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Category Archives: Motivation
What’s Been Working: 7 Characteristics of Successful Chiropractic Offices
We recently reviewed what has been working marketing-wise with many of the more successful chiropractic offices with whom we work. Many chiropractors are doing their best ever, even some who have been in practice for years. One called up last week and said they had over 30 new patients that week.
What did we find? There seems to be a few key elements in common. Here are 7 of them:
1. External Marketing Procedures. Many offices have had very successful external events over the last several months. These are often scheduled a year in advance, and include talks, screenings, and networking. But external marketing also includes advertising, such as a dynamic web site, email, and even some radio, television, and print.
New offices, in particular, need to concentrate on external marketing. But established offices also benefit because they not only help generate new patients, but also reactivate former patients and bolster the confidence of your active patients when they see you outside of your office. We have lots of materials, posters, ads, procedural manuals on these external procedures. Many are free on our web sites (here and at pmaworks.com). You can also purchase our Marketing Manager System with the MMS Marketing Toolkit which has hundreds of practical marketing materials for your use.)
2. Internal Events. Most offices that are doing well have had some kind of internal event. Successful internal events are fun. They can simply be something silly like a costume day (Halloween Costume Awards), 80’s Day with mullets, or a “Fruity Friday” with fruit on Fridays (Yea Team Munson!). They can also focus on referrals: “Bring a Buddy Day”, services for donations, coupons, etc. A very effective program is educational classes, such as the standard spinal care class and monthly advanced classes on different conditions and topics. (These procedures are also covered on our web sites and on our MMS computer program.)
3. Patient Education. Offices that have been doing well work hard at “telling the chiropractic story.” True health sets us apart from the medical world, which concentrates on crisis care and disease care. The more the patients understand this difference, and seek it, the more they stay, pay, and refer. Nothing beats an educated patient. A patient that understands the importance of spinal hygiene and general organic health will be more than a patient but a fellow team mate in your quest to help others regain and maintain their own health. Along with this understanding is the need for you and your team to also understand the opposing forces to healing from the inside, which include personal laziness and irresponsibility, Big Pharma, Big Food, and toxicity in every day materials.
4. Clinical Focus and Certainty. Successful offices have doctors that continue to be engaged in the craft, science, and philosophy of their profession. I have seen offices with full appointment books simply because the chiropractor was a zealot about his skills and outcomes and was certain that he could nearly raise the dead. One definition of professionalism could be the act of providing the utmost in excellent service long after the excitement and newness for the subject has evaporated. This requires discipline to constantly renew your eagerness for your skills.
5. Excellent Team Support. The busy offices were a team where everyone helped the patients and doctor quickly and cheerfully. To do this you have to have the right people in the right roles doing the right procedures. Sometimes the office is disorganized, or the front desk staff member wants to be an airline stewardess (attendant) and the billing coordinator wants to work in a hospital. Sometimes there simply needs to be another staff member helping, or the procedures change too often for no reason. These can stop new patients.
Simply put, someone has to do the marketing. Your team should want to sell heath. If the office is sufficiently organized and motivated, new patients seem to walk in as if being summoned telepathically.
6. Clinic Atmosphere. The quality of the atmosphere of an office is usually taken for granted. And given the fact that other practice building elements are in place, it may not be an acute problem. But there is no question that in the long term, the “vibes” of an office have far reaching effects.
Corporations understand this and make attempts at creating a great atmosphere. Starbucks is an example. But small town or corner stores often do this better, where the service and care is down right…neighborly. People want to go to a place where everyone knows their name.
7. Executive Skills.
Except for the clinical component, most of the elements mentioned above rests upon the skills of the doctor as a business executive, a role for which you did not necessarily sign up for when you paid your tuition at chiropractic college.
Every successful business has a C.E.O. who inspires the team, ensures successful polices and procedures are constantly applied and improved, and plots the long term growth of the enterprise. This is actually THE missing role in most chiropractic offices, by the way. This is why most doctor’s stay chained to their jobs and live week to week, working to pay their overhead and keep the doors open.
To convert a job to a business requires someone to move outside of the practice and start to work on the practice, not just in it.
This is such an important skill that next year we will be starting a new series on The Chiropractor as the C.E.O.
