opseu?
· leadership changes; budgets staff morale
· IT
· Transfer of EGU to BGH?
· transparency when a "rumor" hits the email - have management step up and clarify rather than just letting it run
· IS / Construction status / Executive Team updates
· What is the management philosophy?
· Ask regular staff for suggestions to get rid of the budget deficit.
· Results and actions on healthy workplace initiatives
· budget / IM / construction
· Settlements of past union issues/retro pay. Future of Elmgrove Inpatient and services.
· Patient Safety issues; organizational structure; accreditation
· We need to know in which direction this hospital is going, where the "leadership" team wishes to go. We need much more transparency from upper management. The staff of this institution will always pull together if they believe that management is being straight with them, i.e. budget deficits etc. We don't appreciate being treated like "mushrooms".
· The direction of the Leadership Team.
· Updates on changes (i.e., policy changes), various problems, lay-offs.
· Changes in management, staffing, patient care
· The most important will be the forum where the new budget will be presented and hopefully we are given a clear idea of how this will affect services and jobs. The most important topic after that happens will be the presentation of a clear mandate for this facility. An explanation of which services we will continue to provide to the community and which services will be provided elsewhere. I think for the sake of consistency and smooth operation and transition we all need to know what services we can offer. This needs to be accompanied by a written statement from the leadership team. This should be posted on our external and internal web site so that those looking for services will not be misinformed or mislead. As it now stands there are too many different answers being given by different departments and individuals resulting in general confusion? I was told that our mandate and those of the community partners and other hospitals still have to be agreed upon. However, if this agreement is not forthcoming soon (and we have been waiting over 6 years for this agreement) then perhaps this facility needs to state publicly what we in fact do and what we cannot do and that needs to be conveyed in a consistent manner. Therefore this needs to be dealt with at an open forum. We all need to be provided with a written copy that we can then distribute to those (e.g. physicians' offices) who require our services...
· Deficit implications. Knowing even when we might have news about this.
· regular construction updates
· A well defined outline of the future direction of this institution i.e.: program or service cuts, ambulatory care to continue in all programs currently having outpatient services or not, PCOB where is this at, Code White policy under patient safety umbrella - where are we with this, The LHINs are starting up now - what kinds of linkages do we have with these boards and what kinds of services are we negotiating, discussion around difficulties with the current psychiatric emergency services, transferring of outpatients in crisis to the Ottawa Hospital, wait times, how transferring agencies feel about the process, the "lip" we get from police and ambulance personnel who respond, what is our hospital doing to resolve these difficulties. What is happening with the ROP, the real truth and nothing but the truth, what is going on with IMHR, is it as the rumor mill says all smoke and glass without substance, and the foundation "where has all the money gone" long time passing. Why are people bailing left right and centre and why capable people are being dismissed? We could go on for ever.
· More info on support systems re: hospital wide phones etc.
· would prefer to hear from administration i.e. changes, developments etc
· budget/staffing, service cuts
· policy changes, upcoming events
· the new LHIN system, its impact on us at BMHC, update the federal interest on us
· Budget, ROHCG restructuring
· Any nursing issues
· Updates on the status of Royal Ottawa Place
· Provide as much information to staff as possible.
· Follow-up to the IS situation / Board of Trustees and new Interim leadership plans
· Where are we going -what's the game plan? Who are the players? what are the strategies to win the game of providing mental health and well being for all
· Need reports of ongoing issues being resolved, for example, coat hooks and boot trays!
· good news - make it up if you have to (just kidding)
· Same comments as the previous survey that was distributed on this topic
· SAFETY (STAFF & PATIENT), WIRELESS PROBLEMS
· how we are advocating for more services and access for people with mental health issues
· Address all changes. Let changes be known to us if they're not obvious. Review previous concerns brought to Leadership Team so staff know what has been dealt with and how, and why not if not.
· Budget issues and implications discussed in an open and transparent manner
· LHINS and how it will impact us.
· Vision of where the organization is going as a regional, specialized provider
· Any urgent issues at the time
· Corporate Culture improvement
· staff safety issues/pt assaults
· patient safety and staffing concerns-- budget management and possible lay offs
· Safety/security/budget issues re. Hospital

Long-service Ceremony: Long in the tooth or longing for consistency

We’re learning some lessons about tampering with a traditional event such as our Long-Service Award Ceremony. The announcement of format changes has been greeted with a consistent stream of negative feedback, and not all of it could be considered respectful.

