Supervising Staff : Medical Secretaries

1. Supervising Staff : Medical Secretaries • Secretary Recruitment • Your Accountabilities • Supervision • Performance Management • Turnover/Terminations

2. Supervising Staff : Medical Secretaries • As a physician you’ve just sorted out your contract with the hospital and now it is time to think about your office set up. You realize you need to hire a secretary. What do you do?

3. Secretary Recruitment a. Consider the type of employment relationship and pro/cons of each, i.e. hospital hired vs. privately hired by you b. Contact the Recruitment Advisor and/or Administrative Officer for information on hiring a secretary c. Contact Roxana Caraman, Coordinator – Medical Affairs as initial contact d. Consult the Medical Affairs website to review Professional Staff set up processes e. All of the above

4. Secretary Recruitment Scenario #1 Employment Relationship through the Hospital: • Secretary = employee, LHSC/St. Joseph’s Health Care = employer • Physician = supervisor of day-to-day operations • Secretary reports from an admin. Perspective to Med. Affairs/ Coordinator of Med. Affairs • Medical Affairs has accountability for ensuring hospital policies, procedures and practices are followed • Secretary will be remunerated based on hospital salary plans and benefits • There are slight differences within HR processes of the two corporations

5. Employment Relationship Scenario #2 Private Hire: • Secretary = private hire Physician/physician corp. = employer • Physician determines salary and whether benefits are payable • Employment Standards Act must be followed in regards with employer obligations (i.e. vacation pay must be paid – min. 4%) • Physician supported by Medical Affairs has the accountability for ensuring hospital policies, procedures and practices are followed • Signing a “Employer Declaration & Release” • A copy is to be sent to Medical Affairs

6. Employment Relationship Scenario #2 Medical Affairs provides assistance with: • hiring • supervising • mandatory training (my education/ME) • setting up e-mail for private hire • misconduct/inappropriate behaviours • Privacy breaches

7. Your Accountabilities • Under Scenario #1: • Working in partnership with Medical Affairs and Human Resources (LHSC/St. Joseph's Health Care) • Hiring and/or Interviewing Secretaries • Changes in status i.e. FT to PT or vice versa • Performance development every 2 years • Managing Attendance • Managing Vacation balances • Establishing work expectations • Adhering to the obligations of a collective agreement [applicable at Victoria Hospital] • Terminations

8. Your Accountabilities 2. Under Scenario #2: • You are responsible for ensuring your staff member follows the policies and practices of the hospital • You are responsible to ensure all required mandatory training is completed (ME) • You are responsible for hiring, performance management/development, training, vacation tracking, attendance management, etc.

9. Hiring Process for Medical Secretaries at LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care • Hiring processes may differ at LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care • Fair and equitable hiring processes apply in both corporations • For LHSC: Victoria Hospital • Secretarial staff are unionized – COPE is the bargaining unit for full time positions or part time positions over 24 hours per week. • Employee must meet essential qualifications of the position, then seniority governs • Part time positions 24 hours per week and under are non-union positions.

10. Hiring Process for Medical Secretaries at LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care • University Hospital: • Secretarial staff, both full time and part-time, are non-union • St. Joseph’s Health Care: • All secretarial/clerical staff are non-union

11. Hiring Process for Medical Secretaries at LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care • If an individual is employed by both LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care, each organization will treat them as separate hires and they will need to follow the practices and policies of each organization. • As it creates a “conflict of interest,” a family member can not be a direct Supervisor. This includes summer hires.

12. Medical Affairs & HR Contacts Medical Affairs: • Contact is Roxana Caraman, Coordinator at ext. 75130 LHSC: • HR Contact is Katie Mennill, Recruitment Advisor at ext. 36902 St. Joseph's Health Care: • HR Contact is Karen Topfer, Human Resources Associate at ext. 65599

13. Selecting the Right Candidate • You know you will be involved in interviews for a new secretary .You want to pick the right people for the position by balancing the technical/clinical knowledge with the “right fit”. How do you approach this?

14. Selecting the Right Candidate a. Consult with your HR Recruitment Advisor for LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care to develop behavioural-based interviewing tools to assess hard and soft skills. b. Decide to wing it and see what happens in the interview. Your gut feeling will tell you. c. Review the essential qualifications for the position. d. Have each person being interviewed tested. e. Ask for work-related references. f. a, c, d, and e apply.

15. Selecting the Right Candidate • HR identifies candidates who meet the job posting qualifications and forwards a short list to physician. • Physicians select who to interview and at St Joseph’s Health Care, HR will participate in interview process if any candidates are external to the organization. • Consider ‘hard skills’ (keyboarding, scheduling, OHIP billing, required computer applications etc.) and ‘soft’ skills (ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with patients and others, core values, organizational and time management skills and adaptability, etc.) • Alignment with organizational values

16. Supervision You have hired a secretary from inside or outside the organization. What are your responsibilities?

17. Supervision - LHSC • If you are hiring externally, LHSC requires two completed references from current or past supervisors prior to conditional job offer being made. • HR handles job offer on behalf of Physician. • At LHSC, job offers are conditional based on receiving a satisfactory Vulnerable Sector police check. The employee is responsible to provide the police check to HR. • Once received, HR works with Physician to determine start date and will finalize the offer.

