CHECKLIST: STAFF TRAINING

STRATEGY SESSION:
Create a “learning environment” ¹
Access education options ²

THE SERVICE SIDE:
Teach the “soft” skills ³

HUMAN RESOURCES:
Develop a formal employee development plan ⁴

FINANCE:
Budget for development ⁵

MARKETING:
Market your customer service ⁶

Let’s start this article by differentiating employee development and new hire orientation. One is an event with an endpoint; the other is ongoing. When you study the top companies known for building great teams that deliver great service, you will usually find an organization committed to the ongoing development of its employees.

1 CREATE A “LEARNING ENVIRONMENT”

In the book, “The New Gold Standard” (McGraw-Hill), Mandy Holloway, senior director of global learning at The Ritz-Carlton, observes, “We are on a journey right now where we’re evolving from a training organization into a learning environment. We understand very clearly that 70% of learning realistically is on the job.” Two interesting observations from Ms. Holloway: (1) The Ritz-Carlton is evolving into a “learning environment,” and (2) the majority of learning occurs on the job. These reinforce the importance of an ongoing employee development program that goes beyond the standard new hire training/orientation.

2 ACCESS EDUCATION OPTIONS

Numerous options exist for developing your employees. For example, sending employees to CE courses or industry conferences, asking a frame vendor rep to do an in-office presentation, online training modules, etc.

Beyond formal training options, take advantage of all the “teaching opportunities,” that present themselves daily in practice.

3 TEACH THE “SOFT” SKILLS

Most training programs focus on teaching the technical skills, but what about the soft skills? Does your staff deliver a friendly greeting to patients, show empathy when patients describe a vision problem, go above and beyond to create happy patients? This is a very important — and often overlooked — component of employee development.

4 DEVELOP A FORMAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Employee development is an investment in cost and time! I understand these can be very limited resources for many practices, but consider the word “investment.” You can and should expect a healthy return on this investment that exceeds your cost. That return comes in the form of higher sales, improved retention and more word-of-mouth referrals. Also, a highly developed staff will not demand as much of your time.

5 BUDGET FOR DEVELOPMENT

Most practices I consult with do not have a formal employee development strategy. As you work with employees to develop their skills, create a formal employee development plan — one that doesn’t end after the first 90 days!

6 MARKET YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE

A knowledgeable, highly competent team is a great practice differentiator. Expect a greater commitment to employee development to translate into more positive reviews and raving fans. Patient reviews and testimonials are great practice builders! OM

DR. VARGO serves as Optometric Practice Management Consultant for IDOC. A published author and speaker with more than 15 years clinical experience, he is now a full-time consultant advising O.D.s in all areas of practice management and optometric office operations.