Ever have a sneaking feeling that your practice could be doing better? Ever experienced just a little over-the-top stress from time to time? Feel your staff are not on the same page as you sometimes (and they probably feel likewise that you are not on their page either)? Wish your patients or clients would go ahead more often with the ideal care you are offering them in order to give them the best? And where are the new patients you need in order to grow? Seem like your practice is not as organized and efficient as it could be? Feel like there must be a better way of doing things because you feel aggravated with the way they are now? Where did the fun go?
Maybe it’s time to consider a Consultant!
There are hundreds of consultants and coaches available in the marketplace. How do you know which one to choose or who would work best for your style, and who won’t wreck your practice or make you do things you don’t want to do? Here are some criteria to consider:
- If you are Canadian, it is pretty obvious to you that you need a Canadian consulting company who understands the rules and laws and what will work marketing-wise, labour laws, professional restrictions for your area, etc.
- Do you want to be consultant-dependent for the rest of your life in practice or do you want to be in control of your own practice and know what to do? This is an important question and narrows the field as to who to choose.
- Having a consulting company or coach come into your practice and do off-the-rack, cookie cutter consulting makes your practice into a clone (because they are not management experts but mostly are past staff out of a practice themselves and that is all that they know). This type of consulting can also be never-ending because you are never trained on proper management skills and tools, so you need to have the consultant come back every time you lose staff or they drop systems and structure back out after the consultant leaves. This is known as being “consultant dependent”.
- If you want to be in control of your own practice, then you should look for a company that trains you on executive and leadership skills (for healthcare professionals) so that you go the next level on management acumen. And believe it or not, an MBA does not give you the tools to efficiently lead a healthcare practice. They are for corporate world positions.
- How long has the company been around and how many practices have they consulted successfully? Do they have lots of references? Do they have a website where you can check them out?
- What will it cost you for their services in the long run. Some consultants work in phases and don’t tell you up front how much their services will ultimately cost. Some Amercian company’s charge huge bucks (like $100,000 US) and require you to be away from your practice for weeks and weeks. This would mean the loss of quite a bit of income.
- Do they go into your practice or do they stay out and coach you into the running of your own practice and help you take control of it in all aspects? This is the best bang for your buck because it is the most powerful and permanent solution.
Have fun again and be in control of your practice! All so that your patients get the ideal care they deserve to have, so your staff have a happy, productive place to work, so you enjoy your career and the profitability is what it should be!
For a FREE, in-depth Practice Analysis to find out
whether WE can help you and by how much,
Call 416-466-6217 or click here
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