Opinions on staffing crisis in a small business

[china]

I think you have an opportunity now to set things up for the future.

You have two new staff members (one brand new, one 6 weeks in) . Use this to your advantage to put systems in place.

Let them know your expectations and why these tasks are important to you. I think you are completely within your rights to expect staff to enter this data correctly.

If it were me, I would make one staff member the office manager who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the data is correct - make this an essential part of their role. May mean supervising the work of the other staff member and checking their work (means you dont have to). If you do this, ensure both staff are aware of the heirarchy (easier to do with new staff than existing staff).

Have a meeting with the senior staff member once a week to ensure the office is running as you want it to - but take on board any suggestions made and use this time to let her know what she is doing well. If you're not good at it, make a list before the meeting. Even a quick positive email once a week can be appreciated.

You said the previous staff found client contact time stressful, so perhaps restructure the roster so there are two people on during this time. With extra time on their hands they have no excuse to get the data entry wrong, particularly with a staff member double checking. The increase in staffing costs could be offset by increased income.

Yes those are my thoughts exactly. Except that instead of me personally meeting the senior staff member and pointing out errors, I would like to outsource this to an external managment firm.

This was my problem with Mary who resigned. She was the senior staff member and the whole office and all systems revolved around her. So when she left suddenly, the whole place has collapsed. And I am trying to crawl back out of the rubble.

 

[westminster]

Nemo raises a good point. I deal with data every day - I run a team doing data remediation.
No data is inputted into a system without being peer reviewed by another staff member - the peer reviewer checks the data against the original source and gives it the thumbs up or thumbs down. All my staff are degree qualified (some with Masters) but the peer review is still an essential step to help prevent human error.

These reviews are done at the end of the day - or the end of a batch of data. Mistakes that are picked up are a lot easier to deal with when it's part of the normal workflow and it comes from a colleague.

Ultimately I am responsible and do checks on a weekly basis.

 

[see_change]

Hi china

In your situation , when I had my own practice , I knew how all the software worked , and I don't think knowing that , in the situation of a solo practiotioner is micromanaging . What software do you use ? It might be worth getting a trainer in to train you , so you can make more informed decisions on systems to have in place

For checking , you need a simple routine in place . In the practice I've just left ( not my practice ) , the pm would print out a day sheet ( 1-2 pages ) containing a summary of the patients and the item numbers , attached were the vouchers for the services I'd charged . I'd check this every day and it took about 2-3 mins . I don't think that's micromanaging . Most of the other doctors didn't do that but I'd pick errors most weeks , mostly small amounts but occasional $ 100- 200 .

If I found an error I'd note it and pass it back to the pm . I might make a minor comment along the line of , " this one needs to be checked " but I'd never criticise / abuse or use negative intonation in my voice .

Once you have day sheets correct , you need a simple summary of your debtors

Any business will have a time frame after which debt needs to be checked .
If you're dealing with insurance companies , they're a pain .

Don't chase up debts until that time frame has passed , otherwise your spending time chasing things that are coming anyway.

You need to have a system for chasing the aged debts on a regular basis . You need to be able to see a summary of where things are , but I've found after about one week any receptionist I've had , with half a brain and a good phone manner is able to chase the debts .

You didn't want to be asking about this all the time , but , say, once a week sit down and go though them with your staff .

How would I approach this ? Well I'd say something like " how are we going this week ? "

Let them talk .. They have a brain . Let them use it . They're the one on the phone chasing your money , but if you tell them how to do everything they will start wondering why they are there..

If there are problematics patients / bill , ask them for their opinion . Every one has an opinion and letting some someone give voice to their opinion is very empowering for your staff , and someone who is going to make a good employer , hopefully they have ideas and don't just echo your ideas. If they have some experience they may have a much better idea on how to do things than you or I would .

I find a line like , " any thoughts , any suggestions ? " .

If they have a suggestion say something like " that's a good idea , why don't we try that " or if your not sure something like " I'm not sure , but it's good idea , why don't you try that , and we'll see how it goes "

The best bosses are the best delegators and the ones who make their employees feel appreciated .

