The (Not So Secret) Secrets Of Success, Part I

I have compiled (in two parts) what I feel were the best takeaways from the DPM Blogs I have written for Podiatry Today over the past five years. Here is Part I.

• Employees who feel that “your practice is our practice” naturally take more pride in their work, leading to greater job satisfaction, fewer costly staff turnovers, a higher quality of patient care and customer service, increased patient satisfaction and adherence, and patient retention and loyalty.
• Be open to new ideas, adopt new habits and you can create a positive environment that will feed new life into your practice.
• The buck stops “there.” Delegating management duties to a spouse does not remove the doctor from responsibility associated with his or her leadership role. If a problem remains unresolved, part of being “the boss” means gathering the facts, interceding and managing the problem (without favoritism), despite the potential awkwardness of the situation.
• Non-exempt employees may volunteer to take work home, work through lunch, work overtime and waive OT pay for doing so. Although tempting, this is not OK … or legal.
• A mission statement is not a feel-good, static announcement that one simply recites or uses to spruce up a website. The purpose is to identify why you are open for business.
• Making exceptions for one patient by treating more conditions than he or she is scheduled for is a slippery slope. While it may be nice to make that “caring” exception for a patient, it doesn’t feel so great to others who arrive on time and now have to wait. To make matters worse, doctors may be rushing through these waiting patients when they finally see them to make up time, irritating patients even more.
• When you first meet new patients, avoid distractions and focus on that introduction. This means active listening and giving your full attention to them.
• Communication is vital. Your staff not only wants your verbal guidance and evaluation by way of a performance review. They depend on it.
• Here are seven simple communication rules to remember. 1) Make instructions specific. 2) Speak clearly. Don’t mumble. 3) Say it or ask. Don’t assume. 4) Say thank you. 5) Smile. 6) Don’t just criticize. Help make it better. 7) Don’t just tell them. Teach them.
• Yikes! Fifty percent of the patients who have chosen not to continue visiting your practice have done so because of an experience they have had with your front desk staff.
• Make it a point to clean off your work area before the end of the day. Never start a new day by wasting time cleaning up yesterday’s mess (or how to fall behind in one day).
• Every one of us knows what it feels like to be a new patient. In order to really touch patients’ souls (or soles) and win them over, we need to be able (and willing) to walk in their shoes.
• Trust but verify. Practices must have policies, protocols, safeguards and enforcements that create and maintain an embezzlement-free work environment.
• Hire for keeps. The actual cost of replacing an employee can amount to more than three times the employee's annual salary based on the time it takes to fill the position, train and adapt.
• Without appropriate follow-through, new ideas, even super fantastic great ideas, tend to fade and die.
• Your longtime clinical assistant may be excellent at what she does but without proper training, moving her into the management seat could be setting her up for failure. Not every staffer with superior skills is as good a teacher.
• For every mistake, there is a lesson to be learned. The best approach to errors is to ask, “How can we do this differently next time?”
• Professionalism involves not only the way you look but the way you act. Patients have certain expectations of “professionals.”
• If patients are consistently waiting too long in your office (20 minutes is too long), they may perceive you as money-hungry and uncaring.
• Sacrifice proper training and you lose the argument concerning incompetent staff.
• Don’t get wage advice from your colleagues. Base wages on your wage philosophy (e.g., are you willing to pay higher wages to attract a more qualified individual?). Remember, 99 out of 100 jewelers agree … you pay more for the high quality diamonds.
• You don’t have to train all your staff, just the ones you want to keep!

Look for Part II, continued next month.