For some of the best ideas to increase revenue in your clinic, look no further than your staff! That’s right one of the easiest ways to gather intimate data about your clinic is to ask the people who work for you.
You might be thinking “If my staff sees an issue, they will bring it to my attention.” That may be true, if it’s a big enough issue, let’s hope that they say something. Given that your staff is probably pretty busy during the day, however, it may take asking them point-blank in order to jog their memory. Putting a question front and center gives it it their attention.
Consider calling a short-and-sweet 30 minute staff meeting dedicated to brainstorming ways to increase revenue. Your people are your greatest asset in business. They may surprise you with the ideas that they’ve never had the courage to share. Or, the brainstorming process and collaboration of the team may yield results no one person may have created individually. This site outlines a step-by-step plan for how to conduct a productive and successful team brainstorm. It’s pretty basic, but sometimes everyone needs a refresher.
Employees may see cash drains that you do not see. They may also better ideas about office policies and processes from their vantage point. Now, we recognize that not all ideas are good ones and some may just not be possible. The discussion and the participation may yield surprising benefits.
How else can you engage your employees to increase clinic revenue? One of our WebPT Members, Dr. Sam Esterson of Esterson Physical Therapy in Baltimore has created an incentive program for his therapists. Currently, his therapists see an average of 12 patients per day. In order to increase revenue, Sam created a bonus program for therapists who see more than 12 patients per day over the course of each pay period (10 business days). So, if one of his therapists sees over 120 patients during 10 business days, Sam will pay a $20 bonus for each additional treated patient.
“Setting attainable goals with positive rewards is critical,” says Sam. He also advised that setting unattainable goals will negatively impact your organization. “It’s the same for patient goals, they need to be achievable or they won’t be effective,” he says.
What else are you doing to involve your team in building your business? Asking for help from your team can engage and invest them more in the business. They will feel like they are contributing more and (hopefully) being rewarded for their good ideas. And with the successful implementation of those good ideas or extra incentives, the business is rewarded with increased revenue and higher profits.
We’d love to hear from you! Comment below with other incentive programs or employee ideas that have worked for your practice.