As we don't know exactly where you are it's hard to give recommendations .

Also at this time of the year many places might be closed for holidays so I wouldn't judge a company too harshly if they didn't get back quickly at this time of the year . Most of Australia is on holidays and I'd guess many consulting companies are closed at the moment as most of their clients are off on holidays ....

One thing you should have in your favour is a healthy cash buffer . ( maybe it's just as well your not mortgaged to the max with IP's .......)

If this is the case , then no need to stress , do your work and when comsultants are back at work you can chase the money and do the billing then.

Cliff

 

[Nemo30]

If I check it on the same day, it takes me no more than literally than five seconds because I know what I have done that day and can immediately see whether there is an error. But if I check it even the next day, then it would take me a lot longer.

Can you get the staff to print a list at the end of each day - you then tick or cross and leave it on their desk for the next day. Checking their work, but in a non-confrontational manner.

Make this part of the procedure manual - a routine daily task.

 

[wylie]

I think for me to undertake coaching to change my management style would be a time consuming and costly process with no guarantees of success. I suspect that it would take a long time to see whether it works.

Hence, I have decided that if costs are reasonable, to outsource staff management to people who may do it full time and manage similar businesses. I guess when I outsource staff management to an external group, they should be able to manage staff turnovers and their results are measurable in terms of bad debts collected, number of customers seen in a day, etc. That is we can measure defined KPIs.

The staff coming a different source are still going to have to work with you though. Why will it be any different to what has been the result before? You are likely to lose them too and have a big turnover and some "temp" staff who refuse to work for you unless you make some changes to your management style. I guess if they set up a good manual, anybody "should" be able to slot in and do the work, but I think that is less efficient that making changes to your management style and keeping good staff. I think you've acknowledged that you are the one that needs to change, but you seem to think moving the deck chairs on the Titanic would have seen a changed outcome.

If I check it on the same day, it takes me no more than literally than five seconds because I know what I have done that day and can immediately see whether there is an error. But if I check it even the next day, then it would take me a lot longer.

If this is so, then it makes sense to check it daily. Do this, and try not to micro-manage other areas that have less impact on your bottom line. Your staff will respond well to not feeling like you are looking over their shoulders every minute of the day, and for every task. They should understand your reason for checking this important task though.

I liken it to my boss leaving notes telling me what I need to during times when she is not there. I find it insulting to be told what I need to do, in list form, when she knows that I'm doing all those things and more every single shift. I laugh about it, and if anything, it makes me want to NOT do some of the things, just to annoy her, but of course I'm mature enough to have those thoughts but not act on them. Other staff may not have that maturity.

 

[geoffw]

I think for me to undertake coaching to change my management style would be a time consuming and costly process with no guarantees of success. I suspect that it would take a long time to see whether it works.

What you're saying is "It's too difficult for me to change myself so I'm not going to even try".

While outsourcing debtor collection will solve one problem, it won't solve other problems dealing with staff.

At minimum, read a book and start meeting with staff members for a quick cup of coffee once a month.

You've been very open coming onto a forum like this and revealing so much of yourself. You've asked for opinions on how to make things better. Just picking up a few tips from a book on how better to deal with staff won't do any harm. Yes, a life coach would be far better, but reading a book isn't time consuming or expensive. What I found in my business was that just a few good ideas could go a long way. "Catch them doing the right thing" was an important thing for me. A positive comment here or there can go a long way.

Your example with regards to upset patient is concerning because there must be a million areas wherein I could be sued for compensation and I suspect thats the area I need to join some sort of employers indemnity process such as Employsure as has been previously mentioned by another poster.

I've been audited by the local government OHS people. There were a lot of small things they found wrong. But the most important thing for them was that I had provided online training for staff on basic OHS matters- lifting, harrassment, dealing with difficult customers. They gave time to comply with concerns- and I was the only food outlet of about 20 in the mall which had attempted to fix all matters at hand in that time. They were quite happy with me. They are not there to fine- they are there to help you comply in the first instance. An audit by an outside body will go a long way to showing compliance and to mitigate problems which may occur.