You too can work on these seven areas of your business and see more than enough patients. We would be happy to help you, by the way.
Ed Petty
Your Promise
Here in the Midwest, flowers and trees are blossoming. We have a tree in front of my office that is exploding with light pink blossoms. Baby birds are chirping.
A new crop of students are graduating and new wave of young people are getting married. (My daughter is among them! [big smile])
Promises of what can be.
Just for a moment, think about what is it that your clinic promises?
Because it does promise something, whether or not you even planned it to. Every business does. For example, driving by a Starbucks, what is promised?
One of the definitions of a brand is a “promise.” Starbucks has worked hard on perfecting and systematizing their brand and promise.
Your brand, your reputation, your image – what does it promise?
The tone of your front desk when she/he answers the phone – what is the promise?
Your report of findings – what is promised?
When your patient accounts staff talks with your patients, what is the promise?
There are a hundred little units of communication that you are constantly sending out about what your patients can expect to receive with your services. Do your messages inspire trust and confidence? Are they friendly? Do they appeal to what your patients and potential patients really want?
And do you deliver on the promise?
The word promise has a number of meanings. One of the meanings is a “stated commitment.” Another is to “show potential for future excellence.” Both apply.
You can discuss this at your next staff meeting.
It is spring. A time for new beginnings and renewal; a promise of great expectations that can be achieved.
And your gift is that you and your team have the ability to make every day a spring day, every moment a spring moment.
Are you chirping?
Ed
Minneapolis Workshop, April, 2009
What a workshop and boot camp! With 4 separate breakout sessions, everyone was busy learning, training, and getting inspired.
We learned a lot too, and for those of you who attended – thank you! We had at least as much fun as you did.
We have had many glowing responses since we ended the seminar, including this one, the day after the seminar. One doctor called in and said:
“I don’t know what you guys did, but we are on fire! Heather loved Phyllis and sold THREE PREPAYS this morning!”
The exuberant doctor said that two new patients came in with a guest. All three became new patients, prepaid, and left with full appointments. “I ended up with an additional 96 visits scheduled”, the doctors said.
A practice tip from Phyllis from the workshop.
Some other workshop comments:
I learned about the individual departments in our office, learning what areas are strong and what are weak and what to do to make them better. I liked seeing our staff/team members gain knowledge to bring back to the office. Dr. A
Seminar was so good, just wanted more of it.
Learned new procedures for financial consultations. The information was EXTREMELY useful.
Liked the information on consultation and report of findings. Dr. Peter gave us tools to use in office. All pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Dr. D
I loved all the various classes offered (breakout sessions) Didn’t get bored. (C.A.)
The information was useful. I liked the marketing schedule, back to basics procedures with checklists, focus on low cost marketing, motivation. Dr. S
Lots of ideas we could apply. Everyone sells health, “scheduling week”, and other ideas – all were useful.
The information was absolutely useful and timely. Will help me with my consultations. Doctor
Dave was a great speaker. Learned more about financial consultations and billing.
Will improve my ROF’s and my wellness financials. I like the breakout sessions. Dr.H
I learned how to become the doctor’s support system, handle the new patient, cluster book, recall, and learning that I have the power to lead the patients instead of the patient leading me.
Great Speakers. Easy to follow.
Your company cares and listens to their clients.
Lots of ideas. Liked the external marketing ideas.
Dr. Peter was fabulous.
VERY INSPIRING
Geese
(This article is attributed to Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes.)
This spring, when you see geese heading north for the summer, flying along in the V-formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way: As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V-formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way as we are.
When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying.
Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. What do we say when we honk from behind?
Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose or follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies. Only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation, to catch up with their group.
If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.
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For a printable poster of this article, click here.
If you know any more about the author of this article, please let us know.
Serenity Prayer
Reply
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Spring and Meaning
Spring.
And almost three months into the New Year.
It was just 3 months ago when the New Year began. What about those goals you set? Those resolutions you made? How are you doing on achieving them?
You know, it is just amazing, working with the great doctors and staffs that we do. It is so evident that success is so attainable. It is just peeking around the corner, waiting for you to do just that next key action that will propel your office to pick up the speed needed to take you to the next level.
