Budgets Are Tight, but So Are Staffing Levels. Disregard Employee Satisfaction at Your Own Risk

We don’t have to tell you that in 2023 there is no room for fat in the budgets of urgent care operations (or any other healthcare business). One area in which businesses in all industries look to ensure efficiency is how much they spend on the staff.  When times are tight, tough decisions have to be made. Sometimes that means layoffs, and sometimes it means cutting back on spending. Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health learned the hard way that even doing the latter, while maybe a necessity, could have fallout. Traditionally, according to an article from Lancaster Online, the company has gifted each employee $25 during the winter holidays as a gesture of appreciation. Whatever good will that small windfall may have garnered over the years disappeared in a flash when LG Health announced that it would be foregoing the annual employee gift as a cost-saving measure this year. As one employee was quoted in the Lancaster Online article as saying, “The money was not going to make us rich but it was a token that as an employee you are appreciated.” Another wrote in to say that it’s “hard to continue this when you do not feel valued or appreciated.” It’s unlikely anyone is going to quit their job over failing to receive a $25 gift card. On the other hand, workers were angry enough to complain about the company in the media. And who needs that? If you appreciate your team, it’s wise to let them know, even when current conditions necessitate changes in how you do it. For insights relevant in the urgent care space, read Recognizing Employee Disengagement and Taking Steps to Re-Engage in the JUCM archive.