Do you resent your employees?

Recently, I overheard a couple of physicians discussing their managers and staff. One of the physicians complained that his manager after 15 years of making a “really good wage) of $35,000 was thinking of leaving. He couldn’t believe that she thought she might do better elsewhere. The other physician pointed out that the national average is around $50,000 and that his manager not only works as a manager, but is a certified medical assistant and does the billing. The first physician could not get over the resentment that his manager would consider leaving, but this made me wonder of there is not an even bigger problem lurking in this practice.

It is not uncommon to hear physicians and managers complain about their staff and how many view it as a “job and not a career.” Many are resentful of staff that leaves to find better wages. While some staff do consider it a job and in many cases it is because they are not encouraged to do anything more, other do consider it a career. Staff that is shown appreciation will feel that they are valued and this can translate into the felling of their work as a career. How do you show your staff that you appreciate them? Maybe you don’t actually resent them, but do they know that you do appreciate them? Do you show them? Do you encourage them to take their job seriously and that they are valued? How can they think of it as more than just a job, if their work isn’t valued? What difference does it make to you or the practice if they don’t do a good job as long as they do something and just make an effort?

Times are tough and many staff may need higher wages. Daycare costs can take a large percentage of their pay. Rent and daily living costs are also rising. Could you live on what you pay your staff? That doesn’t mean they should earn as much as you do, but that you should take into consideration that not only are times tough for you, but for your staff as well. They do not have the education or skills that you do and the providers are the ones that brings the most (if not all in many cases) revenue to the practice for that reason alone, you should be making a lot more. Your staff might be resenting what you make as well. Staff usually does not know or understand all of the overhead costs that you have and what it is you actually take home. They only see that you drive a better car than they do and live in a different neighborhood. They have no idea what you have had to sacrifice to get where you are and how hard it is to remain there.

You can’t always pay staff more, but you can show that that you do appreciate them. Think about what they do for you. Could you do all of the billing, handling patient’s problems such as refills, prior authorizations, and all of the many other tasks in a day? Could you do all of what they do and still see your current patient load? Only if you have a low patient load. Be honest with staff that due to tough times you may not be able to increase their salaries, but find other ways to show you appreciate them. Try thanking them for their work. Maybe you could pay for lunch, buy movie cards for extra work done, or treat then to a massage. There are many ways to say thank you and often that is what they really are looking for from you. Of course they could use more money, couldn’t we all? But most of the time they just want to be appreciated.