There are many reasons that we all made the decision to be an “OWNER”. For some it was to be in control of your own schedule, for others it was because you got tired or being told what to do, and maybe for others it was that we wanted more freedom and opportunities to do things in our personal lives. Maybe it was for the infamous reason “to make more $$$$$”.
Well, regardless, here is a question. Are you being the “OWNER” you want to be?
There are a few simple tips that will help you to be a “GREAT OWNER” and more importantly help to keep your staff working together as a fine-tuned machine.
- COMMUNICATE:
When you started out as an owner was it just you, or maybe you and one or two others? Most often that is the case. But as we grow and expand, we end up with more staff. We are all great at communicating with our patients, but do we communicate with our staff in the same way? Communication is the key to everything in this world. An informed employee is a productive employee. This means that from the time we start to hire someone all the way through, we must communicate some important things. These include what your expectations are of that employee, what you want them to do in certain situations, etc. Communication builds the basis that allows your staff to be more independent. Communication includes training your staff on how to do things. When you started out, you probably did everything: scheduled patients, answered the phones, treated patients, etc. But as you add staff you start to give things to other to do. Communicate how you did it, what worked and what didn’t, what your expectations are and more. You will find this helps the new and even the seasoned staff member be more productive. Best of all this frees you up to be the owner you always wanted to be while others are getting things done for you. When you pass something on to a new or seasoned staff member, don’t forget to COMMUNICATE. Keep in touch with this person, ask them how they are doing, what they need to be successful, what their wins are each day. In short, I always ask my staff “do you need help with anything?”. By asking this question I don’t mean what can I physically do for you, but I mean “what is going well, what challenges are you having?” From this I see how they are doing, and I can guide them from there. Nevertheless, it is all COMMUNICATION.
- ALWAYS BE PLANNAING FOR THE FUTURE
What will you and your clinic be doing tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, etc.? These don’t always have to be detailed plans, but they can be ideas, goals, a target. Use as an example, you want to see 200 visits per week by the end of this year. Well it is going to take a plan to make that happen. Planning is what brings order to everything. It is what tells everyone their role in the process. With a goal to see 200 visits per week we then can plan out how many PT’s we need, who will hire them, who will be at the front desk, how will we bill and collect for those visits, what equipment do we need, is our EMR sufficient to handle that, etc. The purpose of a plan is to be able to COMMUNICATE to everyone involved what the ideas are and who has what responsibility. Don’t forget this part – COMMUNICATE YOUR PLAN!! Chances are, your staff are good staff, but they need to know what the plan is at all times. If planning is not currently your forte here is a helpful tip: a plan can be a target or a goal that you want to achieve and nothing more. At the very least, work to make sure everyone on your staff has a plan for the day or the week. (for example: 12 visits today, 60 visits seen for the week per PT, no cancelations today, a full schedule, or anything else you want to have).
Here is an implementation plan for you: Take one thing that you are currently doing and PLAN to give it to one of your staff members. COMMUNICATE what it is, how they do it, and what you expect them to accomplish. Then go be the OWNER, and start something new, go for a walk, go home early and have dinner with the family, whatever it is that you want to do as the Owner.
- PRAISE AND ACKNOWLEDGE:
Sometimes this is the most difficult thing to do because as Owners we have the thought that “I’m paying you to see those patients, so you should just be able to see those patients” or “Ya, I know the phone is ringing. I pay you to answer the phone, so you should answer it when it is ringing and get them scheduled”. While I don’t disagree with this, I would say that as Owners, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of our staff as PT’s or front desk staff as often as possible. Yes, they should be able to answer the phone and get someone scheduled or see that patient because yes, it is their job. But don’t forget that they should be acknowledged for doing their job. If you ask your staff most of them would say that they aren’t doing what they do solely for a paycheck (and if they are, they may not be the right staff). They are doing what they do to help you, to help people, to grow themselves as individuals. This is where the PRAISE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT come in. This is what feeds their purpose in life of helping you be successful, helping patients to get better, etc. It is that simple “awesome job for getting that patient scheduled out for the full plan of care” that will get you 100 more patients scheduled out for their full POC. The PRAISE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT is like the extra scoop of ice cream on the ice cream cone when you thought you were only getting one scoop. For some reason we all get excited about it. The best thing about giving your staff PRAISE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT is that it is what drives them to take on more. So how do you get things off your plate and on to others? You give them PRAISE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT whenever possible. These then lead to the conversation of “hey you’ve done such a great job at ______ lately I trust you to take on _____________. And before you know it you are being more of an Owner and less of a staff member, you have more time to be free from the day to day happenings of the office.
Now a days we hear so much about building a “culture” with our staff. Following these 3 things have helped me to build a staff that grows in size every week that all are working on the same team. It has allowed me to truly become an OWNER. I know that they will do the same for you.
Every Tuesday and Thursday I hold great FREE webinars about things that help you to grow your practice, survive in this ever-changing healthcare market, and just run a successful business in general. I’d love for you to join me for one of these and see how easy it is for you to have a practice that is not only successful but gives you the time and freedom to be THE OWNER YOU WANT TO BE. You can register for the webinar: www.PTwebinars.net
Here’s to success as a Private Practice PT.
Mike Bills