What we can obviously acknowledge is the fact that many, including myself, enjoyed that evening in May when we could enjoy a delicious meal with our cadre of cronies. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by the tide of discontent when offering an alternate format toward extending corporate appreciation.

But there is a considerable gap in the conversation. The dialogue to date is one-dimensional, and no dignified organization would condone the proliferation of a gang-style barrage of emails to voice disapproval of an event that has not yet happened. Past corporate communication policies have tried to prohibit this from occuring, but if we want to live our corporate value of openness, there may be another electronic communication solution.

A blog like this can level the playing field, and there is another side to this Long-service Ceremony issue.

· Some frame it as a cost saving issue. The difference in the cost of this year’s format is anticipated to be less than 5% of the cost of the old format, a savings that will be considered irrelevant in a moment.
· The representation from our colleagues in Brockville was very low. This was a made-in-Ottawa event that did not successfully adjust to respectfully include both sites.
· Even in Ottawa approximately 60% of staff could not/did not attend or bother to pick up recognition prizes. For the critics who frame it as a financial issue, more money has been lost through non-participation in the old format than saved in the new format.
· There are people, albeit quiet, who asked for a change when the organizers solicited their feedback. What about those 2/3rds of staff who could not be recognized in the old format? Do they not deserve a voice? Of course they do.
· The organization views employee reward and recognition as a 12-month project. The recent Fall Harvest Country Fair and ROMHC BBQ are examples of events that involve a lot of people and dollars.

I don’t make these points to suggest this new long-service format is the obvious thing to do, but only to make the conversation fair and to end the “piling on” that is occurring in a one-side e-mail dialogue. The old format wasn't perfect. In fact some of the flaws were significant, but it was also an appreciated event in the minds of those who could participate.

This year’s event will be evaluated and we can only hope that staff will be honest and respectful in their participation and assessment.

You can continue the conversation through this blog because it is our intention to continue the dialogue, debate or whatever you consider it. As per our Blog policy, the views presented are those of the author, not the organization, and respectful comments and opinions are gratefully encouraged.

Don’t Fall for Survey Fatigue

There’s a relatively new buzzphrase that irks me. It’s “survey fatigue” and I believe it is an excuse being used to explain a weak response to a request to participate in an information-gathering exercise.

In my opinion it’s a poor alibi for an attempt to ask for something-for-nothing.

Sure there are hordes of surveys around us. It’s the information era, and that means people are always asking for information. But consumers are becoming information-savvy, and maybe they don’t like the idea of giving it away for free. If you keep asking people for their information, their opinions, their input into services or decisions, eventually they feel that this information deserves something in return. I know I’m fed up with surveys that don’t offer something to me in return.

It doesn’t mean you need to offer cash or prizes for every survey. Sometimes the quick return of survey information and some context around how the information will be used is good enough.

That is an important principle in our new survey initiative at the ROHCG. Ask simple questions. Give quick responses. Explain the context that makes it valuable to the organization. And give participants a chance to win a prize.

Our first survey in this series asked a very simple question; how are you spending your summer vacation? It seems irrelevant to the organization, but if we brainstorm around the results, we can develop some terrific ideas. For example:

• The survey tells us that about one quarter of the organization will be traveling outside Ontario. Do they know about the travel insurance benefits they possess as employees of ROHCG? Maybe there are opportunities to leverage our corporate travel agent to the benefit of staff leaving the province.
• Only 11% of staff are not taking summer vacation. That means roughly 90% of our workforce will be away at some point during these two months. How does this affect important projects. Can we use this information to strategically plan how we can best maintain productivity during this mass exodus of summer.
• Over one quarter of staff enjoy spending summer camping or at a cottage. There are many reward incentives that could be customized for this large sector of our organization.

