Getting In Sync With Your Staff

Do you ever have the feeling that maybe you and your office manager, receptionist, optician or frame stylist are not exactly in sync about what their priorities should be?

It happens. And, lack of alignment is generally the biggest reason for a decline in staff productivity.

And, that's not a good thing. When staff productivity declines, so does office morale, service levels to patients and your net income.

Here is a simple exercise you can do with your staff to head off the problem, or get back into alignment if you already feel out of sync.

Let's Get On The Same Page

Take a regular sheet of typing paper and make up a form — something like this for each employee:

Susie Seewell - Receptionist

Basic job description: ______________________________________

I feel the 3 main priorities of this position are:

1 ____________
2 ____________ 
3 ____________

You Do One, The Employee Does One

Give each employee one of these forms with a formal deadline of two to three days to complete and then review with you. NOTE: It’s perfectly OK for them to seek feedback on their homework. Most won’t.

Parallel to your staff filling out the form on their own, you need to fill out one yourself for each person listing what you consider to be their basic job description and their main three priorities.

Compare Notes

Next, have a one-on-one sit down with each employee to compare notes. Don’t be shocked when you find that your job description or list of priorities does not match those of the employee. That’s why you are out of sync.

And, if you are, don’t worry. You’ve just created a beautiful learning experience for both of you. 

As you go into this, I want you to view your staff as your team. And view yourself as the coach.

It’s your job to create the playbook and give everyone their assignments. It’s their job to master their role and then execute the plays according to your directions.

Agree On The Priorities

Yes, you’re the boss. But, they have to do the work.

I think the best approach is to be a good listener and get ideas from the people on the front lines regarding what their duties are and what the priorities should be.  Form your opinions, then negotiate the priorities of each employee’s role.

When you agree, put the priorities in writing, shake hands and each of you sign off on the list. Once you’ve done that, you can expect an increase in morale, service levels and staff productivity.

Thanks for reading,

Jerry Hayes, OD

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Disclaimer: The information and opinions contained on this site are for discussion purposes only and are NOT intended to serve as legal, accounting or investment advice. ©2012 Jerry Hayes, OD. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the author.