18. Supervision – St. Joseph’s Health Care • If you are hiring externally, St. Joseph's Health Care requires three completed references from current and past supervisors prior to job offer being made. • HR handles job offer as the employer. • HR works with Physician to determine start date and will finalize the offer.

19. Terms of Employment General policy information • Non-union Secretaries at LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care– non union policies apply. These can be found on intranet • Unionized Secretaries at Victoria Hospital – see COPE collective agreement • Some hospital policies apply to both union and non-union employees, i.e. vacation management

20. LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care Replacement Coverage • Replacement secretaries to cover leaves of absence at LHSC can be recruited through a job posting (if required) or contracted through a temporary agency (Manpower at 519-680-0100). Contact Human Resources for advice. • St Joseph's Health Care HR rep should only be contacted for extended leaves. For short term leaves contact Med. Affairs • Cost of replacement secretaries is billed to the physician

21. LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care Vacation Policy • Vacation policy for both LHSC and SJHC can be found on the respective Hospital Intranets • It is the physician’s responsibility to ensure that their secretary does not carry forward vacation in excess of that described in the vacation policy. • At LHSC employees cannot carry forward more than their entitlement plus 75 hours. The Physician must approve any carry over of vacation. • At LHSC employees may be allowed a negative vacation balance of no more than 37.5 hours per year • At LHSC employees must take a minimum of two calendar weeks vacation • Vacation entitlement earned in a vacation year is to be taken according to the policy or collective agreement in place at each organization. • Your responsibility would be to establish a process for requesting vacation, i.e. written request via e-mail requesting vacation.

22. Employee Benefit Plans and Policies • LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care provide benefits to full time employees upon hire or in lieu benefits to part-time employees • At LHSC, non-union part-time employees who work 22.5 hrs per week or more receive benefits. • Benefit policies are on the respective hospital websites.

23. Benefits: Sick Time • Paid sick time varies depending on employment status and whether they are union or non-union employees • During an absence due to illness/disability, the secretary retains their status with the right to return to their position when they are medically cleared by the Hospital’s Occupational Health and Safety Services department • If accommodation is required it is the hospital’s legal obligation to accommodate

24. Workplace Accommodation • LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care maintain a duty to provide appropriate accommodation to an employee with a disability in order to facilitate continued participation in the activity of work; this is legislated by AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) • It is the employer’s obligation to accommodate according to the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

25. Performance Management • It is a process of discussing employee performance based on the Job Fact Sheet and established expectations • Every two years this process is mandatory in both corporations • Forms are located on the respective hospital intranet sites • http://www.lhsc.on.ca/priv/hr/perfdev/employee.htm • http://intra.sjhc.london.on.ca/depts/hr/pds/index_3.htm

26. Standard Probationary Period • Secretaries: New employees are required to complete a standard probationary period of 3 months • This is an important period where issues of concern should be addressed and an assessment is completed of whether employee is a good fit • Both organizations have 3 month probationary forms that are to be completed by the physician and discussed with the employee

27. LHSC Code of Conduct /St. Joseph's Health Care Values in Action • LHSC Code of Conduct, St. Joseph's Health Care Values in Action • St Joseph’s Health Care - Standards of Relationships, LHSC- Violence in the Workplace, Managing Abusive and Inappropriate Behaviours: Staff and Affiliates • At minimum, speak up and hold each other accountable • Both organizations’ policies can be located by clicking on Corporate Policy Manual on the hospital’s intranet page

28. Privacy Policy and your Secretary • For Private hires – you and the individual are responsible for ensuring your secretary follows hospital policy and practices to ensure patient privacy; privacy breaches are managed by Privacy Office and Med. Affairs • LHSC and St. Joseph’s Health Care hires – the individual carries responsibility for ensuring hospital policies and practices are followed; privacy breaches are managed by Privacy office, Med. Affairs, and HR

29. Mandatory Training • Mandatory training for employees is completed through iLearn at LHSC and Learning Edge at SJHC (online systems) • Mandatory training for private hires is completed through My Education/ME (online system) • Following training required: - Fire Response and Evacuation (annually) - Infection Prevention and Control Training (every two years) - WHMIS (every three years) - Excelling at Accessible Customer Service (once) - Privacy and Confidentiality (initially and biannually at LHSC)

30. Turnover/Terminations • Ensure that Medical Affairs and Human Resources are made aware of the final date that you will require your secretarial services at least 5 months prior to departure • LHSC non-union and union employees require a minimum notice of 4 months and 5 months respectively. In addition, severance is payable. • St. Joseph’s Healthcare non-union employees require notice based on Employment Standards Act; contact Med. Affairs/HR to discuss individual situations prior to having any employee discussions around termination. • As per Employment Standards Act severance costs may involved and physician may be required to share those costs (please see Guide for Hiring Secretarial Support)

31. Turnover/Terminations • Every effort will be made to secure alternate employment for the secretary prior to the physician’s departure. If that is not possible, the layoff language for non-union employees or from the Collective Agreement will apply • Moving to another position -delete any patient lists and databases that they have on their P-drive that they have created pertaining to their previous position.

32. Supervising Staff : Medical Secretaries Thank you! Questions?