 

[TPI]

Other options in NSW:

www.berkeleyhealthcareconsulting.com

www.yourpracticesolutions.com.au

 

[BayView]

Just because I ask three times over two days what has happened to mr. X's account should not mean that I am guilty of bullying and harassment requiring compensation.

As an outsider looking in, and with no knowledge whatsoever of you as a person, and/or how you run your business, please feel free to tell me go jump if what I say next is offensive - but remember it is designed to be constructive criticism......

From what I can gather you have a PPoR you own outright, $1m in the bank, and an obviously successful business so far....you have no money worries that I can see at this point in time.

Therefore - as I see it - for you to be getting all upset and angsting over a patient/supplier invoice not sent after one or two days seems petty and unnecessary.

If, on the other hand, you were on the verge of losing your house due to cashflow problems etc, then you might have some grounds to be that way.

But you don't have that problem.

China, you need to look at the big picture a whole lot more.

If I had your current situation I would find it very, very easy to not sweat over a minor detail like a tardy posting of an invoice.

You might argue that a potential mistake might be worth many thousands of dollars, but it can't be too bad up till now, or you wouldn't be in a solid financial position today if it were happening.

If it was a recurring problem that resulted in many invoices being sent late over a prolonged period of time, then maybe.

If how you describe your own behaviour is bad given the current position of finance you are in, then I would hate to be one of your staff if you were ever in the situation I currently find myself.

Big picture, dude, and start to enjoy where you sit a bit more, or you will never keep any staff.

 

[china]

Hi china

In your situation , when I had my own practice , I knew how all the software worked , and I don't think knowing that , in the situation of a solo practiotioner is micromanaging . What software do you use ? It might be worth getting a trainer in to train you , so you can make more informed decisions on systems to have in place

For checking , you need a simple routine in place . In the practice I've just left ( not my practice ) , the pm would print out a day sheet ( 1-2 pages ) containing a summary of the patients and the item numbers , attached were the vouchers for the services I'd charged . I'd check this every day and it took about 2-3 mins . I don't think that's micromanaging . Most of the other doctors didn't do that but I'd pick errors most weeks , mostly small amounts but occasional $ 100- 200 .

If I found an error I'd note it and pass it back to the pm . I might make a minor comment along the line of , " this one needs to be checked " but I'd never criticise / abuse or use negative intonation in my voice .

Once you have day sheets correct , you need a simple summary of your debtors

Any business will have a time frame after which debt needs to be checked .
If you're dealing with insurance companies , they're a pain .

Don't chase up debts until that time frame has passed , otherwise your spending time chasing things that are coming anyway.

You need to have a system for chasing the aged debts on a regular basis . You need to be able to see a summary of where things are , but I've found after about one week any receptionist I've had , with half a brain and a good phone manner is able to chase the debts .

You didn't want to be asking about this all the time , but , say, once a week sit down and go though them with your staff .

How would I approach this ? Well I'd say something like " how are we going this week ? "

Let them talk .. They have a brain . Let them use it . They're the one on the phone chasing your money , but if you tell them how to do everything they will start wondering why they are there..

If there are problematics patients / bill , ask them for their opinion . Every one has an opinion and letting some someone give voice to their opinion is very empowering for your staff , and someone who is going to make a good employer , hopefully they have ideas and don't just echo your ideas. If they have some experience they may have a much better idea on how to do things than you or I would .

I find a line like , " any thoughts , any suggestions ? " .

If they have a suggestion say something like " that's a good idea , why don't we try that " or if your not sure something like " I'm not sure , but it's good idea , why don't you try that , and we'll see how it goes "

The best bosses are the best delegators and the ones who make their employees feel appreciated .

As we don't know exactly where you are it's hard to give recommendations .

Also at this time of the year many places might be closed for holidays so I wouldn't judge a company too harshly if they didn't get back quickly at this time of the year . Most of Australia is on holidays and I'd guess many consulting companies are closed at the moment as most of their clients are off on holidays ....

