What is a bullpen?  In baseball, the term bullpen means the place where the relief pitchers stay and warm up prior to entering the game. 

In your practice, the bullpen is the extra person, that extra staff member that is around that can fill in anywhere, anytime.  If another staff member is out sick or on vacation, then you have this team player available so you don’t miss a beat.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  You are saying, “Hold on now, I don’t need that extra expense added to my payroll.  Are you kidding me?  You want me to have a ‘bullpen’ in my office?”  Yes, absolutely.  Here is why.  Divide your team members into A’s, B’s, and C’s. A’s are your best players and C’s, well, these are the ones that have to go.  Your B’s are good, but some will become A’s and some won’t.  You want all A’s.

So now a prospective team player comes along, and you really think she would be a great fit for your practice. You know if you had her on your team, it would make the office just that much better.  She is a superstar in the making.  I say go ahead and hire her.  Hiring another team player can make some of your C’s jealous and they will just quit.  Some will work hard and maybe become a B.  Still, the key is to bring your B’s into A’s.  Plus I guarantee you this: one of your team players was about to leave anyway.  Now you already have your replacement.

There is a key statistic that you need to keep.  Your payroll ratio should be between 22-26% of the total collections of the office.  This does not include the physicians’ salaries.

Initially you might spend a little more, but if the bullpen is of the Mariano Rivera quality, then you just won big time. 

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