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| Friday, April 4th, 2008 |
How to Build a Winning Team
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Without a doubt, one of the toughest aspects of managing private practice today is staffing. We don't have the same resources as a hospital or clinic, where an MBA or Human Resources professional is typically available to handle staffing issues. Despite this lack of resources, one fact remains: Failure to acknowledge and successfully address this key component will lead to more stress, less income, and ultimately a far less rewarding career.
It is unfortunate that most of our grad schools fail to provide doctors with even a modicum of training in this extraordinarily important part of private practice. Failure to appropriately manage staffing issues leads to costly mistakes, lost revenue and potential legal issues. Most doctors, unfortunately, learn to take these issues seriously only after making very costly mistakes; however, you can learn the skills you need to build a winning and successful team.
Think of office staffing as a system, with five basic tenets.
· Identify all positions that need to be staffed or outsourced
Payroll is usually the most costly element of practice. Hiring should only take place after you have carefully designed an organizational chart showing which roles will be filled internally, and which must be filled externally.
Decide which tasks will require on-site personnel, and which tasks are suitable for outsourcing. In today's practice environment, it is imperative not to hire people for tasks which could be more appropriately outsourced, subcontracted to other professionals, or handled by existing technology. A perfect example here is transcription, which can largely be eliminated with a good electronic records system. Some collections and billing duties can also be shifted to more affordable subcontractors.
Before you ever place an ad for a potential employee, you should have a clear picture of the staff structure you would like to eventually achieve. This careful consideration is essential to profitability, and an important part of practice management. Staffing your office is an evolutionary process that must be both complimentary to your practice style, and fiscally responsible.
· Find and select appropriate candidates.
In order to find the right candidate, you must have a clear vision for the position or role. Create a detailed job description for the position before you begin the hiring process. If you are not sure what you are looking for, you have no chance of finding the right person.
Spell out the duties, responsibilities, and career path for this position. Outline the necessary skills, competencies, and experience a candidate must possess in order to be successful in the position. Define what "excellent performance" in this role would look like. Failing to do this is like attempting to build a skyscraper without an engineering plan.
With a clearly defined role in hand, you are now ready to begin the search for the perfect candidate. Begin by working with as big an applicant pool as possible. Local or regional newspapers work great in most areas. Personal referrals from existing employees can be a good source of great candidates. You may also get good results from posting openings in your office, in any newsletters you send out, and on your website.
Direct potential candidates to submit their resume, references and cover letter to your office via email. This accomplishes several things:
· Screens out applicants without a basic level of computer literacy
· Allows you to check submitted for spelling, grammar, and style
· Allows you to see if applicants are able to follow basic instructions
If you are not able to accept applications via email, ask potential applicants to fax in their resumes. Do not accept phone calls about open positions. Never allow an endless stream of phone calls from applicants to disrupt the day for your team.
Interviewing is an art in and of itself. Always plan to conduct interviews with a partner, preferably with a staff person of the opposite sex. Interview an applicant side-by-side with a trusted ally has the additional benefit of allowing you to compare impressions and ask different question. Before making your selection, it is a good idea to conduct skills test and a second interview. Remember to have a second choice to fall back on, in case your first choice does not work out.
· Establish management policies
The establishment of sound management policies is a critical step. The creation and maintenance of an effective policy and compliance manual is crucial. Do not neglect this very important part of the team building process.
This manual will ultimately become your practice playbook. Have you ever known a top-notch team or organization to function at high levels without a system of policies, directions and basic rules? Your office is no different. The clearer your manual is, the better the results you will obtain from your team.
Many doctors need assistance with this task. There are some well written resources, templates and components you can purchase online. It is vital however, to ensure that your manual and policies comply with state and federal employment law.
· Visit your own state's website to ensure that you understand local labor laws, wage guidelines, and anti-discrimination policies.
· Have a good employment attorney in your state review your policies and procedures. Any costs spent here will be paid back in spades. Many employment law firms can design an excellent manual on your behalf.
Once you have your preliminary manual, review it to ensure it meets legal requirements for hiring, nondiscrimination, time off, etc. Assemble your final manual and put it accessible locations in the office. Ensure that all employees have access to the manual, placing one at every workstation.
· Create clear written duties and checklists
Each position within your office should have not only a written position description, but also a written checklist of responsibilities.
Record every task and responsibility, from how to open the office locks, safe, and phone system, all the way through to end of the day responsibilities. The safest assumption when writing these is to assume nothing. The more detail oriented you are when going through this process, the less chance there will be for future employee misunderstanding and error.
Tere are many excellent templates and resources available online that you can use as a starting point, but the key to success will involve customization, so that your documentation exactly matches your requirements. This information should then be integrated into your office handbook.
· Create exact mechanisms for dealing with staff negligence, noncompliance or willful disregard
Ensure that you have clearly written policies, procedures and mechanisms for dealing with staff negligence, noncompliance, or willfull disregard. These topics must be fully covered within your policy and procedure manual. When developing your practice policy, tap all of the knowledge and resources available to you. Obtain the advice of solid legal counsel, and have them review your end product before distilling the information to your staff. This can save you countless legal headaches in the future.
By adhering to these five basic tenets, you can begin building a winning and successful team.
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