Blog
Blog
Blog
IDOC actively shares industry-focused articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos and other thought leadership with our members and other optometric practitioners. Below, you will find links to our growing library of educational materials and multi-media assets written and created by IDOC's team of seasoned industry experts.
Amy Alvarez | 11/5/2018
OPTICAL STAFF RETENTION: HOW TO HIRE FOR THE LONG TERM

“I have never had to hire like this before!”

“I’m embarrassed to say, my longest-term employee has only been with me 9 months.”

“I never used to have this problem!”

“We must be doing something wrong!”

“I can’t afford to have to hire again. What can I do to keep the staff I have?”

Ever said or thought any of these things before? You are not alone. Retention is at the center of most conversations in this market. Unemployment was 3.7% last month. Additionally, job growth was significant, especially in healthcare – 22,000+ new jobs in September alone! (BLS)

Keep in mind, in 2016, average retention in the healthcare industry was 2.9 years. (BLS) There are plenty of members at IDOC who are experiencing harsher turnover than that! Commitment and loyalty, which used to mean long-term employment, are beginning to mean dedication, while I work here. We aren’t looking for just long-term employment anyway. After all, not all retention is created equal. We want employees, whether they are employed for 6 months or 6 years, to also be engaged! Engaged employees are dedicated to the practice’s success.

There are things you can do to drive engaged retention and they are going to have long term benefits for your practice!

Core Values – Identify what is important to your business

When values of the individual align with the values of the business, the match will be more satisfying for both parties. Spend time creating core values for your practice that define what is important to you. Make it an activity with your staff – team bonding and true reflection of your business! Win-Win!

Training – Set your team up for success

When someone joins your team, take the time to teach them to do their role properly. Setting them up for success creates commitment. But don’t stop there! Keep it going! There is always something to learn. Tag your vendor reps to come in and teach the staff about products you carry or new technologies. Ask your team to help everyone with a topic they know well at the next staff meeting.

Communicate – Talk to your employees… A LOT

You could have the best core values, the best training, the best policies, the best hire. But without communication, these things are all lost. Communication should occur frequently, formally and informally. You can communicate through one-on-one meetings – feedback and reviews, staff meetings, a bulletin board. There is no limit!

Accountability – It is ok to have expectations

Policies, procedures and coaching are all great ways to address concerns when things are just right. However, if we never address concerns, little things become big problems and they are having a negative effect on the business and the team as whole! It is best to address these concerns right away and consistently.

Benefits – And no, I don’t mean just health insurance

Optical Discounts, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, No Weekends/Week days off, part time/full time and more are great benefits that you offer your team. Bonuses, contests, monthly/quarterly lunches and other activities are also benefits and drive commitment to the practice and encourage your team to stick around.

Engaged Retention requires effort and attention and you have to continue to cultivate it. However, when you have it – you will see growth of the practice and you will feel less personal stress. Sounds like you can’t lose!

 

Amy Alvarez
HR Consulting and Services Manager
Amy Alvarez, SHRM-CP is IDOC’s Human Resources Consultant. Amy has experience in HR in healthcare and retail, management in big box and specialty retail stores and physician recruitment. Through these roles and training, Amy is well-versed in recruitment and hiring strategies for “hard to fill” roles, dealing with low productivity, helping encourage employee engagement, on-boarding, training, day-to-day management in a retail setting, employee relations, and so much more.
Trending Blogs
 
 

12/2/2022 | Author: IDOC

Hayley Stewart, IDOC Financial Services Manager

The end of the year is quickly approaching, which means you are probably thinking about your practice’s bookkeeping and all the many year-end deadlines that are going to be here before you know it. One of those deadlines you... Read more



11/4/2022 | Author: Nathan Hayes

IDOC is excited to announce the first benchmark report for our new Books & Benchmark; Financial Statement Benchmarks are live.  With over 30 practices connected to the database, we’re now able to run benchmarks.  Let us share a couple of aspects of how we do benchmarks that... Read more


9/9/2022 | Author: Maddie Langston

 

If you are looking to increase the number of new patients at your practice, then your marketing strategy should include working on how to get noticed in local online search results. One powerful way to increase your visibility in local search is to optimize and maintain the... Read more


8/22/2022 | Author: Kelsey Garcia

So you created a Facebook and Instagram account for your practice, but now what? Coming up with post ideas can be overwhelming and can quickly leave your creative “well” feeling dry. By categorizing your posts into three main buckets, you can easily streamline the brainstorming... Read more


8/5/2022 | Author: Dr. Steve Vargo

As I type this, the news is dominated by concerns over the economy, including unease around inflation and a looming recession. This has practice owners understandably concerned and asking, “What should I expect, and how can I prepare?”

I’m not an economist, and I... Read more


7/22/2022 | Author: Nathan Hayes

Do you worry that your staff aren’t consistently doing the little things in your practice? Do you lose sleep because you just ‘don’t know’ what’s happening outside your lane?  Do you struggle to find the time to oversee things?

Let me suggest that... Read more


7/15/2022 | Author: Amy Alvarez

I think I would be hard pressed to find an independent practice owner who doesn’t understand the power that marketing has on their ability to attract patients to their practice. Keeping patients, new and existing, visiting the practice is an important part of a successful... Read more


7/8/2022 | Author: Lana Greene

I have never spoken to a practice with a zero patient-owned-frame (POF) percentage. I encourage practices to strive for less than 25% POF percentage at a minimum, and less than 15% for the best-in-class. You may see a slight increase year-over-year, which will happen when you sell quality... Read more


5/19/2022 | Author: Dr. Steve Vargo

As research for launching a new service called IDOC Specialty Services, I interviewed several industry experts of various specialties. At the end of each call, I asked everyone the same question: “What prevents more ODs from succeeding with a specialty?”

Their answers were insightful.... Read more