One doctor we are working with, after being in practice nearly 20 years, is hitting his best ever days and highest ever weeks this month. His staff have been emailing us their successes as if they are texting us from a rock concert!
We live for this stuff, by the way – your successes. Many times after years of gradual improvements, it is so gratifying to see an office take off with stability.
Another doctor who has been in practice for years has been breaking collections records. And volume…seems like it is nothing to have a 1000 visit month – with many if not most new patients coming in from referrals. One doctor we work with routinely sees over 1000 visits each month, and each month works with his colleagues and associates to help them hit their best-evers. Another doctor had over 150 on the books for him to see yesterday (Wednesday).
From our perspective, it looks like chiropractic is having a renaissance.
Of course, this is not the case with all of our clients. Some are still laying foundations for future growth. Success can come, but sometimes only after years of implementing the right procedures.
But what are these “right procedures”, and where do you look? Insurance department, clinic management and organization, marketing?
Some of you may feel that you are in a rut, that you and your practice are stuck. If so, take heart and have hope. Things can change and you can do better. We have seen it happen with many doctors in these last three months.
There are so many distractions in our lives, and many of them are negative and disheartening. Demoralizing. Frightening. Discouraging. Yet, we see doctors who have been stuck, finally get things going and do better. After years of stagnation, we see them do their best ever.
Practice development success is dependent on the quality of your systems and organization. That’s 50%
What’s the other 50%?
Part II
The other 50% is an “Inside Job.” That is, your success is dependent upon the structure of your office, but also on the function of your behavior. The quality, and quantity, of your energy, your attitude, and your creativity is easily 50% the cause of your success, or not.
So, if your numbers are down, you should spend half your time improving your systems, and half your time…improving yourself.
Are you frightened stiff? Have you developed “hardening of the attitudes”? Are you resentful, a seething caldron of anger? Do you feel burned out, frustrated, or feel like you just can not make the changes needed? Believe me, this manifests one way or another in your practice. And in all areas of your life.
We all experience these feelings, among others, at times. Sometimes they are acute. But after you have been in business for a while, you may not even notice that you have become less than enthusiastic about practice.
Yet, even if you were locked up in solitary confinement, you would still have the power of choice. You could still be creative. Even if you were shackled, starved, beaten, imprisoned, you could still find meaning and purpose in your life.
This is the basis of an entire branch of psychology as developed by a former prisoner of the Nazi death camps, Victor Frankl. His observations lead him to identify what he saw as the basic principles of living, including:
- “Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.
- “Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.”
Successful people have meaning in their lives.
If you can find purpose and meaning in this very moment, in this day, with your next patient, with this year, your probability of success will be greatly increased. More importantly, you will find that what you are doing is more satisfying.
Fear will vanish, hardened attitudes will become flexible, and your energy will return.
Structural changes will need to take place, of course. Better clinic systems and organizational procedures will then take you to the top. And keep you there.
We can help with all of these, by the way. But you should know and be reassured that chiropractic is happening. It is hip, it is popular, and it is growing, probably more so now than ever before.
Naysayers say otherwise to promote their goods or services. They are sell outs. Don’t buy what they are peddling. Chiropractors have always been challenged and it is actually what has helped you be strong and survive. Insurance cutbacks are not new.
After more than 20 years in business, we are still amazed each day when we hear of the stories patients tell of their success.
Chiropractic works. It has, does, and will for at least the rest of this year. So, find your meanings and purposes, get help to upgrade your clinic procedures and organization, and make those yearly goals you set for 2008.
Heck — why not beat them and make this year your best ever?
Spring has its own meaning, its own purpose: to grow and create. This can be your purpose too.
Every moment, every day. Right now.
Goals For Patients and Chiropractors
Goals Give Us Tools to Put Dreams Into Action
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| Phyllis A Frase |
If each of us is on a lifelong journey to find our hat, to know who we are, then by implication we are all on a journey to somewhere. It is our passion for that destination that makes us engaged and purposeful about our work and lives. Without a dream, without goals, we have no direction. As the old expression says, “If you don’t know where you are going, any path will get you there.”
William James, the visionary turn-of-the-century psychologist, might be considered one of the fathers of self-actualization. He understood the power of our thoughts to affect our lives. His advice then is as true today as ever: “Seek out that particular mental attitude which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘this is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude follow it.”
