Practice Management Alert

Question: In the past year, we have lost two of our best coders and one of our best billers. During their exit interviews, they all gave the impression that they didn’t feel appreciated for the work that they did (one coder outright said it). These were exemplary employees, so we’re a bit worried. How do we make our best workers feel happy and appreciated for their contributions?

California Subscriber

Answer: This is an important issue, as recruiting, training and retaining quality employees is vital to the overall success of any practice. And studies show that coders, billers and other front-end employees that the practice depends upon can be very difficult and expensive to replace.

According to an article in Medical Economics, The Center for American Progress estimates that for many non-clinical practice employees, it will cost employers approximately 20 percent of that employee’s salary to find a replacement.

The first issue you must address is salary and benefits. Do some research into what other professionals in your area make for each job at your practice. Then, do everything you can to make salaries and benefits packages competitive with others in the market. You don’t want one of your best coders to walk just because you’ve unwittingly underpaid her by a few thousand dollars.

Pay is only part of package, however — especially if the employees who have left recently felt underappreciated. The truth about any office is that some employees are more productive than others. When those “overproducers” feel underappreciated, you need to go beyond the standard salary and benefits package. They overproduce for you, so you’ve got to go the extra mile for them.

When considering types of non-cash rewards for your outstanding performers, the American Express for Small Business website offers these suggestions:

• Thank you note: “This might sound like you’re getting off cheap, but people still really appreciate being acknowledged personally for their work,” AmEx states.
• Prime parking: Offer an “Employee of the Month” parking space near the front of the practice. “This is an old-school reward that has been around forever ... because it works,” AmEx reports. It is also a low-cost way of publicly recognizing an employee’s contributions.
• Free PTO: Give an outstanding employee an extra day off from work — and let them choose the day, provided the office still has coverage.
• Car wash: While the employee is working, hire a professional detailer to clean her car, if she owns one. Many professional car detailers will go to the car rather than you driving to the car to them.
• Project (dis)ownership: Ask your star employee what her least favorite project is. Then, tell her that you’ll handle it for her instead.
• Complimentary commute: Find out if your employee drives or takes public transportation to work. Then, give them a gas card — or subway tickets, bus passes, etc. — that covers her commuting expenses for a month.
• Super breaks: Reward the employee by doubling their break times for a week — lunch, coffee, etc.