# Presentation: 190276

## Team Award Process

**Presented by:   Thomas Geloneck**
**	****VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System**
**	****Ann Arbor, Michigan**
**	****Phone # 734-761-7937**

## VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System

**VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System**
**provides General Medicine, Surgical and Specialty Care for veterans in lower Michigan and Northwestern Ohio **

## Fiscal Year 2001 Activity

- Approximately 4200 inpatient admissions
- 200,000 Ambulatory Care Visits
- 1290 Full Time Equivalent Employees
- Major teaching affiliation is with the University of Michigan medical School

## Our Strategic Goals

- Improve patient access to specialty care
- Facilitate patient focused care
- Provide a safe environment for patients, employees and visitors
- Recruit and retain high quality staff
- Cultivate research and education programs
- Maintain financial stability

## Purpose of the Team Award Process

- Encourage teamwork
- Mechanism to encourage front line staff to engage in performance improvement activities
- Link award system with strategic goals
- Provide known rewards for successful outcomes- a contract for performance
- Encourage employees to understand organizational goals

## Incentive Award Committee   (see Handout)

- Oversees team award process
- Reviews team proposals and recommends award amounts
- Evaluates final team reports
- Has multidisciplinary membership

## Team Formation

- Employees empowered to form cross-departmental teams to meet strategic goals
- Management may also encourage team formation to meet a performance improvement need

## Team Proposal                         (see handout)

- Easy to use, computerized template
- Identify: activity to improve, steps to take, and outcomes they hope to achieve
- Incentive award committee helps with proposals as needed

## Evaluation Process

- Each proposal is evaluated on the basis of...    - Relationship to goals and performance measures, whether or not the activity is a normal duty function, interdisciplinary involvement, and whether work responds to an external recommendation for improvement.
- Rating determines award amounts

## Point System for Team Proposals  (see handout)

|  |  | Points |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Related To Strategic Goals | Total
Part. related | 5 points
3 points |
| Related To A Performance Measure |  | 5 points |
| Not A Normal Duty Function | Total
Part. related | 5 points
3 points |
| Interdisciplinary/ Interdepartmental | > 5 depts.
>2-4 depts. | 5 points
3 points |
| External Review Recommendation | Actual
Potential | 5 points
3 points |

## Employee Involvement

- Since the program began in 1998, 67 teams have completed their work
- Teams had an average of 7.6 members
- 512 total participants
- Average individual award: $315
- Total expended: $161,000+
- Participants may be on more than one team

## Results Achieved           (Tangible examples)

- Over $2.6 M in tangible savings
- Improved energy efficiency
- Reduction in worker’s compensation costs
- Decrease interest payments
- Decrease inventory; bulk purchasing

## Results Achieved                 (Intangible examples)

- Decrease lab specimen processing time
- Improve ventilator care
- Patient education results in changes in diet and improved lab values - Dialysis
- Reduced use of patient restraints

## Pros.....

- Encourages teamwork
- Awards linked to goals
- Mechanism for “ground up” performance improvement
- Consistency in payouts

## Cons...

- May not apply for all jobs
- Employee resistance if viewed as a replacement for other awards
- Viewed as a lot of work

## Lessons Learned

- Market to supervisors; they need to help and encourage employee participation
- Treat as a supplement to existing award programs, not in lieu of individual recognition
- Applaud successes and publicize

## VA Ann Arbor HealthcareSystem

***VA Ann Arbor Healthcare******System***

***A Mission to Heal......An Honor to Serve***

**Team Award Process**