One thing you should have in your favour is a healthy cash buffer . ( maybe it's just as well your not mortgaged to the max with IP's .......)

If this is the case , then no need to stress , do your work and when comsultants are back at work you can chase the money and do the billing then.

Cliff

The debt chasing is really the largest headache. It takes a certainly type of personality and obsessiveness to be able to continually hound large insurance companies for monies owing. Mary was by far the best at this. After the first year, I never had meetings with her as I could see that it was being done. Previous staff did do some chasing but never really to the required extent and my aged debtor list was unruly.

Again when I used to have regular meetings to go through debtors, some of my previous staff clearly were annoyed at this and seemed to resent being asked to explain action on the debtors list.

I run a paperless office. All computers in the office and my laptop for off site work are linked in real time. So I can immediately spot errors from wherever I am. Often I will just amend the errors myself these day so as not to bother staff members with their errors.

I would still judge a small business in the rapidity of their response to new business enquiries. It shows how hungry they are for work. If they are not responding promptly to new business enquirty, you can be sure that they will not respond to you if they have actually done the work, you have paid them and you have a problem.

Over the past week, I emailed three solicitors for quotes to draw up commercial lease between smsf and me. One has responded to me on xmas day and I think he will get the work. I was expecting some clerk to respond but it was actually the owner of the law firm which has about six solicitors in it. I still have not had response from the others.

In this same period, I emailed three tv wall mount specialists to mount a tv in my office. One responded and has already come to the job. In this same period, I have had new business enquiries to my website and I have responded to all of them within 24 hours. And I feel that I have secured the jobs.

 

[china]

The staff coming a different source are still going to have to work with you though. Why will it be any different to what has been the result before? You are likely to lose them too and have a big turnover and some "temp" staff who refuse to work for you unless you make some changes to your management style. I guess if they set up a good manual, anybody "should" be able to slot in and do the work, but I think that is less efficient that making changes to your management style and keeping good staff. I think you've acknowledged that you are the one that needs to change, but you seem to think moving the deck chairs on the Titanic would have seen a changed outcome.

No I don't wish to use temp staff. I will still use my own staff that I have personally hired. However the practice management consultant will work with them to establish better procedure manuals and go through KPIs with them. I guess that instead of me pointing out the high level of unchased bad debt, a third party will do it. Also, when there is staff turnover, the external body should continue to be able to direct the practice and retrain new players. This means that corporate memory should remain regardless of how staff change.

 

[Nemo30]

From what I can gather you have a PPoR you own outright, $1m in the bank, and an obviously successful business so far....you have no money worries that I can see at this point in time.

Therefore - as I see it - for you to be getting all upset and angsting over a patient/supplier invoice not sent after one or two days seems petty and unnecessary.

If, on the other hand, you were on the verge of losing your house due to cashflow problems etc, then you might have some grounds to be that way.

But you don't have that problem.

I disagree. I think his personal wealth is completely irrelevant to the way he runs his business.

As the person paying the wages, if he wants invoices paid correctly and on time, it should happen - every time. That is what the employee is being paid to do.

Having said that, need to respect your employees and treat them nicely or they will walk.

 

[china]

What you're saying is "It's too difficult for me to change myself so I'm not going to even try".

While outsourcing debtor collection will solve one problem, it won't solve other problems dealing with staff.

At minimum, read a book and start meeting with staff members for a quick cup of coffee once a month.

You've been very open coming onto a forum like this and revealing so much of yourself. You've asked for opinions on how to make things better. Just picking up a few tips from a book on how better to deal with staff won't do any harm. Yes, a life coach would be far better, but reading a book isn't time consuming or expensive. What I found in my business was that just a few good ideas could go a long way. "Catch them doing the right thing" was an important thing for me. A positive comment here or there can go a long way.

I certainly will start having drinks with staff on a more regular basis. And I will read some books on management styles. However, this will take time to occur when the business needs to continue in real time.

 

[Anh]

As an outsider looking in, and with no knowledge whatsoever of you as a person, and/or how you run your business, please feel free to tell me go jump if what I say next is offensive - but remember it is designed to be constructive criticism......

