The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal June 2019 Final | Page 5

EDITORIAL
Jhablall Balmakund, MD
Professor, Pediatric Neurology
UAMS/Arkansas Children’s Hospital
C
ommunicated expectations
may enhance the ability to
gauge performance on all
levels of an organization. A definition
of goals, and their connection to the process,
may help employees understand their role in the
success of the organization. Grading employees
against known standards provides a more objec-
tive review. A performance-monitoring system
helps with the retention of quality employees and
can be used to reward employees and compare
departments, teams, projects, and budgets. This
system can help increase team efficiency and
decrease expenses. It creates a broader base of
knowledge and data to be used in planning and
budgeting.
Greater than 50% of physicians own their
practices and actively participate in the adminis-
tration of the practice. 3 The rest are in practice
settings run by administrators who may dic-
tate the rules of the practice and possibly influ-
ence patient care. Physicians’ performances are
gauged by RVUs, provider scorecards completed
by patients, and other methods. These perfor-
mance rules may be used to determine continuity
of employment, eligibility for raises, staff privi-
leges, etc., while administrators, it seems, are not
held to similar benchmarks. With expectations
outlined and communicated, employees better
understand their roles in the success of the de-
partment or program. Using standards for every
Evaluations may offer several
benefits, including information
about an employee’s performance,
insights into the way employees
interact with each other, a glimpse
into the strengths and weaknesses
of employees, and reinforcement of
a team environment.
job position, and grading the employee against
standards of performance measures, may create
a sense of fairness.
Administrators, like other employees, should
be evaluated by surveying those who work under
and with them. Grading administrators can
sometimes be difficult. Evaluations may offer
several benefits, including information about an
employee’s performance, insights into the way
employees interact with each other, a glimpse into
the strengths and weaknesses of employees, and
reinforcement of a team environment.
Evaluations do have drawbacks. A yearly
survey may not capture projects that span years.
The definition of success on the job can take a
variety of forms. Sometimes, measures used to
gauge success are tangible and linked to specific
metrics such as industry benchmarks or a dollar
figure. Other times, the mark of a job well done is
more nuanced, defined by successful working re-
lationships or a simple sense of satisfaction about
employees’ roles in making their institution the
best it can be. 1 Sometimes administrators know
they have been successful when they have been
able to garner support from staff on an impor-
tant issue. 1 Evaluations are subjective, as over-
worked employees may feel overwhelmed when
they have to complete evaluations for their peers.
Evaluations can lead to confusion and irrelevant
assessments if evaluators are not familiar with
the job description of the person being evaluated.
In the bid for philanthropic dollars, having
visible evaluations – especially if the results are
good – may be a boon to the company. There are
many issues and decisions where evaluations
at all administrative levels may provide some
improvement. To show unity, it may be helpful to
have all employees surveyed. Administrators, like
non-administrators, should be held accountable
to the group they are working with and should be
subject to similar benchmarks.
Plans should be developed to assess an ad-
ministrator’s work. The purpose of such periodic
reviews should be the improvement of the per-
formance of the administrator during his or her
term of office. This review should be conducted on
behalf of the governing board for the president, or
on behalf of the appointing administrator for other
academic administrators. Fellow administrators,
faculty, students, and others should participate in
the review according to their legitimate interest in
the result, with faculty of the unit accorded the pri-
mary voice in the case of academic administrators.
Once the review is completed, a summary should
be released with a list of steps to resolve any is-
sues. 4
In summary, an evaluation of all employees
may bring out the best in employees while deter-
mining individual expertise and the opportunity to
assign specific jobs to the employees whose evalu-
ations show an inclination to that job.
References
1. June AW. How Administrators Measure Their
Success. https://www.chronicle.com/article/
How-Administrators-Measure/140419.
Published July 22, 2013. Accessed January
10, 2018.
2. Singleton T, Miller P. The physician
employment trend: What you need to
know. Family Practice Management. 2015;
22(4):11-5.
3. Kane CK, Emmons DW. New data on
physician practice arrangements: private
practice remains strong despite shifts
toward hospital employment. American
Medical Association. 2013; 4(6):1-6.
4. American Association of University
Professors. Faculty Evaluation of
Administrators. https://www.aaup.org/
report/faculty-evaluation-administrators.
Accessed January 10, 2018.
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