Practice Management Alert

Question: Could you offer some tips on how we should handle holiday decorations in our medical practice? We don’t want any person, or group of people, to feel excluded — but we’re having trouble finding common ground for everyone. We’d really love to have a holiday feel at the practice, but not at the expense of making staff or patients uncomfortable.

Kentucky Subscriber

Answer: Much like most people’s personal lives, the holidays are filled with joy — and a little stress. Your practice has the right instincts; gone are the days of recognizing a single segment of the population, catering to their holiday expectations and assuming everyone else will fall in line.

So, you’ll need to think a little harder to find a more inclusive way to celebrate and recognize the season.

Help’s here: According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), you should mind these suggestions when planning all holiday-related activities, decorations, etc.:

• “Learn about the different holidays and understand their unique practices and significance,” SHRM reports;
• Remember that not everyone celebrates December holidays; Jehovah’s Witnesses, atheists, etc.
• Try to form a holiday committee made up of a group of religiously diverse employees to discuss holiday celebrations and decorations.

According to the University of Mary Washington (UMW) human resources page, you might also take these steps when considering how to recognize the December holidays:

• Set a time frame for holiday decorations. For example, you could use a Friday in early December for a “decoration party,” which should help get staff together and off to a good start for the season. Also, set a firm date on when the decorations will come down.
• “Designate a common area to share various holidays and cultures, by displaying educational materials on occasions of significance during the winter,” UMW reports.
• When planning events, make sure you have a multicultural calendar handy so you’re aware of different holidays.
• “Respect an employee’s decision not to participate in a holiday luncheon or other celebration,” UMW reports.

If you plan your calendar with these tips in mind, your practice should have the inclusive holiday season you are striving for.