October 2011 - Capko & Morgan

Leadership: It’s about treating people well

Joe Capko did a webinar with Medical Practice Management Web Advisor earlier this week on how effective leadership translates to more productivity from your staff -- and vice versa. One of his themes was establishing trust by listening and treating people fairly, and letting them know they are valued. People give more to their jobs when they know you care! Aptly, today's email tip from Harvard Business Review was called "Engage Your People," and featured some of the same ideas Joe offered. Basically, less top down, more listening, more working together. To read the HBR tip, click here.

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:52:41-08:00October 27th, 2011|

Hire slow, fire fast

The old Silicon Valley adage "hire slow, fire fast" is actually apt for any type of small business, including medical practices. The smaller the team, the more powerful this idea is, because as team size shrinks, each member's contribution becomes more critical to success. Moreover, a single poor performer or "bad apple" can disrupt a smaller team much more effectively than a larger one. Medical offices are generally small operations where everyone knows a lot about each other, and sometimes it can feel like a family. And firing a member of your family ... now that's hard! You want to be that nice person who supports someone who's having a tough time. That crabbypuss who comes in late every day, "forgets" to do the insurance checks that are her primary responsibility and never seems to notice when charts are lying around waiting to be re-filed has a family to support after all. Oh, gosh, do we really have the heart to fire her? Well, the problem with that "nice" thinking is that while you're being very, very "nice" to the poor performer, you're being decidedly NOT nice to everyone else on the team. They're all picking up after her, correcting her mistakes, putting up with her lousy attitude and starting their full work-day on time -- without Ms. Crabby, who's late again. Left unaddressed, this situation kills the morale of the good performers -- who may start performing poorly themselves or just leave for a job where they feel good work is recognized. Here's a nice essay on the subject from the CEO of Gilt in Inc magazine -- Gilt is an internet shopping site, seemingly with little in common with medical practices, but Kevin Ryan's observations are instructive for any sort of business. Firing the Wrong People Is Just as Important as Hiring the Right Ones

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:52:41-08:00October 27th, 2011|

Solving work flow problems

Balancing work flow and eliminating troublesome bottlenecks in a busy medical practice are chronic problems, but if ignored they become a financial drain and compromise patient service. In fact, a decline in profits and patient gripes are often the things that alert the physician or manager that workflow problems have gotten out of hand. But what's the best approach to getting to the root of your problems and finding the best solution? Start with communication. Meet with staff and enlist their support in clearly identifying where the bottlenecks are, what is causing them and what are the most reasonable solutions to pursue. It is leaderships job to be sure staff feels important and comfortable enough to come to you when they have a problem and believe they will get your support. Analyze the processes. Look for where the errors occur and where there are unnecessary steps or duplication of tasks. Even better, are there steps that can be eliminated through technology that save time, reduce errors and improve outcome? Invest in staff. Errors often occur and go undetected when new staff is not properly trained and when existing staff does not get on-going training to stay at the top of their game. This can result in frustration, poor morale and compromised outcomes, as well as causing division among the troops. Everyone needs the support of management; beginning with training and ending with performance evaluation and getting the tools to enhance performance.

By Judy Capko|2022-01-01T22:52:41-08:00October 10th, 2011|

Do you know HARO?

Media exposure can be a helpful tool for building and expanding your reputation -- by sharing your expertise, you can market yourself and your practice without "selling" and without outlaying cash. However, it can be challenging to make reporters aware of your expertise and willingness to contribute to their stories. HARO -- Help A Reporter Out (www.helpareporter.com) -- solves this problem for both reporters and sources. HARO connects reporters with qualified interview subjects through its website and thrice-daily newsletter service. Reporters submit questions and general information about the pieces they're working on, and the newsletter circulates all the opportunities to subscribers. There are multiple medical questions every day -- with outlets running the spectrum from small local newspapers and targeted magazines (e.g., by medical specialty) to national websites and print publications. Best of all, the newsletter comes to you, and a quick scan (just a few seconds) is all that's needed to see if there's an appropriate opportunity for you.

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:52:41-08:00October 5th, 2011|

Monthly Archives: October 2011

Leadership: It’s about treating people well

Hire slow, fire fast

Solving work flow problems

Do you know HARO?