From what I can gather you have a PPoR you own outright, $1m in the bank, and an obviously successful business so far....you have no money worries that I can see at this point in time.

Therefore - as I see it - for you to be getting all upset and angsting over a patient/supplier invoice not sent after one or two days seems petty and unnecessary.

If, on the other hand, you were on the verge of losing your house due to cashflow problems etc, then you might have some grounds to be that way.

But you don't have that problem.

China, you need to look at the big picture a whole lot more.

If I had your current situation I would find it very, very easy to not sweat over a minor detail like a tardy posting of an invoice.

I have unpaid invoices from customers from well over a year and more...not large amounts mostly, but the number is in the couple of grand range.

You might argue that a potential mistake might be worth many thousands of dollars, but it can't be too bad up till now, or you wouldn't be in a solid financial position today if it were happening.

If it was a recurring problem that resulted in many invoices being sent late over a prolonged period of time, then maybe.

If how you describe your own behaviour is bad given the current position of finance you are in, then I would hate to be one of your staff if you were ever in the situation I currently find myself.

Big picture, dude, and start to enjoy where you sit a bit more, or you will never keep any staff.

Kudos to Bayview and Elliot and Sea Change and Wylie and many others who have contributed to help China.
+1 from me too, for thinking that China has no debt, so much money ( to a lot of people) but so stress out about money matters. Sorry China if what I say might be offensive too, but I have a feeling that you do need a balanced life where there you have hobbies, interests rather than just work, once you have other passion in life, you can be a happier, better person.

I agree with the suggestion about having a coach. I had a personal coach once paid by my work for $1k, where they identified my strengths and weaknesses and what I need to work on. I also had another coaching sessions costed $4k for half a morning every 2 weeks for 3-4 months. I have since improved so much as a worker as well as a person. Well worth it.

So many good suggestions so far, but if you are not open to change, then there will still be problems in the future. Why not just give it a go? You never try you never know. The coaching worked for me.

I promise this is my last comment on this thread I have learnt so much from it too, of what to do and what not to do. This forum and the people on the forum are so kind. Usually one would have to pay lots of $ to get those sort of a advice, and you are getting it for free

Good luck, be open to change things will get better!

 

[china]

As an outsider looking in, and with no knowledge whatsoever of you as a person, and/or how you run your business, please feel free to tell me go jump if what I say next is offensive - but remember it is designed to be constructive criticism......

From what I can gather you have a PPoR you own outright, $1m in the bank, and an obviously successful business so far....you have no money worries that I can see at this point in time.

Therefore - as I see it - for you to be getting all upset and angsting over a patient/supplier invoice not sent after one or two days seems petty and unnecessary.

If, on the other hand, you were on the verge of losing your house due to cashflow problems etc, then you might have some grounds to be that way.

But you don't have that problem.

China, you need to look at the big picture a whole lot more.

If I had your current situation I would find it very, very easy to not sweat over a minor detail like a tardy posting of an invoice.

You might argue that a potential mistake might be worth many thousands of dollars, but it can't be too bad up till now, or you wouldn't be in a solid financial position today if it were happening.

If it was a recurring problem that resulted in many invoices being sent late over a prolonged period of time, then maybe.

If how you describe your own behaviour is bad given the current position of finance you are in, then I would hate to be one of your staff if you were ever in the situation I currently find myself.

Big picture, dude, and start to enjoy where you sit a bit more, or you will never keep any staff.

BV, I disagree.

You are right in that my financial situation is ok. I have been fortunate that I have had good staff that has contributed to this ok financial situation. However, in the past five years, there have been three resignations of my right hand woman. And hence, I have come to accept that it is my interactional style that is the problem.

Having said that, delays in chasing invoices and poor debtor managment from staff members has nothing to do with my personal financial wealth.

It is the principle of the matter - if people are hired to do a job and they say they will do a job, then it should be done.

As someone who earns an income via personal labour, I look forward to every cent that I have earnt via my blood sweat and tears and not to be shortchanged by clerical errors.

