Question
Do you have any tips on retaining quality staff for an audiology practice?
Answer
One of the most important things that you will find is that pay is not necessarily everyone's biggest motivator. It all boils down to understanding your staff and ensuring they are in the right roles and doing the right things that are aligned with their interests and aptitudes. An inventory of their personal aptitudes is helpful, as it will enable you to learn what motivates each person. Kolbe Corp (www.kolbe.com) has some tools that can be used for this purpose. Perhaps it is money that motivates an individual, for another perhaps it is influence, for another a day off, and yet for another maybe it is a flexible schedule that allows for more family time. After determining what people's aptitudes and interests are, you may learn that adjustments are in order, or duties need to be reshuffled, but in the long run you will likely have a more productive and efficient office, and more satisfied staff, resulting in more satisfied patients.
Quality staff people are generally loyal as long as they're treated well, but how you treat someone well is defined by the individual. That is something that you need to learn about your staff, as they may not tell you, and sometimes don't have the self-awareness to know. You may be able to glean it out of an inventory. If you treat them well and meet their needs they will repay you with loyalty.
This Ask the Expert was taken from recorded course #16385, Grow and Prosper in Uncertain Times. To view the course, register click here
Markus Hilbert obtained his Au.D. at Salus University and his MS from Portland State University. He has worked in Audiology in Canada, and has organized and executed outreaches to Malawi and India. He lives in Calgary Canada with his wife and two daughters. He sold his private practice and now works there in patient care for new owners while also managing Ear Works Inc., a solutions provider for independent hearing clinics. For more information, visit https://earworksinc.com/ or the Ear Works web channel on AudiologyOnline