The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

March, 1955The Health Bulletinadequate pay based on training, responsibilitiesand efficiency. Too oftenwe begin with the established salariesand then, when funds become available,every member of the staff receives apercentage increase without considerationof his qualifications or efficiencyin his assigned task. Job tenure andpromotion should be based on qualityand effectiveness of work rather thanon the personality pull of individuals.There must be a good record system.Assuming that we have a smooth-runningoffice with a good record systemand suitable arrangements for orientationand training, we are still facedwith the necessity of having the entirestaff operate as a unit. The staff shouldfunction as a unit in a democraticmanner, using group opinions on broadpolicies and individual conferenceswhen it concerns one individual's work.There should be not only frequent conferencesof supervisory personnel inlarge units but regular meetings of theentire staff. In small units withoutsupervisory personnel, the entire staffshould meet frequently. All of these arenecessary if the staff is to have a feelingof security and contentment.Efficient Management of IndividualMembers of Staff. An entire staff cansometimes be upset by the personalityof one individual. This is where an administratorfaces his most difficult andagonizing problem. In all such casesone should remember that emotionalproblems and personality defects arenot self-limiting diseases and cannot becured by treatment of symptoms andwaiting for the crisis to pass. The basiccauses must be found and treated oreliminated. Failing in this, the employemust be discharged. Even the smalleststaff is larger and more important thanthe individual member. However, emotionallystable individuals can be upsetby continued unstable working conditions.Every effort should be made toavoid them. All workers and their workneed a reasonable amount of supervisionand evaluation. This is neededto correct or improve faulty and inferiorwork and to praise good work.Every staff member's work, good orbad, justifies recognition by the manager.Too often we overlook bad workand fail to praise good work. Everyhuman, in addition to his emotionalneed for love and security, craves recognitionand the assurance that he andhis work are significant. The delegationof authority and responsibility carrieswith it the obligation of sufficientsupervision and guidance to insure efficientdischarge of duty.Every staff member's efficiency can beimproved by additional training and individualguidance. This can be done bythe administrator, the supervisor or afellow staff worker who has had thebenefit of better training and/or experience.When a new member is addedto the staff, it is necessary that hehave a reasonable period of orientation,even though he may have an adequateeducation and prior experience with anotherdepartment. This need for orientationis imperative when there hasbeen no previous experience in publichealth work. Part of it is better givenby a unit that has a large and welltrained staff and should be taken in acounty other than the one in which heis being employed, because, when astaff begins to orient its own employes,the tendency is to shift them into theirregular assignments without adequateoverall orientation in public healthpractices. Postgraduate and in-servicetraining is likewise mandatory for thosewho have not had any. Like orientation,this in-service training should be givenby those who are able to teach anddemonstrate public health activities,preferably in a well organized departmentadequately staffed for this purpose.Efficient Management by IndividualStaff Workers. Individual staff workersare managers in the same manner asadministrators and supervisors. It istrue that their responsibilities and thescope of their activities are more limited.However, they have the same responsibilityfor the efficient planningand conduct of their work. It is theirresponsibility to function as a memberof the team. They must keep adequatedaily, weekly and monthly records