By Rachael Click, OD
Switching job roles can re-energize your staff and enhance service to patients. Consider transitioning one employee into a different role while phasing out other employees.
Even the most efficiently runofficefalls into a rut sometimes. Employees become bored with their job roles or maybe you find that they are not putting the energy they used to into their service to patients. One way to get the spark back: Re-organize staff by having some employees switch job roles and eliminating poor performers.
Staff re-organization can mean anything from re-organizing current staff into different roles through extensive cross-training or the need to let certain employees go. Anytime roles are switched, re-organization occurs. Here is how my office, with our staff of three, handles transitioning job roles and other staff realignments so that our entire staff keeps the focus where it needs to be: on delivering the best patient care.
Rachael Click, OD, with the staff of Preferred EyeCare Center in Mount Pleasant, SC.
Cross-Train to Make Transitions to Different Roles Possible
Staff training is key to our practice’s success. We have all of our staff members crossed-trainedso that essential tasksare alwayscovered. Since my office is so small, when someone is out sick or on vacation, an immediate re-organization happens. While they may not do each other’s jobs on a daily basis, everyone knows about the other person’s job. We also have a procedural manual that can be used in initial training and for refreshing memories.
Cross-training is very important to staff reorganization because in a busy office regardless of size, you don’t have the time to completely train existing staff members. They need to have a basic understanding so that if they are asked to switch roles, we can do a refresher on the new role and hopefully not disrupt office flow too much.
Cross-Training Means Cross-Competency
The best and most complicated example of cross-training in my office is inthe area ofbilling. We have someone who currently handles this as one of their primary roles, but there are many layers to billing such as insurance and patient aging. In order to understand billing with insurance benefits, you have to have knowledge on the type of plan the patient has. This requires knowledge for the front-desk staff member because they are pulling the authorizations. The optician and doctor’s technicians have to also have cross-training because they need to know what materials benefits are available and how to bill it.
Another example of cross-training is our electronic medical records system. I have a staff member who is responsible for the exam module, one who is responsible for billing and another who is responsible for the schedule. It is helpful for all of the staff to understand how the entire electronic health records system works so they can better understand their role in our EHR system, Maximeyes.
Let Staff Know When Hired That You Intend to Cross-Train
When I hire a new staff member, I present to them a training agenda. The agenda has all areas of the practice listed, but the major job roles are at the top of the agenda. As the staff member becomes proficient, we mark off the tasks as completed. For instance, the first few priorities of the front-desk receptionist will focus on their primary roles, and then the last section will have non-job title related duties. I don’t expect a front desk person to be 100 percent proficient in pre-testing, but I expect them to know what goes on and how to preform the basic tests if needed.
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Rachael Click, OD, is the owner of Preferred EyeCare Center in Mount Pleasant, SC. To contact her: drclick@preferredeyecarecenter.com.
