Scenario:

You are an RHIA at FSU Medical Center in Tallahassee, Florida, and an Assistant Director of the HIM Department. The hospital is a 300-bed general hospital with 14 employees in the HIM Department.Annual discharges average 8,000 with approximately 40,000 outpatient visits annually. The department is open 12 hours/day, 6 days/week. You have been employed in your present position for two years.

It is budget time and hospital administration has allowed $25,000 for yearly salary increases for the following employees. Many of your employees have already had increases during the past year. The salary ranges for each classification, as established by the Human Resources Department, for the coming year are as follows:

Messenger$25,000 - 26,500

Filing Supervisor$36,400 - 38,000

Medical Transcription Supervisor$36,800 - 38,800

Filing Clerk$25,300 - 26,800

Transcription Assistant$25,200 - 26,500

ROI Assistant $26,300 - 27,800

Evening Supervisor$35,800 - 37,400

The labor market has been quite tight, but in recent months, it has shown improvement. The cost of living is expected to rise 5% from July 1- June 30.The Department Director has asked you to help evaluate the employees listed below and work with her in granting increases for the year. Your employees will not receive another increase during the year unless they receive a promotion or assume increased responsibilities.

Employee #1:Filing Supervisor

This employee was hired three years ago to supervise four File Clerks and all activities associated with the Filing Area.Her attendance is good.She adequately trains her Clerks in routine performance of their duties but she is unsuccessful in motivating them beyond routine performance.She has demonstrated very little interest in improving procedures.Her answer to every problem is to request extra help. She does try very hard to maintain regular work up-to-date and clinic personnel find her helpful.However, she is often observed doing nothing that her Clerks resent, although she produces well in crisis situations, staying late if necessary.Her present salary is $3,083 per month.

Employee #2: Medical Transcription Supervisor

The Medical Transcription Supervisor is an expert Medical Transcriptionist who personally produces top quality work although she rarely finds time to type.She spends her time trying to achieve perfection from her three transcriptionists and doing work over for careless doctors.She is reluctant to enforce rules and procedures. As a result, considerable extra work must be performed in the area.Production is low although the reports produced are of high quality.The supervisor works very hard including a little extra time, if necessary.She is well liked by her employees and the doctors.Her attendance record is outstanding and she can always be counted on in a crisis situation.She has been employed in her present capacity for five years and earns $3,108 a month.

Employee #3: Evening Supervisor

This employee has worked in the Department for almost eight years.She was originally employed as a Clerk in the Filing Area, then promoted to Assistant Supervisor on the evening shift, and finally to Supervisor.Her attendance is outstanding, and she can always be counted on in a crisis situation.She works hard although frequently she does the work of the Clerks rather than discipline them which results in her neglecting her assigned duties.Repeated counseling about this problem has not improved the situation.She currently makes $2,983 a month.

Employee #4: Messenger

This employee has worked as a Messenger delivering medical records since 1999.He is extremely conscientious; always arriving early for work and never misses a day.However, he learns very slowly and it took almost three months for him to master this simple job.He has poor eyesight and finds it difficult to work with printed materials.He can accurately work if he is not expected to cope with changes in his work.He uses a magnifying glass to read.He began work at $1,500 and now earns $2,100 a month.

Employee #5: Transcription Assistant

This employee has been employed as the Transcription Assistant to assist the Transcription Supervisor with strictly clerical tasks since April 2001. She is a very accurate worker who conscientiously performs the duties assigned. She is a very slow worker; however, the Transcription Supervisor spends much often time doing the Assistant's work. Her attendance is excellent, and she is punctual. You often observe her staring into space, and her work area is very disorganized. She currently makes $2,100 a month after having received a $100 a month increase at the end of her probationary period.

Employee #6: ROI Assistant

This individual has been employed as a ROI Assistant for one year. She began work as a Clerk II, but was promoted to the current position soon after she started. As a Clerk II, she received $2,200 but as a ROI Assistant she received $2,200 a month. During her employment she carried out the work assigned to the desk. Her attendance and punctuality are good. She will begin work early if she is behind in her work for any reason. She maintains a neat and orderly work area and has simplified some procedures at her desk. She does quite a bit of visiting with other employees and sometimes is not tactful as she could be with patients and others requesting her assistance. She currently makes $2,300 a month since she received a $100 a month increase at the end of her probationary period.

Employee #7: Filing Clerk

This employee began as a Clerk I in November 2000 in the Incomplete Filing Area. She was responsible for filing the incomplete charts and filing loose reports into the charts. She worked in that area until the incomplete area was eliminated in June 1997. Since that time she has worked in the Filing Area, first as a floater and then as an Area Clerk. She was promoted to Filing Clerk when the positions were upgraded in July 1997. She conscientiously completes her chart filing, lab work, and emergency requisitions. She also audits her files regularly and keeps her assigned file area in excellent shape. She is not very good about answering her share of the telephone calls and tends to let someone else do it. She started at $2,150 a month and now earns $2,200 a month. She received her last raise on January 2005.

Assignment:

Evaluate the above employees and recommend how you would divide the $25,000 allotted for salary increases. Justify the reasons for your decision.