How can simple communication practices like “huddles” transform patient care and team efficiency? Why is collaboration at every level of a team essential for long-term success? What benefits come from questioning and redesigning the very systems your business relies on?
In this podcast episode, Jennifer Froemel speaks about how to create freedom through frameworks.
In This Podcast:
- Implementing huddles
- Collaborate with your team
- Be willing to question your system
Implementing huddles
Improving communication is a foundational aspect to creating and sustaining any valuable change.
Jennifer and her team, while working in clinics previously in her career, began implementing “huddles” in the morning and the afternoon.
We decided, “Why not have a lunch meeting … that way we’re full, we’re ready to go, and we’re ready to listen” and we don’t have to worry about someone leaving to go eat their lunch, why not do that beforehand? Guys, we were cooking with gas!
Jennifer Froemel
They were able to cut down patient visits from 2 hours down to 25 minutes.
It was with these communicative huddles that Jennifer and her team were able to redesign their patient visits, streamlining them and making them overall more comfortable for both the therapists and the clients themselves.
We were seeing more clients, families were more participatory, they were in and out! We were moving them along. We ended up adding in walkie-talkies and were communicating directly as a team.
Jennifer Froemel
Collaborate with your team
Do you want your business, clinic, practice or organization to run smoothly on good systems? Introduce and encourage collaboration between team members and departments.
When you have [people in your team] feeling important and part of the team, you have a whole different experience! When you have them knowing that if they [need to] make that call or get in touch with the client … The client won’t be angry or aggressive, which will make the team so much better. Then you start to have these idiosyncrasies where you learn each other’s [habits], and now you share more with each other, and you create with each other this wonderful working collaborative culture.
Jennifer Froemel
When you create cultures of collaboration, people want to become part of the conversations, and they want to offer up new ideas and suggestions on how to create the best solutions.
Be willing to question your system
We all saw that there was a problem. We had a team that all wanted the same goal, and we worked together and listened to each other … [As the leader], I listened more intently because I wanted to make sure that we weren’t missing anything. The more I listened intently, the more the team felt happy.
Jennifer Froemel
When we are willing to look at the framework within we are working in, and we are willing to sit with it and change it up for the better, the benefits could be numerous:
- Increased revenue
- Staff satisfaction
- Happier clients
So, don’t be afraid to undo and redo the old frameworks! Everything benefits from intentional change.
Look at the issues that are present, think on the successes you want to have, and figure out how you can connect them through updating the system you are using.
So, what process in your life needs more clarity so that you can have more freedom?
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
Donate to Jennifer Froemel’s Lifesaving Work in Nepal
Practice of the Practice Network
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CONNECT WITH ME
Visit The Innovative Counselling Partners Practice Website and connect on Facebook.
ABOUT THE FEAR OF CHANGE PODCAST
Change can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. The Fear of Change podcast is all about helping you embrace change and live a more fulfilling life. Hosted by Jennifer Froemel, LCPC, a therapist with nearly 30 years of experience, we cover topics like mental wellness, holistic health, and improving relationships.
Jennifer’s down-to-earth approach makes it easy to understand why we fear change and how to move past those fears. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, relationship issues, or just feeling stuck, there’s something here for you.
