Tips for Effective Stress Relief & Improved Chiropractic Practice Productivity
It’s no secret that chiropractic practices are experiencing a great deal of stress today. The Great Resignation has impacted many industries, and chiropractic practices are no exception. And while the stress that workers feel is valid, many employers fail to make necessary changes to improve their work environment. As a result of this neglect, employees have left their jobs in droves.
If your chiropractic practice has witnessed this phenomenon firsthand, it’s time to make some adjustments. As a matter of fact, all you need are the right strategies and a few digital tools to de-stress your staff and increase their loyalty.
Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to relieve—and retain—chiropractic staff in your clinic.
1. Listen to Their Concerns
First, one of the most effective tools you have as a manager is your ability to listen. Listening to your employees is important because 1) it lets them know you care about what they have to say, and 2) it gives you specific areas to address.
As you listen to your employees voice their concerns, it’s likely you’ll hear that some tasks are much more difficult than others. Plus, opening this line of dialogue gives you deeper insight into how your practice is truly operating. Without talking to your staff, you may not realize just how much pressure they feel each day.
2. Identify Stressors
In these conversations, what stressors did your staff mention? Do they find it challenging to manage a packed reception area? Are they overwhelmed by stacks of paperwork? Perhaps they’re frustrated by the endless phone calls that prevent them from doing other important duties.
Moreover, it’s impossible to remove every single stressor in your practice—but many of them can be automated.
Additionally, non-automated tasks cause frustrating patient experiences, and your staff take the brunt of it. It’s not uncommon for patients to get upset due to billing and insurance, scheduling conflicts, or mistakes made through human error. Digital solutions can curb some of these issues. Automation can catch the issues that tend to upset patients, resulting in a less stressful environment for everyone.
3. Remove “Mindless” & Repetitive Tasks
Not only do repetitive tasks kill your practice’s productivity, but they ruin your staff’s motivation and desire to be in the office. A “rinse and repeat” environment is depressing and unmotivating, and it leaves little room for other tasks. If your practice operates this way, you’re bound to see turnover.
When you gathered feedback in the beginning, you may have heard comments about there not being enough time in the day due to manual tasks. There are probably a few time-wasting duties your staff can automatically name, like appointment confirmations, filing paperwork, and manually posting ERAs.
Yet, while you can take an aggressive approach and automate as much as possible, you may want to start small. Depending on the technological acumen of your staff, your transition could require a partner to help migrate and automate a few of your processes. Changing too much at once could lead to more frustration since they would need to re-learn many duties all over again.
4. Share All Feedback, Not Just the Negative
Your patient reviews are critical to your practice’s visibility on search engines, and they’re helpful for highlighting areas your practice should improve. Another (often overlooked) benefit of patient reviews is how motivational they can be for staff. Negative commentary tends to be the loudest, and it’s usually the sort of feedback your employees hear first.
But what about positive feedback?
If you only share negative reviews with your staff, they’ll be discouraged and find it difficult to stay motivated. In fact, if you think about it, most of your patients are probably satisfied with their care. You should let your staff know about them—especially if you want to combat stress and reduce turnover.
De-Stress Staff with Zingit’s Automated Tools
If stress levels are too high for your chiropractic staff, it will be much more difficult to grow and be successful. Retraining new staff is expensive if turnover is high, and poor patient experiences can harm your bottom line.
However, your staff doesn’t have to work under pressure every day. With Zingit, your practice gets effective digital tools for a stress-free work environment:
- Automate “mindless” tasks like appointment scheduling, appointment reminders, and follow-ups.
- Improve patient communication with two-way texting between patients and your practice, making it easier to reschedule, address concerns, and share important information.
- Collect and stream positive reviews from satisfied patients. Showcase them on various platforms to enhance your online presence and boost staff morale by highlighting their hard work and success.
With these essential tools, you can effectively de-stress your practice and build the successful business you’ve always wanted.
References
Kuligowski, K. (2020, November 10). How Workplace Automation Software Can Help Your Business. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15909-workplace-automation-benefits.html
Parker, K., & Horowitz, J. M. (2022, March 9). Majority of Workers Who Quit a Job in 2021 Cite Low pay, No Opportunities for advancement, Feeling Disrespected. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/
Pick the Best Chiropractic Software for Your Practice. (2023, February 21). Zingit. https://www.zingit.com/blog/best-chiropractic-software
Porath, C. (2016, October 25). Give Your Team More-Effective Positive Feedback. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/10/give-your-team-more-effective-positive-feedback
Skaff, S. (2022, June 24). Council Post: The End of Rinse and Repeat: 2 Ways Manual and Repetitive Tasks Kill Workplace Innovation. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/06/24/the-end-of-rinse-and-repeat-2-ways-manual-and-repetitive-tasks-kill-workplace-innovation/?sh=4e1520f158d7
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