You heard this before. If you want something done right, then do it yourself. Even though there might be some truth to this, it is not the right way to run your practice. You cannot be everywhere at the same time. There is so much to do during a work day, that if you tried to do everything yourself, you would never be able to leave the office.
I see this all of the time. Doctors do not want to hire more staff because they do not want the added expense. How much is your time worth? Have you figured that out? If you haven’t, then this is something you need to do. If your time is worth $500 an hour, then why are you stuffing and mailing letters that someone else can do for $10 an hour? In addition, Doctors feel it is costly and time consuming to train these new hires, so they rather do the job themselves, or they just don’t get the important projects completed at all.
If you want a life and a flourishing business, then you need to hire and train the right employees. Do not hire too quickly. Make sure this person meets your criteria and not changing the criteria in order to fit the person. It is best to hire slowly and fire quickly.
Look for someone who is smart and trainable
A smart owner will also have all his protocols and systems all written in separate manuals. These manuals then get distributed amongst the staff. The owner will train staff on these protocols and systems. An even better way, is to have a staff member who is already trained and follows these systems to the T. Then this person is now the staff trainer. Staff should be retrained on a monthly basis, otherwise they will make up new systems that are not tested.
Other smart things a doctor can do is:
- Set up short and long term goals for the practice
- Promote the office continuously
- Making a marketing plan that continuously brings in new patients
- Lead by example
- Ask your staff what are their goals
- Continue to learn and make changes as necessary to the practice
- Lighten up and be cheerful
- Know your important numbers
By practicing smart, you will have a better practice and more time to do the things you love.
We at Top Practices are dedicated to giving you more free time while building your dream practice.
Rem/Peter
