06 Jan 7 Eye-Opening Ways to Manage Your Optometry Staff
Your optometry staff is the face of your practice before a patient ever sits in the exam chair or gets fitted for contact lenses. Running a successful optometry practice demands excellent leadership and vision—and recognizing your staff as key drivers of patient satisfaction and revenue growth.
By focusing more energy on your team, you’ll inspire better performance to drive optometric management success. Patient satisfaction begins with employee satisfaction. Here are several ways to keep your optometry staff motivated, engaged, and satisfied.
7 Tips for Optometry Staff Management
1. Inspire better performance through employee recognition
79% of people who quit their jobs cite “lack of appreciation” as their reason for leaving. To cultivate a happy and satisfied staff, learn how to recognize them for a job well done.
There are many ways to approach employee recognition, yet even the smallest gestures will make a big impact. From a simple verbal “thank you” to an incentive program offering gift cards or paid time off, you’ll inspire better performance in your eye care staff by expressing appreciation.
2. Mentor new optometry staff members
Gallup has shown that employees with a best friend at work are twice as likely to be engaged. Assign a mentor or “buddy” who can serve not only as a trainer but also provide emotional support.
This support system helps the new staff member feel like they belong to the team from day one. Choose a like-minded mentor who will easily establish rapport by relating to their challenges and interests.
3. Commit to staff training and development
Every optometric practice is busy, but technology, research, and techniques are continually evolving. To keep up with your ever-evolving industry, make time for continuing education.
Another vital component of staff training and development is customer service. Train your staff to manage patient scheduling, along with difficult patients and situations. Your commitment ensures your staff is prepared with set guidelines, helping to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
4. Improve efficiency with optometry software
Using the right optometry software will speed up documentation flow during patient visits, keeping staff and patients happy and humming along.
Engaging patients through EHR patient portals makes scheduling seamless and online bill pay more convenient, freeing up valuable time for your staff. An intuitive EHR system empowers your staff to serve patients better and faster, with fewer errors and inefficiencies.
5. Provide employee perks
Another way to show your appreciation and help retain a satisfied optometry staff is to offer complimentary vision exams and discounted eyewear. Showing you care about your staff’s health is a great way to earn loyalty.
A complimentary eye exam gives your staff the experience of being satisfied patients. Patient simulation increases their knowledge of services and eyewear products, increasing confidence in their customer-facing roles as a result.
6. Actively engage staff in problem-solving
Optometric management is hectic. Front-line staff encounter ongoing issues and frustrations daily that can lead to inefficiencies and burnout.
Meet with staff regularly to discuss problems and share potential solutions. Your staff is in the trenches, and they harbor plenty of ideas on how to improve patient engagement and office workflow.
7. Evaluate staff productivity levels
Take the time to evaluate staffing levels, office efficiencies, and productivity levels. Confirm you are hiring and scheduling the proper ratio of office management, front office, technicians, opticians, scribes, and medical staff in your optometric practice.
This final important step keeps your practice running smoothly while boosting employee morale.
Your Optometry Staff is the Key to Practice Success
Managing a busy optometric practice is full of challenges that require strong leadership and vision. Drive that vision by intentionally cultivating a loyal and satisfied staff to unlock the key to practice management success.
Improve the way you manage your optometry staff by giving them more patient focus time. Learn how MaximEyes optometry software helps you and your staff succeed.