When it's time to expand your medical practice, you'll likely discuss the idea with several other people in the medical field. Unfortunately, this can expose you to common misconceptions about the endeavor. Are they outright lies? That, of course, depends on the source. However, you can be sure that these things are false, and that you should not believe them even if they are common beliefs.
Common Lies and Misperceptions About Medical Practice Growth
False: It's Something You Can Do All on Your Own
One of the keys to growing your medical practice is hiring, training, and supporting your staff. However, this takes up hours' worth of time and a large amount of mental energy. Not only do the people themselves need to be managed, but there are also all of the related accounting, timekeeping, and scheduling needs. If you try to handle this part yourself, you'll find that you don't have enough time or mental energy to devote to the rest of your practice. Such a situation leads to your patients being unenthused about your practice, slowing or even halting its growth.
False: Your Office Culture Isn't Important During the Expansion Process
In reality, a winning culture where employees feel supported is essential for growth. Employees should find you and your managers very communicative, too, so they never have to deal with the uncertainty of wondering what's going to happen next.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine's Catalyst, 75 percent of survey respondents said that cultural change is a moderate or high priority in their organizations. Positive culture change is important not only for employee satisfaction but for patient outcomes as well.
False: Don't Fire Employees While Your Practice is Growing
The truth is that poorly-performing employees and those with bad attitudes should be dropped quickly. They should then be replaced by new employees who have been meticulously vetted for competence and how well they fit with what should be a culture that emphasizes success and teamwork.
If you're worried about the legal or ethical ramifications of firing people, one good solution is to use a PEO (professional employer organization.) These companies handle your medical staffing needs as outsourced organizations, so you can remove an employee without the typical level of legal exposure.
False: You Shouldn't Concern Yourself with Your Benefits Package
Employees often take jobs, keep them, or leave based on the benefits package they are receiving. Therefore, a job at your practice needs to come with a great set of benefits that your workers would be sad to miss out on.
In order to ensure that you are always offering a superior benefits package, you should keep it at the top of your mind. This will attract the best employees and help to ensure that they stay with you for the long term.
Growing your medical practice is both very exciting and a bit nerve-wracking. You're jumping into new territory, and this comes with a new set of challenges and possibilities.
One of the ways to make the transition easier is to outsource your human resources duties to a medical industry PEO. A PEO specializing in the medical field can help with all of your employment needs, including hiring, firing, and developing a great benefits package. With this help, you'll be able to properly focus on all of the other aspects of growing your medical practice, from how to set up your new building to keeping all of your patients happy and as healthy as possible.