I think you will see that when you develop a survey that delivers knowledge, context and reward, you will see a lot less of this “survey fatigue”.

Brand You Parking Lot Inspiration

I’m hearing questions with a common theme circulating through meetings and social networks around the ROHCG.
“How can the organization move forward in dealing with conflict and difficult interpersonal situations in the absence of a clear strategic plan?” In other words; “how can we find personal and professional fulfillment in a stressful work environment that contains only a vague and uncertain map of the future?”

There is one person at the ROMHC campus with the gumption to address that question, and he works in an office that barely affords him the room to sit down. Can you think of a more unattractive job than working in a parking lot booth? Let’s add the rumour that our parking lot will eliminate its human element and turn to automated ticket dispensers in the future.

“I love my job. I look forward to working here every day” says daytime attendant Clarel Varierre.

And for the past two months, he’s transformed his booth into the ROMHC Ottawa Senators Rally station, screaming, honking, and waving his flags, poms and signs to every car.

Without realizing it, Clarel is a model employee of the Tom Peters workplace phenomenon that he calls the “Brand You” era. Peters’ crusade is toward inspiring workers everywhere to break the shackles of corporate mediocrity and homogeneity, and to strive to brand their personal passions and aspirations into their jobs, without the tedious and disheartening process of selling up to management.

Tom’s credo is:
The work can be cool
The work can be beautiful
The work can be fun
The work can make a difference
YOU can make a difference
Take charge of your life
Subvert hierarchy
Make every project a wow!
Be distinct – or extinct

Clarel didn’t need a strategic plan before deciding he was going to put a smile on every drivers face as they arrived at work. And staff at the ROHCG may not require a strategic plan before feeling empowering to do the same – deliver great service with a smile. All that may be required is a little “Brand-You.”

The Brand You philosophy could be the key ingredient in times where you feel a void in strategic direction or team performance. If you want to know more about Brand You then give me a call and I'll connect you to the source.

Oh yes...
And we shouldn’t forget another admirable and non-strategic decision; by Carillion for letting Clarel be Clarel.

What can we learn from the Ottawa Senators?

We are enjoying rare times in Ottawa, where an event mobilizes the spirit of a city. This event is the success of our Ottawa Senators hockey team which is on the brink of a possible final playoff series for the Stanley Cup.
Many sport experts say the Stanley Cup could be the toughest prize to win in professional sport. You have to win 16 games, eliminate four of the league’s toughest competitors. This feat could take 28 games to accomplish. Major league baseball and football champions usually play from three to 12 games to win the ultimate prize.
There are some poignant lessons that organizations (our organization) can take from the successful journey of this year’s Senators.

Skill level is not a determinant of success
o Past Senators lineups have featured names like Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat, Alexei Yashin, Tom Barraso; all considered among the most highly skilled in their position. These teams failed. This year’s performance is the clearest demonstration of teamwork-over-individual-performance that we’ve seen in the club’s ten playoff runs,

The agony of defeat can be a lesson for success
o Failing to meet expectations have resulted in a team that has quietly and humbly challenged itself to watch, learn, and apply a stronger work ethic toward achieving its goal,

Believe in yourself, not what others are saying
o Even a brief legacy of failure can convince you that critics and naysayers are right. This year the team flew under the radar, making the playoffs for a tenth straight year, and have been considered by many as underdogs in each series of these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Does it look like they were listening?

Let’s apply some of these lessons to our healthcare organization.

