Improving Chiropractic Staff Happiness

When it comes to growing a chiropractic practice, staff happiness may not seem like it is of the highest strategic importance. But it is an essential factor when it comes to retaining employees and creating a culture that patients enjoy being a part of. The fact is, happy employees don’t quit. So, finding the key to this happiness is important for the health of the practice.

Practice managers might not have reflected on the factors that impact happiness for staff. But in the midst of the “great resignation” and a labor shortage, it is more crucial than ever to focus on staff happiness and wellbeing.

Let’s dive into a few of the factors that can increase happiness, decrease stress, and improve outcomes for chiropractic practices.

Define and analyze the most frustrating parts of the job.

Ridding staff of the elements of their job that make them most unhappy will improve their wellbeing at work. Communication about these elements will bring up things like frustration when patients make appointments and don’t show up. Practice managers also might hear about the mounds of forms to manage. When it comes to collections, billing, and insurance, paperwork can become not only a burden but also a stressor for staff.

After decreasing the frustrations, increase the successes.

This process requires communication with staff, as well as more time. Employees tend to readily talk about their frustrations but are less forthcoming about their strengths and the aspects of their jobs that make them feel the most fulfilled. Some staff members might love engaging with new patients to make good first impressions, while others might prefer the analytical side of tracking efficiencies and feedback. But managers won’t know any of this unless they ask for feedback.

It seems simplistic, but increasing staff happiness involves turning down the dial on frustrating tasks and turning it up on what staff love to do most.

But how can chiropractic managers help make this happen?

One practical frustration that can be easily improved is the area of communication. Patients don’t show for appointments, they do not confirm but do show up, or they won’t return a call—these are all highly frustrating time-wasting situations for staff. An automated system can help solve this issue. By allowing technology to take care of these communication issues, like patients not confirming appointments, employees can focus on other areas.

Another task often asked of staff is growing the practice. This can be a challenging endeavor full of starts and stops. Another technological solution can assist: increasing online visibility. This can be the conduit for attracting new patients. Through this simple step of support, employees can find more success in tackling this challenge.

Finally, managers can support their staff by engaging clients through ongoing feedback. Employees are also happier when they can see the positive Google reviews coming through about the clinic. By sharing these successes, managers can build a culture of positive support, showing how the vision of the practice is being fulfilled.

What outcomes should you hope to see when you improve chiropractic staff happiness? Here are three outcomes but there are many more.

• Less turnover of staff. Staff retention goes up when they feel engaged, happy, and supported at work.
• Better attendance from staff. Employees show up to work more often when they feel that the work is meaningful and that they are contributing to it. The most inspirational vision in the world does not matter if staff members don’t feel that they are part of making it happen. This is why it is so important to find solutions that ease the burden of stress while also allowing employees to have more time to contribute to the mission of the organization.
• Improved patient experience. Clients will benefit from happier office staff. Customer service improves greatly when an automated solution is used, for example. Employees have more time to care for new clients and retain current patients because the software solution is doing most of the tedious work for them.

If you are seeking a better culture for your practice and better outcomes for your patients, a happier staff can produce both. Finding a strong supportive solution to help decrease stressors and improve the experience is the first step on this journey.