Many, many people are afraid to follow their dreams. They are afraid of goals or at least resist them. They think goals take the fluidity and spontaneity out of life. And they worry about how they will feel if they don’t reach them.
But we need to remember that goals are not a blueprint; they simply provide a vision.
Think about it in terms of a fishing line. A big goal, like a big fish, puts some tension on the line. You’ve got to have tension to succeed. You can’t catch a fish without it. If you line goes slack, you know you’ve lost a big one. If you yank too hard, you risk losing the fish and the lure as well.
We teach our patients our chiropractic truth and values. We offer gentle but continuous pressure to gradually pull and lure them into referring, committed lifetime oriented chiropractic patients. But if you lose patience and jerk the line too often, you can lose the patient by not having systems and procedures that guide that patient. Constant dialogues, clarity, trust and soft tension on the line—those are the qualities that lead to the results and relationship we look to have with our patients.
In your life you’ve got to go after your goals and dreams. Of course, for the passion and the persistence to be there, and to take ACTION and not think about it, they need to be aligned with who you are and not what everyone else thinks you are. They also need to be about what you what to accomplish. And yes, you will surely lose some. But you can’t catch a dream without tension on the line.
So be purposeful. Don’t be satisfied just dawdling along. We need to save people chiropractically…..If you don’t do it and take action, who will?
Tent Poster Ayn Rand
Feel bullied by insurance companies and the stresses of running your business? Some thoughts from Ayn Rand can help.
[ Download/View File ]
33 Chiropractic Principles
A distillation of chiropractic by Dr. R. W. Stephenson into 33 principles.
Chiropractic Motivation – Gratitude
Chiropractic motivational tent poster to help your team with their “Gratitude Attitude.”
How Gratitude Can Improve Chiropractic Clinic Performance
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
Cicero (106-43 B.C.)
Those Greeks were pretty smart, and Cicero’s statement is just one example.
According to an article in Psychology Today, gratitude is a sentiment we’d all do well to cultivate. “Feeling thankful and expressing that thanks makes you happier and heartier–not hokier.”
But more than that, when gratitude is expressed to others, many benefits occur. A simple “thank you” goes a long way in improving the morale and ultimate performance of others. Of course, it has to be genuine. Counterfeit praise is easily seen through and can do more harm than good.
According to Tom Rath, co-author of How Full Is Your Bucket, “Gallup polling has revealed that 99 out of 100 people say they want a more positive environment at work, and 9 out of 10 say they’re more productive when they’re around positive people.”
He points to research that shows when a work team has more than three positive interactions with managers for every one negative interaction, it is significantly more likely to be productive. The point is not to keep managers from correcting or reprimanding, but just to express more praise.
To improve your gratitude attitude, consider the following actions:
1. In your personal life, you can list the kindnesses of someone you’ve never fully thanked. According to Lauren Aaronson in Psychology Today, if you read this letter aloud to the person you’re thanking, you’ll see measurable improvements in your mood. She refers to studies show that for a month after a “gratitude visit” (in which a person makes an appointment to read the letter to the recipient), happiness levels tend to go up. In fact, according to her references, the gratitude visit is more effective than any other exercise in positive psychology.
2. In your practice life, list the positive contributions of each team member. Once each day, take just a moment to recognize your team member’s action and express it to them. Your communication does not have to be lavish, just a short 3 second notice of something good followed by a “thanks for the report, Dr. Smith” is all it takes.
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One chiropractor I worked with years ago seemed to always be in a bad mood. He was quiet and basically ignored his staff. His opinion was that he paid them to work, they should work hard, and that was it. But, his office wasn’t doing well so he called me in. I made several visits to his office, each time simply improving the communications between he and his team. I coached him on listening to each staff member and to simply acknowledge them for their contributions.
A few month’s later, we saw his practice grow. I remember this because he was always complaining to me that I was not doing anything for his office! (Sheesh!) His constant complaining and lack of appreciation was the real problem yet he just didn’t see it.
This concept is not new, of course, but it is worth remembering now and then. More studies that validate the practical aspects of this as a management tool are covered in the above referenced book. But beyond management, like Cicero says, it is just an all round good virtue to cultivate.
