Rev. Dr. Eric Smith on gaining administrative support, part II

Working Towards a Dialogue Between Friends

In the last issue of PlainViews, Eric wrote about his efforts to discover what it takes to gain administration’s support in this era of cost cutting and competing for valuable resources, through interviewing 15 senior administrators from eight different hospitals in three different states. Having analyzed their responses, he moves on to positive actions that he used to make changes at his facility.

Our very livelihoods and ministries rely upon the acceptance, the value, and the resources our administrators give us. Through the coupling of my own experiences with information gained in those personal interviews, here are some suggestions:

• Speak from a position of wealth, not poverty. Think, “Wow! I’ve got something to offer!”—not, “Oh woe is me.” Do not approach it as one who has a need, but as one who has discovered a way to make a contribution. Consider the bottom line and make sure your idea or request will in some way positively impact the overall mission of the organization.
  
  
• Talk their language. They need concrete data in order to make decisions. We religious professionals have our own terms and concepts, but these may not be familiar or meaningful to them. Their language is data, analysis, cost computation and comparisons, and financial or volume impact. If you do not know how to acquire, analyze, and present this important data affecting your project or proposal, ask your finance or marketing departments, even administration, for help in learning this. Almost all administrators expect some kind of cost/benefit analysis to be included in your request. One administrator said, “Nine out of ten times when I say ‘no’ to something, it is not because it seemed like such an unreasonable idea; it is because I have not been given enough information to thoroughly evaluate and appreciate this option.”
  
  
• Use the FAB Concept. Focus on three things: Features, Advantages, and Benefits. A feature is a physical attribute of a product or service. An advantage is what the product or service does. And, benefits are what the customer gets. For example, there was no money budgeted for clergy workshops when I arrived at Sierra Providence Health Network. I sold administration on this by using the FAB Concept. The features included a gathering of community clergy and faith group representatives at one of our hospitals. We invite them, provide space, refreshments, and speakers. The advantages included getting clergy familiar with our facilities and with some key staff members and physicians, and giving them important information about a medical specialty of ours. The benefits to us were that these natural referral agents will feel connected to us and key staff members, will recommend that their parishioners choose our hospitals, and our business will increase and our bottom line will be enhanced (besides my initial goal of offering caring, supportive ministry and helpful information to our area clergy).
  
  
• Pastorally care for and support your administrators. The most critical factor in gaining administration’s support is the pastoral care they receive from you and your staff for themselves, their patients, and their employees. Most said to me in their own words, “Be the chaplain or pastoral caregiver we hired you to be, but don’t leave us out.” Now think about it — the best way for them to realize our value is to have personally experienced it themselves.

Show your administrators you care about them and what they care about. Do everything reasonable to foster a relationship of trust and mutual respect. By doing these things, when you have a request to make, your deliberations will not be a contest or battle between adversaries, but a dialogue between friends.

Do you have thoughts about advocacy you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org.