ARE YOU A LEADER AT YOUR PRACTICE?

If you're having difficulty getting plans executed, then the information below may be helpful.

It is very important for the owner of a practice to maintain excellent communication with his/her staff and to provide active and visible leadership. Following are some key points for the executive:

Communication of Goals:

Determine what the purpose (Mission Statement) of your practice is and communicate it to your staff. Let them know what the goals for the office are and keep them informed of the projects you intend to implement to achieve those goals. The better informed your staff is and the greater understanding they have of such matters, the more likely they will be working in mutual motion with you.

Communication Tools:

There are some very basic communications devices to implement in the practice. These tools can be kept in place by your Office Manager, but must be reinforced by you as the senior executive. Some of these tools are: written requests or proposals (as opposed to verbal requests), written office communications, written policies and use of an effective communication relay system.

It is important that written communications are responded to swiftly. When people do not hear back on their communications within a reasonable period of time, they become less willing to communicate and as a result, the business can have more problems on its hands.

Staff Meetings:

It is also vital that staff meetings are held minimally once per month, but ideally once per week. This is one of the most valuable opportunities available to you for educating staff, setting goals and targets and handling problem areas that can be addressed by the staff as a whole. The communication lines within the business will strengthen considerably too.

The Owner and his Office Manager should continually strive to establish strong coordination and leadership for the staff. Any problems or disagreements between the Owner and Office Manager should always be sorted out OUTSIDE of the staff meeting and should never be addressed in the presence of any staff.

Staff meetings run most effectively if the Owner and Office Manager meet prior to the staff meeting to plan and coordinate those matters to be addressed with the staff. This should include items such as production goals for the office, coordination needed between staff members concerning patients or other matters, education on office policy or technical matters, etc.

Setting Goals and Targets:

When targeting your weekly and monthly quotas, it is advisable to plan ahead prior to your staff meeting and really confront how much production you did the week/month prior and how much can realistically be produced within the upcoming week/month (bearing in mind that you should target toward expansion). Really take a look at what CAN be done, then go over it together and with the rest of your staff at the staff meeting.

Each week you should bring relevant production graphs to the meeting and keep the staff informed as to how the group is doing in approaching the goals.

Group Member Responsibility:

The more each staff member takes responsibility for the office as a whole, the better your office will do. It is very helpful to have each staff person come to the staff meeting prepared to contribute. This is something to be backed by the Owner so that the staff realizes the importance and complies with the Office Manager's orders. The goal of the executive should be to encourage and show the staff how to become more and more responsible and able to contribute to the creativity, growth and expansion of the practice.

Policy:

To create stability for the practice and to keep the lines straight, it is very important that you continue to implement written policies. There should be written policy to govern all activities in the practice.

When you write a policy, place the original in a binder marked "Policies." The Office Manager would then distribute a copy to each relevant staff person, indicating to the staff that they are to read the policy and route a note to the Office Manager reporting that they had done so. Their copy of the policy would be placed in their "job description" manuals, under General Staff Section.

The Office Manager can be very helpful in policy development, but she needs to know exactly what your policies are. She can write the policies and submit them to you for final approval. She can and should suggest to you areas in which policy is needed. Staff should also be encouraged to propose policy via the Office Manager.

Silkin Management Group has been in business for over 25 years, delivering practice management consulting and training to over 4000 health care offices throughout the United States and Canada. For further information on Silkin visit our website at: Silkin Management Group Home Page.

I invite you to share any thoughts through our Discussion Forum at the Silkin Facebook Page BY CLICKING HERE.

Larry Silver
President, Silkin

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