For a motivational tent poster with the above quote, click here.
And … thank you for taking the time to read this!
Note: If you feel you need some instant appreciation yourself, try this. (Will need speakers or earphones.)
Two Wolves – Poster
Randy Pausch
Randy Pausch
Last Lecture
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before … a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
Summary of lecture from the Wall Street Journal. Viewing time 4 minutes 39 seconds.
Link, or watch below:
Full Lecture 1 hour 39 minutes
Chiropractic Motivation – Two Wolves
An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them…
“A fight is going on inside me… it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and every other person, too.”
They thought about this for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather… “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied… “The one you feed.”
What We Have Learned About Tough Months
How many of you got hit by winter this month?
For many chiropractic offices, February has been a tough one: snow closures and extreme cold have had an impact on some of the office numbers we have visited and others we have talked to. Add to this, personal and personnel distractions, and as the month comes to a close, some doctors and their chiropractic staffs are not so happy.
Understandably.
We have seen and dealt with crashed numbers and down months for many years. Pretty routine really. Here are a few things we have learned about tough months.
1. Tough Months Happen. We all hit banana peels. It is part of business. It is part of life. Accept it. This does not mean you should adjust your standards or goals to a new low. Keep your goals and standards as high as you want. Just know that, now and then, bad months happen.
2. Lessons. Each down month, each banana peel, each slip, fall, or crash with your practice is really a lesson. Nothing more. Learn from each slip. Learn the lesson. It is there.
3. Fear. But sometimes we become so gripped with fear, frustration, disappointment, resentment or anger, that it is hard to see this – the lesson. Emergencies should cause us to act. But often, our impulse is to react. When we react out of a fear or negative based emotion, we often generalize what the problem is, and try to fix everything, or the wrong thing, or person.
4. Cause and Effect. Every negative effect has a cause. Sometimes the cause occurred months earlier. You did something, or did not do something, that is just now hitting you. Much like a football coach on Mondays, you have to review past performances and discover what caused the problem and fix it.
5. Scores. Even if a crisis seems to be occurring, look at the numbers, metrics, performance monitors, or statistics to determine what is really going on. Often it is not as bad as it seems. Put things in perspective. If the numbers are down, how far down? Using your numbers helps minimize the drama.
6. Interruption of Proven Procedures. Most bad months come from interruptions in proven procedures. For example, a staff member leaves the front desk or the billing department, or you went on vacation. You stopped sending out your patient newsletter, discontinued monthly events, and just gave up on patient education lectures altogether. Then, snow and ice storms shut things down. No matter what, just try to keep proven procedures going.
If your numbers are down, find out which of the above lessons apply to you. You can give your consultant a call, get help in diagnosing the condition, and in working out action steps to get things back on track to reach your yearly goals.
Generally, the solutions to bad months include:
- Relax. Anger almost never produces good results.
- Diagnose the Situation. Confront the “brutal facts”. Look at your statistics and review past changes to find the cause of the problem.
- Action Steps. Once you find the cause of the problem, work out action steps to fix it.
- Mission. Get re-energized on what you are doing and why. And, get the staff and other doctors re-energized. Use your anger, frustration, or other emotion to positively focus on your mission.
- Follow-up. Schedule a meeting to ensure all the action steps are being done.
- Support. We all need it. This is where a coach can help you stay on track. Hire one, or five. Use your staff, doctors, your dentist, spouse, priest, and painter, if need be, to help you stay on track.
Something else we learned:
7. Gratitude. Running a business should be rewarding, if not also challenging. Don’t take it too seriously. Be grateful for the opportunity. You live in a free country. This is the land of opportunity. Have the “Gratitude Attitude”, and welcome challenges as an opportunity to learn.
File: Marketing Management, Practice Management & Development
Chiropractic Staff ROI and Motivation
Staff Management: An Essential Component To Practice Success
A big reason for your chiropractic practice is doing well is because of your staff. And, a big reason your chiropractic practice is not doing well is because of your staff. Either way, your staff plays a major role in the success of your business.
How much can a good staff member contribute to the office? What is the Return On Investment for staff expenses? There does not seem to be any good research on this for chiropractic offices. (If you know of any, we would appreciate the references.) We have seen some studies and based upon these and our experience it would be safe to say that a staff member should contribute at least double what you pay them.
