by Ginny | May 14, 2007 | General
If you’re like most people these days you have an iTunes account to purchase music and a PayPal account for Ebay purchases. Both require that you keep a credit card on file. You also leave your credit card on file when you make airline or hotel reservations, use a speed-pass at the gas pump or open a membership at Blockbuster video. It simplifies paying bills and saves time.
Offer your patients that same convenience when you accept assignment of their insurance benefits. Keep a preauthorized credit card on file and bill the patient’s credit card immediately for any balance remaining after benefits. You clear the account instantly and the patient doesn’t need to bother with bills. This is a win-win alternative to sending statements.
by Ginny | Apr 20, 2007 | Practice Leadership, Team Development
The biggest irony in the hiring and recruitment process is that just when you are understaffed you have more work than ever to do. Don’t wait until you need to hire to start preparing. Start right now and you’ll reap the rewards and lower your stress too.
Create ads and telephone screening guides for each position in the practice that allow you to attract and quickly sort through the resumes you receive to choose the best potential candidates to invite into the office. Prepare behaviorally based in-person interview guides that will spotlight the candidate who will be the best fit for your practice.
Check out our Resources for Managing People Well at www.ginnyhegarty.com A hiring system along with interview and training guides are all ready to go.
Our client, Dr. Bill Linger had this to say “Don’t hire or train another employee without these guides! We’re blown away by how this system has transformed the way we choose and train new employees. With this approach you can immediately separate the winners from the pretenders. We’re saving time, we’re making better hiring decisions and there’s no more baptism by fire for our new hires. This system is terrific.â€
by Ginny | Apr 2, 2007 | Team Development
Do you have a philosophy of care that encourages all patients to stay active with their preventive care? If so, engage your team to bring this focus to life. Set a guideline that the team will check the hygiene status of every patient who calls the practice and encourage all callers who are overdue to schedule their preventive visit. Do this with every caller, every time. View the hygiene status of family members for increased impact. Take it one step further and ask all new patients “Are there any family members I can schedule appointments for today?†If you don’t ask, the answer is always no
by Ginny | Mar 20, 2007 | Team Development
A few minutes spent previewing patient care slips (routing slips) the day before their visit will earn perpetual dividends for your practice while raising the level of care and service for patients.
Highlight incomplete treatment so the team will be prepared to snap a digital image of the teeth involved as soon as the patient is seated. This creates a proper sense of urgency so you can then engage the patient in a discussion about moving forward with treatment. Highlight family members of the scheduled patient who are due for preventive care visits so you improve patient retention and keep the hygiene schedules humming.
This is a worthy investment of time that will help you achieve dramatic results to fuel your practice growth.
by Ginny | Mar 2, 2007 | Practice Leadership
10. Say, “Thank you†and mean it! People love to be appreciated and they really love when you mention the little things they do that make a difference. You might even keep some “Kudos†chocolate bars on hand to give out with your thank yous. Remember to praise your team in front of patients too.
9. Remember their special days. Everyone appreciates it when her birthday or anniversary is remembered and celebrated.
8. Gather co-workers together for a special bonding sing-a-long of a light rendition of “You Light Up My Life†or “We Are The Championsâ€, etc. Lead the team yourself – It’s just plain fun!
7. Bring the team together and choose “Your Song†or “Your Cheer†that you can use for two-minute pep rallies and office celebrations.
6. Public Praise is Great: Have a surprise break in honor of a team member or the entire team. Bring in bagels or fruit or brownies and have a 10-minute celebration.
5. Put up a Bravo Board so everyone can praise each other. Office Magic has recommended this for years and it works! You and the team members can write and post notes of praise for coworkers. Once a month put all the notes in a basket and choose one to win a special prize.
4. Volunteer to do a team member’s least favorite task once a month. The team will love seeing you pitch in and you can milk it for all the attention you can get.
3. Surprise a team member or department and have their cars washed! Who doesn’t love a clean car?
2. Dinner’s on you. Give a deserving team member a certificate for one take-out dinner for their family on you. Have them choose a day and select from a list of restaurants. and you’ll pick up the tab. They can pick up dinner on the way home and have a relaxing evening with their family.
1. Give out Freedom Cards. It’s hard to give days off, so give an hour or two off with pay to recognize top performance. One week’s notice should be required to redeem the card.
*Some of these ideas are taken from The 24-Carrot Manager by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.
