Search ChiroEco.com
 

 

 

 

November 2007

Team Tips: Keep your team happy

Keep your team happy
By Susan Hoy

Disgruntled employees do not make good team members. Since your team is your front line to patients, it is important to understand what makes your employees satisfied, willing to work for you, and motivated to build an extraordinary practice.

The cost of employee turnover, according to a recent article, is estimated at a minimum of $10,000 per employee. And the Harvard Business Review reports a 5 percent increase in staff retention results in a 10 percent decrease in costs, and a 25 percent to 65 percent increase in productivity.

The bottom line is a seasoned, trained staff lowers your costs and increases your profitability.

Although earning money is important to employees, it is usually not the No. 1 job satisfier. Employees need to be adequately and fairly compensated, but many other factors create a happy, satisfied employee.

Job satisfaction involves benefits, intellectual challenges, flexibility, and the opportunity to make a difference.

Here are some suggestions for keeping employees happy and willing to work for success:

• Worthwhile work. Every employee must see the value in what they do.

Tip: On a regular basis, such as during a staff meeting or a morning or evening huddle, discuss the difference your team makes every single day to patients and each other.

• Ethics and values. Every staff member must be proud to be associated with a moral and ethical practitioner.

Tip: Create a mission statement with your team and live by it. Be certain your motives are not misinterpreted; communicate with your staff to be sure they understand your motives and goals.

• Common goals. Goals make your mission come alive. Discuss your vision with your team. Once the vision is shared and every staff member knows and shares the vision, set goals.

Tip: Make the most of team goals and develop an action plan for each person to follow to achieve his or her part of the team goals.

• Trust. Give each staff member the flexibility to carry out his or her responsibilities without constant supervision. Trust that the job will be done.

Tip: Trust does not mean you never check on progress.

• Challenge your staff. Make expectations reasonable, but challenge your employees to stretch out of their comfort zone.

• Training. You can’t expect a staff member to

fulfill a responsibility without adequate training. Without training, the employee will almost certainly fail and lose self-esteem.

Employees need to have an environment where they can grow intellectually and personally. Training should be provided routinely — in and out of the office.

Tip: Treat staff members to training seminars where they can network with others. They will enjoy the experience and learn from others outside of the office.

• Individual recognition. All employees need to feel a part of the team and appreciated.

Tip: Paying attention to employees and caring about their goals, families, and concerns is key to keeping them.

• Individual appreciation. Employees need to hear “thank you” on a regular basis. Think of ways you can compensate your employee for extraordinary effort.

Tip: Individual merit bonus awards are a great idea.

• Communicate. Keep employees in the loop. Two-way communication is absolutely essential for employees to feel involved and valued.

• Encourage teamwork. On a sports team, rarely do you see a player who isn’t being backed up by another player. That’s teamwork. Cross-train employees so they can appreciate each other’s work and be ready to step in, should an absence occur.

• Hire right. Make sure each team member is in the appropriate position for him or her.

Tip: Match personality and talent with the position.

• Be a cheerleader. Cheer the progress, not just the result. Congratulations should be spontaneous, but genuine. False praise creates apathy. You can never overdo genuine congratulations.

• Focus on the positive. Become a coach, not a critic.

• Remain enthusiastic. Being in control of achieving the goal is the mission. Cheering each other on brings enthusiasm to the work.

• Share in the reward. Cash comes first; congratulations come next. Develop a bonus system that rewards hard work and shares the profits adequately.

Familiar faces are a comfort to your patients and happy employees create a happy environment, which, in turn, attracts patients to your office.

Susan Hoy is an award-winning team trainer and consultant. She presents training seminars for teams throughout the country and is the author of two team training manuals. The newest is entitled Systemize, Organize, Simplify. Susan can be reached at 215-674-0130, by e-mail at suzzhoy@aol.com, or through the Web site, www.beefitup.net.

 

---

---