If we learned one thing from the Pandemic it was that staff turnover is inevitable.

Unfortunately, we also learned that for many practices, individual staff members held too much “power.”

What do I mean by that?

When shutdowns began and staff turnover/changes became an all too common occurrence, we soon realized that “____” at the front desk/back office was the only one who knew how to or at least the process involved in “_________.” That was rough. 

Hopefully since then we have learned the importance of cross training and made a conscious effort not to rely on individuals, but instead, to create a team that works together towards collective practice goals.
How do we accomplish this? By creating blueprints/”how to’s”/step by step directions for each and every task performed by team members (no matter how miniscule).

From what to say when answering the phone and the absolutely necessary information to collect (always repeating back spelling of names, dates of birth, phone numbers and insurance IDs) to scheduling rules (no double booking of new patients-especially with similar reasons for visit, chatty patients scheduled mid morning and early afternoon, two established/follow-ups before new patients at the start of the clinic day and after lunch to keep the provider moving), guidelines/scripts for collecting at time of service/before seeing the doctor (deductible deposits, copays as well as past due balances), and what should be prepared according to reason for visit and patient evaluation (as these can be different) prior to doctor entering the exam room (based on your written treatment protocols of course).

The next time a staff member gives notice or stops showing up (of which you should have a job abandonment policy in your employee handbook for), you and your team will find it a lot easier to fill the void until you find a suitable replacement and properly train.

Remember, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! So much of this is created for you in the Pinnacle resource library to download and edit to your specific practice processes and needs.