Staff Management

Your Staff: Top Source of New Ideas for Improvement

By Laurie L. Sorrenson, OD, FAAO

As practice leader, an OD has a responsibility to constantly think about ways to improve the service provided to patients. But spending the majority of the day in the exam room can often leave a doctor removed from the day-to-day challenges of the office. Your support staff, on the other hand, who are out front in the reception area, the optical dispensary and pre-testing area, are exposed to the pros and cons of the daily workflow. With this kind of upfront exposure comes a great source of new ideas.

To tap the knowledge of my staff, I recently had them complete an employee survey that asked what they felt we could do better, including the tasks they did not enjoy doing themselves. Frequently, duties employees don’t enjoy are a red flag for what is not working well in the practice. For instance, if you always have bottlenecks in your pre-testing area, the role of pre-tester may be one employees are never eager to take on. Or if the check-in and registration process is onerous, you may find employees hesitant to pitch in at the front desk.

For that reason, I asked, in an e-mailed survey: “What tasks in our office take you away from direct patient care? Specifically, tasks that you do not enjoy as much as others?”

I received feedback that enabled us to come up with better systems for lab efficiency, keeping our patient bathroom clean, keeping the exam rooms stocked appropriately, and I am working on better ways to verify insurance.

Now not only is our workflow more efficient, but our staff is happier. Patients don’t want to wait longer than expected for eyeglasses, find an uncleanly office or find their doctor leaving the exam room to look for supplies, and they surely don’t want to find that they are unable to easily use their vision benefits. But nearly as important is the impact of a satisfied staff. When your staff members are able to effectively do their jobs, their stress levels go down, creating a more positive, pleasant office environment.

The next time you brainstorm ways to improve your practice, begin with your own reflections, but also survey your employees. Don’t just ask what they think you can do better–that may result in blank stares or writer’s block, but what causes them difficulty. You probably will find the same things that cause your staff discomfort also diminish the quality of your patient’s experience.

How do you focus on constant improvement? How do you tap the knowledge of your staff?

Laurie L. Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Austin, Texas. To contact her: sorrenson@att.net.

To Top
Subscribe Today for Free...
And join more than 35,000 optometric colleagues who have made Review of Optometric Business their daily business advisor.