· Although we promote strategies around recruiting the best talent, our investments in team performance could be what ultimately leads to success

· We make mistakes, but often fail to discuss what went wrong and how to avoid repeating them. Let’s learn from them. I can tell you that in my many years at the ROHCG, I’ve had several beautiful mistakes – ideas that seemed wonderful, but for some reason failed. I’ve tried to take a lesson from each of them.

· Our organization has gone through so many significant changes in the past year and because some expectations haven’t been met, levels of criticism, skepticism and pessimism are high. The success of our hockey team is demonstrating that we can win, as teams and individuals if we believe in ourselves, and not be discouraged by the negativity that may surround us.

The Ottawa Senators have placed among the top four teams in the National Hockey League, with the potential to reach the final two and perhaps capture the Stanley Cup. But the journey was long and the struggle was immense. Why would the journey toward becoming a “Centre of Excellence” be any easier?

Taking Pride in Review

I strongly believe in Organizational Reviews such as the one ROHCG is currently undergoing. I’m not thrilled by the context and timing of this review, but if done well it should benefit the organization.

The first question in this review framework asks “In looking at our service, what have we done or accomplished that makes us most proud?” I feel the work of our team certainly deserves to be shared far beyond the review committee. In no particular order, here is a list of accomplishments over the past year from the notes of the Learning & Development and Telehealth Department of People and Learning:

• The development of an excellent Intranet site which includes internal business and productivity tools/resources (online business forms, documents, surveys, multimedia),
• We have delivered several successful conferences both critically and financially and the revenues have/are being reinvested by the programs in other education and research initiatives – plus we postponed two conference events that were on their way toward financial losses,
• Our telehealth accomplishments have established a national reputation for innovation and we are the first organization in Canada accredited for Telehealth services through new CCHSA Telehealth criteria,
• Our Library has leveraged technology to provide 24-7 levels of service to staff. Following the move to the new ROMHC, it is simply one of the best health care libraries in any hospital,
• We are renewing our key clinical train-the-trainer programs for Non-violent Crisis Intervention and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills, and moved toward developing in-house software training capabilities at BMHC and ROMHC,
• Our vision of our Learning and Development and Telehealth space remains relatively true to our vision for a Centre of Mental Health Learning in the new ROMHC. It required two years of consistent meetings, often supplemented with a strong dose of arguing and complaining. But we still feel we’ll have superb facilities for our staff and external partners when the dust settles,
• People have commented how we’ve lost manpower, yet they have not noticed the diminishing of valuable services – and this validates some of our toughest and most emotional decisions during our phase of staff reduction,
• The 2005-2006 staff survey indicated 40% of staff cited “Learning Opportunities” when asked for “Reasons they liked working at ROHCG” – exemplifying the strong traditional relationship between staff and Learning & Development.
• Our 2006-2007 activities and accomplishments are reflected in our Strategic Plan for the year. We’re proud of the fact that we created a plan, delivered on it, and continue to work from it.
  

There is much more that could have been cited, but the remaining 11 questions in the review demanded that we manage our time and proceed to other issues. If you were involved in the review and would like to share your points-of-pride, I encourage you to use this blog to promote the accomplishments of your department.

Monsters of Rock – Monsters of Education

I confess to being a fan of the classic heavy metal rock genre, and so this past Wednesday (March 28) was a thrilling night for me. A guitarist by the name of Tony Iommi played the Ottawa Civic Center with the current line-up of the famous metal group Black Sabbath.
Iommi crafted a guitar sound in the late 60’s that remains so distinctive and powerful that he has been cited as an influence to a legion of rock guitarists. The band Black Sabbath is commonly referred to as a “Monster of Rock”.
The monster metaphor has found its way into hockey thanks to a well known NHL analyst and former coach Pierre McGuire. Late in his TSN broadcast McGuire selects his “Monster player of the game”, a player whose performance is so powerful it affects the flow of the game and the success of his team.

