Apply Strategies to Recruit & Retain High-Performing Employees

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By Ken Krivacic, OD, MBA

Feb. 17, 2016

As the economy continues to strengthen, prospective employees have greater choice in where they would like to work. At my practice, which hasthree ODs and20 support staff members, we compete for caring individuals who will provide superior care to our patients.

I have read that to replace an employee it costs a practice $25,000 on average. That number includes the time spent looking for and interviewing, training the new hire and the loss of production from losing an employee and the loss of production until the new hire is up to speed. This could vary by position as an optician might cost the practice more than a optometric tech both in salary and in loss of production. I also believe it takes 4-6 weeks for a new hire to get up to speed.

My own personal feeling is that a practice probably loses about 20 percent in production throughout the scenario described above. For an average practice that collects $600,000 per year, that number comes to $10,000-$15,000 depending on the time needed to get the new hire up to speed. Below is the math:

• Office collections per year: $600,000
• Office collections per month: $50,000
• 20% loss of production in one month: $10,000

Offer Competitive Salary

In our practice, we try to pay a fair salary from both our perspective and the employees’. That means a salary that is comparable, or better, than that specific position at other offices in the area, and one that is fair to the practice. In other words, the practice is not going to overpay for an employee. From the practice perspective, the salary must fitinto the overall budget we have targeted for employee compensation overall.

When it comes to overpay, we look at what our budget is for employee compensation as a whole. We aim to keep employee compensation in the 25 percent range. This means we want to keep expenses for employees ( salaries, taxes, education, etc.) at 25 percent of what our collections are. From there, we can break that down to position–optician, front desk,tech, etc. Ultimately it comes down to what the market dictates. We recently had a need for several optometric techs. We thought we could find a good person in the $14-$15/hr range. We were mistaken and ended up paying about a dollar more per hour to find the right person.

To determine a fair salary for each position, you can ask around, but I wouldn’t recommend this approach because it could be looked at as collusion.

One method is to use web sites specific to pay scales. A few that we have used are Salaries.com and Wages.com. These will give you a large snapshot, but are not optometry-specific. For optical industry-specific salary information, you can purchase Jobson Optical Research’s 2015 ECP Compensation Survey. You can also get optometry-specific information about staff salary and management from the MBA web site.

In addition, optometric alliances can provide information about salary for specific positions. We get this kind of information from our alliance, Prima Eye Group.

It’s important to get optometry-specific salary information, so that you know the salaries shown for a front desk assistant are not just the average salary for an office secretary.

Drive Employee Engagement with Positive Culture

Culture is different for each practice. You have to decide what is important for your own practice and then try to match potential employees with that culture. You should be able to use that culture to attract a potential employee. In our practice, we emphasize knowledge and efficiency.

We encourage all employees to continue their education, and require all opticians to become ABO-certified while they work for us. An employee, who recently left us when her husband was relocated, mentioned during her exit interview that one of the best things she liked about working for us was how much she learned during her tenure. She had worked at other offices, but they did not emphasize the importance of education. You can use your culture not just to attract potential employees, but also to retain them.

Think about what you do well in your office, and use those points to attract potential employees.

Show Appreciation to Employees

Showing appreciation is a challenge for me. My personality is not one that throws out compliments easily. As an employer, it behooves you to be complimentary, especially when it is warranted. Sure, it’s a good idea to pull an employee aside and correct them if you see them doing something that goes against how you like to do things. But it is just as important to cultivate great employees and promote longevity at a job position by showing appreciation. This not only makes the employee feel good about themselves, but also is a way to bind them to you and the practice. This can be as simple as a “thank you,” or you can go further and give them a small gift card or pay for their lunch.
Part of our office culture, and a way to appreciate employees, is to offer a monthly bonus plan. Ours is based on collections for each month, and is divided equally among full-time employees.

Equal means equal for all full-time employees whether they are a higher-paid optician or an entry-level tech. Our experience on different rates for different positions was negative as some people resented that others received more. We did not announce that, but the reality is people talk, and it caused tension among the staff. Part-time employees get a prorated share based on how many hours worked. We feel this builds better teamwork, and the more valued employees are compensated more on their base pay.
We feel that if the office is profitable, then the employees should share in that profitability. We have two bonuses, one based on revenue collected, and the other based on profit. Again, this is part of our culture. Some practice owners may feel this is not necessary, and that’s OK–such a bonus structure just may not be compatible with their office culture.
Another way we show appreciation is to go over at weekly staff meetings the reviews we receive online. In general, most reviews are very positive, and this is a way to recognize employees as a group, and if someone is specifically mentioned, we highlight that person. This is an indirect way of giving praise. If we have a bad review, we instruct the employees that we will use it as a leaning tool, and not a reprimanding tool. If a bad review specifically mentions one individual, and this could be embarrassing in a group setting, we opt to go over the review in private and on an individual basis.

Show Potential Employees Who You Are On Practice Web Site & Facebook

Web sites and Facebook are great tools to attract patients, but also think of them as an instrument to attract potential employees. Most potential employees are looking for an office environment that looks attractive and appears friendly. You can “sell” your practice by using photos. Don’t just use photos that highlight the office décor and instrumentation, but also use photos that showcase how employees and management interact. Include photos of recent events, whether that is a recent trunk show, an office outing such as a dinner out, or the office participating in a charity event.

We recently did a toy drive for Christmas and took photos when we delivered the toys to the drop off location at a local fire station. This may resonate in the eyes of patients, and may also attract a potential employee whose values reflect the practices’ values.

Tell New Employees Story of Your Practice

We show potential employees what our practice has to offer by telling the story of our practice. In our employee manual we have a brief history of the practice from its beginnings in the early 80’s with one doctor and one employee to now with three doctors and over 20 employees. Most potential employees are interested in seeing how a company has grown over the years, and most people would rather work for a company that is growing rather than contracting.

Develop Employees

In our practice we value a highly educated and trained employee. An educated employee can take the pressure off doctors and managers by being able to answer most questions posed by patients without having to consult a doctor or manager. For each practice this is different. You must establish your level of comfort with what the employee is going to say. This process takes initial training and continual training for both the employee and the doctor to be comfortable.

Most of our training is in-house. We want the new hire to do things the way we do them. We have an employee manual that gives them an idea of the practice culture and what is expected of them. We also use scripts for the new hire to follow in the beginning phase of employment. The new hire also shadows a tenured employee for the first week or two before doing the job on their own. Local education is also taken advantage of when possible. Last year we sent five of our employees to International Vision Expo East for training, and also as a reward for a good year.

We also encourage all staff to attend continuing education events. We allow them time off to attend the events and pay for their hours at the event and the education itself.We pay a flat $250 once an employee attains a certification. These include ABO, paraoptometric certification and contact lens certification. For some staff, we will reward them monetarily if they complete training in their field. For example, if our techs become certified we usually reward them with a monetary bonus upon completion of the certification.

We require our opticians to become ABO-certified after a year of employment with us if they are not already certified when we hire them. There have been a few cases over the years that an optician was let go because they showed no interest in certification, or they took the test several times and could not pass (we give them three tries).

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Ken Krivacic, OD, is the owner of Las Colinas Vision Center in Irving, Texas. To contact him: kkrivacic@aol.com.