Medical staff
More opportunities for nurses and other healthcare workers have led to challenges in recruiting and retaining office staff for medical offices. Since recruiting and hiring new employees involves time and financial cost, it's important to keep your existing office staff happy and productive. During interviews with hundreds of medical office employees, they have said they want to be:
Informed
Employees want to do a good job so provide them with the tools they need. These include written procedures, job descriptions, and training. Keep staff members informed of anticipated changes such as the introduction of new technology, changes to the office, work hours, etc. Provide training and development opportunities. Training courses are usually available, at minimal cost, by government payers or medical associations.
Recognized
This is the biggest complaint we hear from medical office staff. Recognition can be both formal and informal. Informal recognition includes greeting the staff when you come into the office, occasionally asking about their family, praise for extra effort or for dealing with a difficult issue, and small, unexpected rewards. Formal recognition can take the form of an annual staff recognition social event, flowers on Secretary's Day or Nurses' week.
Recognition also includes consideration of employees' time. This means not interrupting them when they are on the phone, speaking with a patient, or focused on a billing entry. Instead, use a non-verbal communication tool such as check-off list or quick note.
Allowed to Participate
Solicit staff input into the development of office processes and procedures, and selection of new technology. Staff members often have detailed knowledge of the office processes that the physician doesn't have.
Encourage involvement in professional organizations such as the Medical Secretaries Association, Clinic Managers' Association, etc. This may require time off to attend meetings.
Fairly Compensated
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