Patients have complained about rude and careless behavior by some patient escorts.

The turnover rate among patient escorts is high (25%), and upward mobility within the hospital is good (52% transfer to other jobs within the hospital), leading to a need to replace about half of the patient escorts annually.

The application blank used to hire patient escorts lacks useful information about the applicant's personality, and the interview process does not assess how well an applicant can handle stress.

Causes (HR Function Based)

Insufficient screening and hiring procedures, leading to the selection of escorts with poor attitudes towards patients.

Poor training and supervision of patient escorts.

C. Alternative Solutions

Include questions about personal interests, hobbies, and personality attributes on the application blank and require three letters of recommendation that focus on the applicant's ability to remain friendly and polite.

Modify the interviewing process to include stress-producing questions that can help determine the applicant's ability to work with irritable patients.

Develop an "attitude" test that measures the critical attributes needed to be a successful patient escort.

D. BEST Solution(s) - Broad Strategy

An updated application blank that includes questions about personal interests, hobbies, and personality attributes, as well as the submission of three letters of recommendation.

A modified interviewing process that includes stress-producing questions to assess the applicant's ability to work with irritable patients.

The development of an "attitude" test that measures critical attributes for success, based on a thorough job analysis of the patient escort position.

A comprehensive orientation program and ongoing training and supervision for patient escorts.

E. Implementation Plan - Specific Steps to Implement (Real World)

Conduct a thorough job analysis of the patient escort position to determine critical attributes for success.

Develop an "attitude" test based on the results of the job analysis, and pilot test the test questions with the hospital's current patient escorts.

Revise the test questions as needed and revalidate the test to meet government requirements.

Update the application blank to include questions about personal interests, hobbies, and personality attributes, and require three letters of recommendation that focus on the applicant's ability to remain friendly and polite.

Modify the interviewing process to include stress-producing questions to assess the applicant's ability to work with irritable patients.

Develop and implement a comprehensive orientation program and ongoing training and supervision for patient escorts.

Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the new selection procedure and make adjustments as needed.

Sources:

Noe, R. A. (2017). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. McGraw-Hill Education.

"Advancing the Field of Employee Assistance Programs Research and Practice: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies and Future Research Agenda." Human Resource Management Review, JAI, 14 Nov. 2022, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482222000602.

Gibson, Emma. "How to Measure Effectiveness of Recruitment and Selection Process." Reworking, 28 Mar. 2022, reworking.com/how-to-measure-effectiveness-of-recruitment-and-selection-process/.

"Testing Practices and Attitudes toward Tests and Testing: An International Survey." Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15305058.2016.1216434.