DEVELOP A BRAND THAT ENCOURAGES EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

“GARY, I’M THINKING of sending my employees to a trade show for some CE. It will be presented as a reward if we can increase second pair sales by 10% in the next three months. What do you think?”

On the surface, offering your employees training as a reward certainly seems like a good idea. But, just a micron below that surface is a major cultural problem.

Employee education (I prefer education — dogs are trained, staff members are educated — but that’s just me) is, of course, a great idea. But not as a reward. (In the example above, if the staff has just a 5% increase, they won’t get the education, and everyone loses.) Instead, develop a practice culture and brand that constantly offers and encourages education and career development.

CONSIDER NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Education doesn’t have to be limited to eye-specific content available through venues such as state meetings or trade shows. How about sending your receptionist to a class on effective communications or on understanding the nuances of body language? Your latest employee struggles with Microsoft Excel and can’t produce the data you want? Find a class that teaches it. If your staff handles your social media campaign, send them to a marketing class or, perhaps, a discussion about what drives millennials to respond to different social media.

RETENTION AND PERFORMANCE

Configured and explained when employees are first hired, your practice should be viewed as not just an optometry practice, but a business that cultivates, nurtures and respects great talent through ongoing education. That mind-set will lead to employee retention and better performance.

Ongoing education is sometimes viewed as a recipe for disaster in that you’re teaching employees skills they can use elsewhere. The response of, “Would you prefer they were less capable and stayed?” doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. Focus on offering this growth and development because you want your employees to stay! If the education they receive is beneficial, your practice and employees will grow and be motivated to stay. It’s not much more complicated than that.

Patients with non-optometry occupations (which is probably all of them) can help and are often flattered when asked to do so. Is the high school track coach your patient? Would he be willing to teach team building? Is the church choir director a patient? How does she schedule rehearsals and make them most productive?

Should staff be paid for these activities? By seeing the benefit for the employee and the practice and understanding that ongoing education should be an integral part of your practice fiber and DNA, the answer is patently obvious. How could you not pay them for doing their jobs, which includes ongoing education?

The best time for education will depend on the individual circumstances. But certainly when warranted, don’t be afraid to cut into patient-care time!

What about those employees who don’t want to participate in ongoing education? Treat them the same way as a receptionist who doesn’t want to answer the phone or an optician who doesn’t want to sell glasses, i.e., it’s a non-negotiable part of their job. OM

DR. GERBER is the president of the Power Practice, a company specializing in making optometrists more profitable. Learn more at www.powerpractice.com , or call Dr. Gerber at (888) 356-4447.