This means that if you pay a Chiropractic Assistant, for example, $2,500 (including taxes, FICA , etc.) a month, you should at least be able to generate $5,000 because of her. On the other hand, when a staff member is not performing well, their contributions can go to zero, or even lower. If they are alienated from the doctor and the practice, they can actually become a liability. An unhappy or defiant staff can turn away patient referrals, discourage patient phone appointments, create disharmony with other staff, and many other costly problems.
Staff Turnover
The cost of staff turnover can be very high, as much as three times their monthly pay. This would include recruiting cost, training cost, extra time on your part, lost patient and lost new patients. For example, if your senior front desk C.A. leaves and she is paid $2,500 per month, it could take a couple of months before you find another CA that has the qualifications you need, and at least a couple of more months before they are trained.
By the way, this is why it is so important to have your practice systematized with all of your procedures written up for fast training and evaluation. (This is what our PM&A Practice Development Programs help you with!)
Conversely, as mentioned above, you can save money by letting an under performer go.
Staff Motivation
Once you have personnel, you have to keep them motivated. Frankly, this can be a problem for many doctors. There is a basic reason for this which I will explain later on. First, let’s look at some interesting information on employee motivation.
A recent article from the Harvard Business School reports on a study that showed that most employees start out relatively motivated, but things change after about 6 months.
“The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees’ morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward.”
One of the biggest causes for this goes straight to the relationship they have with their managers.
“Many companies treat employees as disposable. At the first sign of business difficulty, employees—who are usually routinely referred to as “our greatest asset”—become expendable.
“Employees generally receive inadequate recognition and reward: About half of the workers in our surveys report receiving little or no credit, and almost two-thirds say management is much more likely to criticize them for poor performance than praise them for good work.
“Management inadvertently makes it difficult for employees to do their jobs. Excessive levels of required approvals, endless paperwork, insufficient training, failure to communicate, infrequent delegation of authority, and a lack of a credible vision contribute to employees’ frustration.” (You can read the entire article here.)
We have seen versions of these problems in every office. Even our own!! It happens. One of the most common habits of doctors that can impede staff performance and motivation is micro managing. For example, fretting over the office volume, doctors can hover around the front desk causing the staff to be more concerned about the doctor’s constant evaluation than engaging with the patients.
To solve these de-motivation factors, the authors suggest the following:
1. Instill an inspiring purpose.
2. Provide recognition.
3. Be an expediter for your employees.
4. Coach your employees for improvement.
5. Communicate fully.
6. Face up to poor performance.
7. Promote teamwork.
8. Listen and involve.
We would add two more factors. First:
9. Clear policies and procedures consistently applied. You need to coach your team on the same procedures today that you applied yesterday, and will use tomorrow. These procedures should be written down in some form for easy reference. This gives an objective reference for staff coaching (#4) and regular staff evaluations (#6).
And the most important, and most overlooked in a doctor’ office:
10. Separate your roles of doctor and clinic director so that you can be a part time manager.
The Most Common De-motivator
Most chiropractors are either too busy and/or too focused on doctoring to have much attention left for caring for staff. After all, the staff is there for the doctor and to help him or her with the patients. The doctor is not there for the staff. And, the staff is paid to do their job.
So, what’s the problem?
The problem is that employees are people and not machines. And, like all living things, they need a certain amount of nurturing. Growing a business is like growing an orchard. It needs tending. Doctors do not feel they should have to do this, and as doctors, they shouldn’t.
However, as the C.E.O. their business, they have too. Larger offices have office managers or practice administrators that can help do much of the staff management. We usually recommend that the doctor assign a staff member to take the role, if only for a few hours per week, of senior C.A., office coordinator, or office manager.
Most doctors can be managers and coach their staff, but don’t. The reason, and the solution are relatively simple: just separate the roles of doctor and clinic director. As the doctor, everyone works for you and the patient. As clinic director and a part of management, you work for everyone else.
With good business systems in place, a well organized office should require little time of the doctor to be a clinic director. And in the role of business owner and investor, the doctor should see a very good return on his efforts if his staff is motivated.
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