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marketing group Medical Marketing DNA™ TM healthcaremarketinggroup.com 800-258-0702 TOP 5 WAYS your staff is costing you money. Find out ways to increase your bottom line by improving the effectiveness of your staff.

Top 5 Ways Your Staff is Costing You Money

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marketing groupMedical Marketing DNA™

TM

healthcaremarketinggroup.com800-258-0702

TOP 5 WAYSyour staff is costing you money.Find out ways to increase your bottom line by improving the effectiveness of your staff.

Your staff might be ruining your practice…Go back and read that again. Your staff, the people you’ve hired to run things while you’re busy attending to patients, might be ruining your practice. It’s possible that you are vehemently disagreeing with the statement. If you disagree – Congratulations! You’ve done the work critical to your practice’s success. We invite you to read on and feel good about the work your team has implemented.

On the other hand, this statement might have given you pause. Maybe you believe your staff is part of, a big part of, the problem. Maybe you’re even nodding vigorously.

If you feel that your staff is just not doing their jobs, or the job you want and need them to do, it’s time to get to the root of the problem. Once you identify the issues, you can get down to resolving them. Here are five common reasons why medical office staff might be stifling your practice rather than assisting in its growth.

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They Were Hired Too QuicklyWhat’s your hiring process like? If you’re like many busy doctors, you might look at resumes, pick a few promising candidates to interview, and go with the one you like best. Maybe you only meet the candidates briefly while your office manager squeezes interviews into her already jammed schedule.

Before you hire anyone, collaborate with your office manager and other senior staff members to talk about what type of person would best fit in with your practice. Are you looking for someone results-oriented? Someone who can deal with a fast-paced environment? Someone who needs to ask a lot of questions to help you make necessary changes? Should the person be trained, or would you rather train him or her yourself? Are you hiring the next generation of skills for your practice? Does your current staff KNOW your vision, mission and future of the practice?

If you are considering promoting from within the practice, make sure that the person moving up is actually equipped to take on the new position. If Sally makes a great technician but you have doubts about her supervisory skills, don’t promote her to front desk manager; hire someone else instead who has the correct qualifications. Many times staff is promoted because they are loyal, have tenure and no planning or training is factored into the promotion of a good employee.

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They Have Not Been Trained ProperlyOnce you have your staff in place, it’s up to you (yes, you, Doctor!) to make sure that they are trained properly. Your medical assistants, nurses and other support staff should come to you knowing how to perform the duties of their jobs. You also need to ensure that they know how to perform those tasks within the culture of your practice.

What are your office policies for employees? Do you have an employee handbook? If not, where does the staff go for office policies/procedures and performance protocols. You’re going to need to train your receptionists how to answer the telephone, what information to collect from patients, and in what order to ask those questions. Let your assistants know how far in advance to bring patients into the exam room(s), what needs to be charted, and how long they should wait before checking in with them in case of a delay on your part. Teach your staff how to keep your patients relaxed and satisfied with the service they’re getting. Lack of thorough and ongoing training of staff is one of the key reasons for a host of issues within a practice and marketplace perception.

Don’t feel as though you have to do all of this training on your own; you don’t. Designate a staff member on each team within your office to handle training the new hires. Just make sure that person is fully aware of all policies and able to handle the job of teaching someone else – it’s not as easy as it sounds.

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Your Staff Is Not Invested in the PracticeIf the staff is frustrated with procedures that don’t make sense to them or they feel as though they are not encouraged to share concerns, they are not going to be invested in making your practice succeed. As the people that make or break your practice, it’s essential that your staff members are given the responsibility and the autonomy to come to you with suggestions that will make their jobs easier and your practice better. Giving them the authority to initiate needed changes and the tools to do so also matter to diversifying the work flow of any practice.

Hold regular collaborative meetings and take the concerns of your staff members seriously. As those “in the trenches,” they are the ones getting the brunt of the anger from patients left waiting too long and dealing with the stress of poor appointment-booking policies. They also are on the front line of good news, feedback and pulse of the patients. Value your staff members and their expertise, and they will want to work as a team to help you succeed. Also, consider investing in your staff by offering continuing education. Whether that takes the form of workshops and conventions or assistance paying for higher education, this can bring you a great ROI.

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2Staff Morale Is LackingA similar problem that many offices face is low staff morale. Does everyone get along? Is the workload fair? Do they feel comfortable coming to you and/ or the office manager with problems, suggestions and anything else work-related on their minds? Is your office a pleasant place to work? Is your staff dealing with a doctor who consistently runs late? Do you have a schedule that is jam-packed? Is your office understaffed or are there other issues that make being at work feel like a heavier burden than it should? Do you and your office manager get along? Does the staff know that the office manager speaks for the practice? Or do you have a ‘ask Mom, then Dad’ dynamic in your practice?

Take a hard look at the conditions that your staff is facing at work. Talk to them about things they’d like to see changed, then create an actionable plan to put some of those changes into place. Don’t try to change everything at once. Set goals and measurements and work the plan. Show your employees that you value them and their time. As they begin to value their jobs more, they will be more interested in helping your practice thrive.

If you need direction and help in managing your staff, HealthCare Marketing Group can help. We will provide an objective assessment and

individualized coaching to help you grow your practice to where you want it to be. Please contact us today for a free consultation at 800-528-0702.

Your Team Is Being Poorly LedYou may be aware now that all of these problems lead back to one person: You. As the owner (or owners) of your business, it’s your responsibility to be a good leader, set a good example and be as non-disruptive as possible. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association ™(JAMA), there’s a perception among healthcare workers that many physicians are interfering with both patient care and their staff’s ability to work effectively and efficiently. JAMA calls it the “disruptive physician.” JAMA states that since 2006, the percentage of doctors gaining that dubious distinction continues to grow. Don’t win this distinction from JAMA!

Remember that your staff depends on you to lead them. The consistency of your conduct, your management style, your communication abilities and habits will be what determines whether your practice fails, merely survives, or thrives. Remember: How you act as the practice owner is modeled by staff: How are you leading?

Is your staff ruining your practice? If you feel that they are (or see some areas in need of support within your own leadership), it’s essential that you get to the root of the problem and work together on solutions. It might be that your team needs more education. Perhaps some employees need to be replaced. Your office likely needs new policies or processes. It might be that your attitude needs an adjustment. Whatever it takes, you’re the owner who must lead the way to change.

healthcaremarketinggroup.com800-258-0702

800-258-0702

healthcaremarketinggroup.com

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