Distinction and influence; these are the traits common in any practice that is deemed excellent, or in this case monstrous. When I’m in the presence of someone like Tony Iommi, or CEO-author Jack Welch, or comedian Bill Cosby, I find myself inspired to develop toward building distinction and influence in education and telehealth.

We have numerous “Monsters of Education” stories, past and present at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. For example, Gail Robinson and her team at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital who pioneered the concept of community treatment teams – that was a monster. The team from the Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders (known as Addictions Program at the time) who pioneered Early Intervention in the school setting. That was a monster. We could go on for pages with other examples of accomplishments that have shaped the Mental Health service playing field.
The world is full of masters and monsters of their craft. After enjoying yourself in their presence, ask yourself “how do they distinguish themselves and their work from everyone else in their field?” That could unlock some wonderful creative potential in your professional craft.

Beware of "Sign Now-Pay Later" in Telehealth Partnerships

I’ve never met a person who would argue Steven Covey’s Habit #4 in his popular series The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s titled “Win-Win, or No Deal”. It states that achievements are largely dependent on co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose. During my 11 years of involvement in Telehealth, which includes numerous partnership agreements, I’ve observed too often how these agreements resemble “Win-lose”, and that’s why I’m urging Sr. Management to model a win-win approach as we negotiate a renewed partnership with the newly amalgamated Ontario Telemedicine Network.

The losers are usually those on the Telehealth front line. “Nobody told me about this.” “I didn’t have any choice in the matter.” These are familiar comments from Telehealth workers across Canada who gather yearly to create a learning community for this wonderful innovation in healthcare and health education.

There’s lack of recognition and reward; work processes are built reactively, often in the wake of errors or frustration; and this often drains the telehealth front line of their passion and commitment before a service is even established. I’ve heard the resentment that Telehealth workers quietly express toward their senior managers because they purchase the telehealth carriage before considering the work horses.

Partnership agreements among provincial and federal groups and individual organizations are absolutely necessary for an efficient and effective Telehealth service. What often happens is that Sr. representatives shake hands and sign agreements and move on to the next administration priority.

The Royal Ottawa Health Care was the first hospital in Canada to be scrutinized against national best-practice standards for Telehealth by the CCHSA. We’re proud that surveyors reported how well we delivered on most of the standards – but the Telehealth people-factor was identified as an area of weakness.
To sign to latest collaborative agreement before fixing these “very fixable” problems would be ignoring the whole point of Accreditation, and would only be repeating an historical telehealth problem that is prevalent across Canada.
I’m proud to say that our Senior Management team understands this – and that’s how a Learning Organization is supposed to work.

Movie Magic at Symposium 2007

A mental health symposium held in a motion picture theatre; at a glance it seems like a bizarre venue for such an event.

Logistically it is proving to be very unorthodox, but we can't let the frustration of planning and organizing the event prevail upon our vision for Symposium 2007. As I reflected on this upcoming event while relaxing during the March break there was an irony that I find absolutely beautiful.

When we resume our lives at the end of a working day, we may find ourselves visiting the Cineplex Odeon or any other movie venue in the region prepared to totally suspend our judgements and beliefs. We hand over our imaginations to the Hollywood industry. We open our minds to infinite possibilities the moment we enter the theatre.

Is this also the case when we enter the Associates-in-Psychiatry Auditorium or any other health care learning venue during a clinical working day?

It appears that in this context our staff enter the learning venue with their beliefs, values, and expectations very pre-determined. They want evidence. They want data. They map what they see and hear to their own clinical reality.

Which context do we hope for with this first annual Symposium on Mental Health research and care?

I’m hoping our guests enter the Cineplex Odeon with the same desire to hope and dream as they would if they were watching “A Beautiful Mind”, “Awakenings”, or any other movie where Mental Illness is the villain, and we all represent the good guys fighting to prevail against all odds.

This Symposium is about bringing people together in the fight against mental illness. Let’s take advantage of this venue-of-the-imagination to picture a happy ending for all the people we serve.

Pass the popcorn.