These casual staff are good for reception / meet and greet roles but what I really need is a linch pin, a right hand woman to hold it all together. This is the person who knows most about the practice and is on top of billings and debt recovery.
Opinions on staffing crisis in a small business
- Thread starter china
- Start date
These casual staff are good for reception / meet and greet roles but what I really need is a linch pin, a right hand woman to hold it all together. This is the person who knows most about the practice and is on top of billings and debt recovery.
Maybe you should have a re-think again about what are your most valuable asset to your business.. Once identified, build parameters to protect these assets.
In this case, you have failed to identify "Mary" was one of your key assets, and yet, you have failed to protect these assets and made her walk, due to whatever reasoning behind it. This is a common mistake by many employers
This should help you avoid similar situations in the future
China is either a man or a gay women based on comments about partners.
He is in a medical or related field. He sees patients in his practice some days so probably also does work elsewhere.
He's close to Sydney but not in Sydney.
That's all we need to know for purposes of this discussion.
And a happy new year to you also,Geoff..
Sorta like an Office Manager, then.
Don't exclude men from this role you need filled, by the way; many would be good at it.
(Good) Managers don't like to be micro-managed (and don't need to be), so when you get a good one; stay out of their way and leave them more or less alone to run it correctly..
This is a hard skill for control-freak bosses to master.
An occasional meeting to track things and suggest improvements is usually all that is required.
... or a wife
.I cannot help but think China (always thought he was a man, never thought about him being a woman) needs a wife who can help run the business.
Well, he/she seems to be doing just fine..
http://somersoft.com/forums/gallery...title=two-million-dollars-in-the-bank&cat=500
http://somersoft.com/forums/gallery...title=two-million-dollars-in-the-bank&cat=500
I don't understand why this is a problem, there's many, many small to large companies that specialise in medical billing. Why would the struggle with your business? I'm in medical debt collection and we deal with many of them.
Once you find this paragon, you are going to have to treat him/her accordingly. Ensure pay is comparable to an office manager and not just a few $$$ above standard medical receptionist rates.
And above all, please discuss any proposed changes to procedures or facilities BEFORE implementing them, e.g., cameras. If you wish to retain a key employee then you must ensure mutual respect.
Marg
offer Mary a contract position, of this 'hard stuff', the bill chasing, accounting software insurance liasing work. Let her do it from home, let her have complete independance. get a new body for meet and greet at reception.
If Mary isnt interested, THERE WILL BE SOMEONE THAT IS. Itl be a new mum based in another city or state that wants to work from home, itl be a practice manager somewhere else who isnt getting enough hours. All you have to do is change your processes to pay them by job rather than per hour. problem, (outsourced) solved....
If Mary isnt interested, THERE WILL BE SOMEONE THAT IS. Itl be a new mum based in another city or state that wants to work from home, itl be a practice manager somewhere else who isnt getting enough hours. All you have to do is change your processes to pay them by job rather than per hour. problem, (outsourced) solved....
This is good advice. I have a friend who slips into these medical jobs easily. She's just spent nearly a year in Sydney whilst her daughter settles in down there and she is in demand for medical jobs. She is back here working for a specialist, but not getting enough hours to suit her.
If this part of the job could be outsourced someone like her would be perfect.
Are you serious? These staffers may have left other secure jobs to work for you. Do they know that they have a 50/50 chance of having no job after 3 months? What if they are both fantastic staff? Is this even legal? It is, imo, highly unethical to treat people like this (assuming they think they are taking on a permanent role - my comments don't apply if they have both openly taken on a 3 month contract).
China, billing from Genie is quite easy and you can learn to do it yourself (there is a manual). Or outsource billing to a company that charge a %. That will also take care of the difficult accounts. In the meantime advertise for the position and start talking to people. The next suitable person may be someone cluey without experience necessarily with a specialist. But if they are good they will catch on. After all working for you has some advantages over working in an organisation and there may be people who are looking for a change. Get Jane to meet and greet 5 days a week and you train her in deeper aspects of your practice once your master your own practice, and see how she goes. Things like booking lists and stuff is not hard for someone like you. You are just time poor but more than capable of doing it if really pushed. Start her training in medical terminology and offer some incentive for her to do your bookings/dictations.
The next Mary you get you find out when her birthday is and buy her presents, find out her hubby's name, kid's age etc and do your best to become friends. Go on a weekend get away with her family etc. BBQ whatever. Chasing every last dollar for a man who earns seven figures presumably is effort misplaced.
The next Mary you get you find out when her birthday is and buy her presents, find out her hubby's name, kid's age etc and do your best to become friends. Go on a weekend get away with her family etc. BBQ whatever. Chasing every last dollar for a man who earns seven figures presumably is effort misplaced.
I don't think this is a good idea, especially if China is someone who is struggling to manage staff...
As a manager I always try and keep staff at 'arms length', it makes it a easier when you need to performance mange them. The friendlier I get with staff the harder I find it to manage them when something goes wrong. Doesn't mean you can't get along, but going on holidays together and socialising is taking it too far for most people.
How did you go with this china?
