compensation

What Is Your Staff Worth?

Decide what to pay your employees.

TRUDI CHAREST, RO, ABO

Putting a price tag on a job can be a difficult task, even for an experienced practice owner.

Here, I discuss the four steps you should take to determine pay scales for your employees.

1 Evaluate and define office roles.

Analyze each role in the office, from reception to pre-test to dispensary, and build job descriptions if you have not already done so (see April OM, page 36). This is necessary so you can accurately research pay scales by position as salaries can vary tremendously by position depending on experience and core functions.

2 Know the industry pay standards.

Websites such as Salary.com and Payscale.com are great places to start conducting research, because they give you salary range results based on multiple factors, resulting in very accurate data and pay scales.

Also, look to optometry and optician associations, which post current salary surveys and projections on their websites for members. Start with your local state association, as the data is more accurate to your location than a nationwide survey.

Set salaries according to industry standards, experience, seniority and performance. This ensures that you are paying fairly and, therefore, goes a long way in employee retention.

3 Review your current pay practices.

If employee pay is such a big practice expense, it is even more important that we have the right people, the right pay and right structure for pay increases to maximize our practice profitability and growth. Your percentage of gross revenue that goes towards staff salaries should be defined by your number of new hires, experienced or long-term staff members and, of course, revenue.

Defining roles assists you when comparing pay scales.

To review your current pay practices:

► Pull all salary information for each employee.

► List job, title, job description, certification, years of experience, years at the practice.

► Review performance evaluation and pay increase.

► Compare results with industry standards.

► Highlight those that require changes.

4 Determine salary structure.

Based on your research and review of current employees, set salary structures you feel are appropriate. HR experts suggest setting parameters or scales for each position in the practice.

This process assists you with setting guidelines for increases and career development while reducing conflict and competitiveness within the office and departments. Individual compensation and bonuses should continue to stay confidential, but openly communicate the overall pay scales.

When employees reach the end of their current scale, they will want an opportunity to continue to advance and earn more money. Therefore, assign extra responsibility to these employees, which changes the job description and role and results in the opportunity to earn more money.

Satisfying employees

Happy, motivated and productive employees starts with ensuring we are paying them well. As the economy rebounds and jobs become more prevalent, compensating your best employees helps retain them. OM

TRUDI CHAREST IS THE PRESIDENT AND TRAINER FOR TOTAL FOCUS TRAINING & CONSULTING AS WELL AS PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF JOBS4ECPS, AN ONLINE EYECARE JOBSITE. E-MAIL HER AT TCHAREST@EYECOMMEND.CA, OR SEND COMMENTS TO OPTOMETRICMANAGEMENT@GMAIL.COM.