 

[china]

I disagree. I think his personal wealth is completely irrelevant to the way he runs his business.

As the person paying the wages, if he wants invoices paid correctly and on time, it should happen - every time. That is what the employee is being paid to do.

Having said that, need to respect your employees and treat them nicely or they will walk.

Thats the way I feel Nemo.

But I think the problem is not just simple respect and treating nicely. I am never rude and never shout at staff. At Xmas, I usually gift every staff member and their entire families outings to restaurants and other events such as trips to Gold Coast. I can appear exasperated and frustrated after pointing out an issue several times. I do ask regularly about outstanding debts. So I suspect that I must give off more negative vibes than I realise.

 

[china]

Kudos to Bayview and Elliot and Sea Change and Wylie and many others who have contributed to help China.
+1 from me too, for thinking that China has no debt, so much money ( to a lot of people) but so stress out about money matters. Sorry China if what I say might be offensive too, but I have a feeling that you do need a balanced life where there you have hobbies, interests rather than just work, once you have other passion in life, you can be a happier, better person.

I agree with the suggestion about having a coach. I had a personal coach once paid by my work for $1k, where they identified my strengths and weaknesses and what I need to work on. I also had another coaching sessions costed $4k for half a morning every 2 weeks for 3-4 months. I have since improved so much as a worker as well as a person. Well worth it.

So many good suggestions so far, but if you are not open to change, then there will still be problems in the future. Why not just give it a go? You never try you never know. The coaching worked for me.

I promise this is my last comment on this thread I have learnt so much from it too, of what to do and what not to do. This forum and the people on the forum are so kind. Usually one would have to pay lots of $ to get those sort of a advice, and you are getting it for free

Good luck, be open to change things will get better!

I have appreciated every contribution. Please keep up the good advice.

I find very little to be offensive. You can imagine that over the past few months, I have faced a business eviction and the shock resignation of a key staff member. These shake my skeletal structure far more than anything else could

 

[weg]

Please keep up the good advice.

It's been 156 posts!

Personally, i don't get why people are bothering to repeat the same advice over, and over, and over, and why you are encouraging them to .

 

[china]

Other options in NSW:

www.berkeleyhealthcareconsulting.com

www.yourpracticesolutions.com.au

Contacted these people.

The former group knows a lot about GP general practice management but not much about my industry. There are some significant differences in that GPs tend to generate the bulk of their revenue from consultations and office procedures. They do not deal with insurance companies. So I don't think she can help me much. She is also not familiar with my software system and income streams.

With the second group, I am not sure where they are based. All they have got is a mobile number which makes me worried. I have sent them an email on the email enquiry form on the their website. The information given on the website does not make me believe she will know about my industry at all. The principal's main qualification is as a massage therapist.

Whereas the Victorian lady sounds good on the phone and has emailed me already confirming our discussion and will send me a business proposal by 8th January.

The HPC group, based in NSW, according to the info on their website also seem appropriate but have not responded to phone nor email.

 

[TPI]

Contacted these people.

The former group knows a lot about GP general practice management but not much about my industry. There are some significant differences in that GPs tend to generate the bulk of their revenue from consultations and office procedures. They do not deal with insurance companies. So I don't think she can help me much. She is also not familiar with my software system and income streams.

With the second group, I am not sure where they are based. All they have got is a mobile number which makes me worried. I have sent them an email on the email enquiry form on the their website. The information given on the website does not make me believe she will know about my industry at all. The principal's main qualification is as a massage therapist.

Whereas the Victorian lady sounds good on the phone and has emailed me already confirming our discussion and will send me a business proposal by 8th January.

The HPC group, based in NSW, according to the info on their website also seem appropriate but have not responded to phone nor email.

Worth a call to find out anyway.

And you've made some progress at least with one of them.

There are others in QLD, but they might be too far out from you.

 

[china]

Worth a call to find out anyway.

And you've made some progress at least with one of them.

There are others in QLD, but they might be too far out from you.

This is clearly a niche industry. Makes me feel that I should set up such a service on the side.! But I would need someone to run the human resource side of things!