Bosses of the world, please pay attention as this is a seriously important question to every one of your staff. You hire them, put them on the job and hope for the best. Each one of them can make or break the success of your practice, and the brightest ones are aware of this and wonder if they are a good staff member or not.
What is a “good” staff member?
The answer is extremely important because you are consciously or sub-consciously using certain criteria to judge your staff and they need to know what your expectancy is if they are to have any hope of achieving it.
Here are some possible expectancies you might have:
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Ideal Staff Member:
A high energy person with a perpetual smile, who loves working with people, is highly motivated, willing to learn and can multitask efficiently. This would be your ideal team player, right?
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Upbeat and Cheerful:
Someone who brings everyone up and exudes a feeling of positivity to the other staff and the patients is always well loved. If a staff member has personal problems, those should be left outside the practice.
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A Learn-it-all:
This is someone with a strong desire to continually learn more and develop better ways to service the patients and the practice as a whole. Know-it-alls are dead weights because they are not open to new ideas or developing better systems – they don’t change or improve.
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Willingness to be part of a team:
When you have a number of staff, you really need them all to get along wonderfully and to think about the needs of the other team members and help each other do better. No bullying, no “I am better than you”, no gossiping about other team members. A team that is coordinated and care for each other can deliver so much better service to the patients.
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Going Above and Beyond:
Your favourite team members are obviously going to be the ones who give you 125% on the job, who seek to do everything better than was expected – both for you and for the patients.
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Accountability:
Staff who take full responsibility for their own positions within the practice and for the success of the team as a whole are extremely valuable. Being production oriented is part of that “ownership” attitude.
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Additional qualities:
Being early for work and being willing to stay late if necessary, a perfectionist attitude toward detail, dressing for the success of the practice, ability to ask for help when needed – all these and many more are important as well.
Am I a Good Boss?
The Bosses’ Contribution to Team Success:
- When you hired the staff member, did you tell them all your expectancies? Ideally, these are written into the Office Policy Manual that all new staff are required to read and follow.
- Did you ensure that adequate training was done with the new staff member so they CAN succeed?
- Do you do periodic staff performance reviews so they know whether they are doing great, or if there are things they can work on improving? This is also an opportunity to highlight all their good points as well.
- Do you thank your staff when they do something better than expected? Or even when they did exactly what you asked for? This is important feedback for anyone.
- Is there a forum provided for staff to bring forward new ideas? You want to encourage creativity.
In Summary:
Help your team members to develop and grow by using the above criteria. You will have a happier practice!
You might also like: 4 WAYS TO BE AN OUTSTANDING STAFF MEMBER
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