Telephone Excellence by Mike Mitchell

POLICIES and PROCEDURES: Structure for the Telecom Department
By Mike Mitchell

What procedures do you have for training new employees? What policies are in place to take the guesswork out of completing routine department activities? Surely you can provide the newcomer with a job description, but is there any documentation describing how to do what is in that job description?

The Need for a Good Policies and Procedures

Too often new employee training consists of a series of verbal instructions coupled with a few faded handwritten notebook pages provided by the employee who is leaving. Heaven forbid that the new person is replacing someone whom has already departed. In this case there may be no good documentation available to help the new employee at all.

When I reported for my first day I was introduced to the retiring telecom manager. The goal was for me to learn everything I needed to know over the remaining time left in the current manager's reign. For the next two weeks I scribbled pages and pages of notes. Since there were almost no department procedures in place, other than a basic department employee manual, I was shown how to do everything. From reviewing and approving employee time cards to invoicing physician practices for the services we provided. To complicate an already stressful situation, the telecom supervisor accepted another position and left the hospital three weeks after my "orientation." I was on my own after that. A Policies and Procedures (P&P) manual would have helped tremendously.

A good telecom P&P manual can provide employees with a structure that takes the guesswork out of making decisions. When written procedures were in place for particular services offered by my department, an operator on duty could respond to situations without having to consult with someone else up the chain of command. This gave the employees a greater sense of autonomy and increased their confidence in making decision. In addition, I received fewer calls after hours and on the weekends.

Where Good P&P Manuals Can be Most Beneficial

Emergency Codes: Every hospital Telecom department has an emergency code manual, but often times this document is out of date. When my healthcare system opened a new hospital last year, we had to modify the existing codes for that new facility. The procedures were similar but the specific information was different. As technology changes a department might need to modify procedures. Often times this isn't done. Consider all angles that may affect your current procedure_ from changes made in the fire alarm system, all the way to a new administrative position being added. Also, do you have all the current contact information and pager/telephone numbers?

Interpreter Service and Equipment: Is your department responsible for the TTY devices and the bells and whistles needed for visually or hearing impaired patients and family to use? Does all of your staff know how to distribute that equipment? Does everyone know the telephone number and account information for your interpreter/language translation service provider?

Pagers, and Wireless and Cellular Telephones: Are there restrictions on who can request a device? Who is responsible for paying for the device? Who is accountable to pay for repairs?

Answering Service: Is contact and call forward information current?

Vendor Invoices: Who can order equipment and services? Who can approve the invoices? How is the cost allocated?

Relocation or Change Request: Is a floor plan required? Do you have a form that must be completed by the department requesting the changes (this protects you from having to guess at what the requesting department actually wants)?

There are many other areas, which can use good policies and procedures documentation_ from inclement weather procedures to PBX downtime procedures. Think of your departmental activities and come up with your own list of situations. You'll sleep better at night knowing that your bases are covered (not to mention you'll receive fewer telephone calls).

- Mike