How Do You Motivate Staff, Anyway?

Many practices have lost their sparkle and are caught in the grind because no one is motivating the team. In surveys done of optometrists who have used outside consulting firms, one of the consistently recognized benefits mentioned is “my staff were more motivated,” and of course that meant “more productive.”

Let’s take a look at that. Motivation comes in different forms. Perhaps the motivation these doctors are talking about came from staff feeling scrutinized. People do not relish being criticized or held up to ridicule, and there is an inherent unspoken threat of dismissal (often with good reason) in the air when someone other than one’s peers are paying attention to one’s actions. This can serve as a form of motivation.

But that isn’t really ideal, is it? And certainly, we would like to think that the consultant had a positive impact on the staff as a result of real help and real ability to listen to what problems the practice was having and being able to solve them.

Still, if the consultant is motivating the staff, what happens after the consultant leaves? If that was a key benefit, does the benefit continue in his or her absence? The point is that we can all agree that more gets done when staff are motivated, so it is something that we would like done at least some of the time from a strictly business perspective.

Most Valuable Form of Motivation

Let me tell you about the most valuable form of staff motivation. It far surpasses any results that you will get from a motivational talk, or any number of motivational exercises. Self motivation is by far the most valuable motivation there is. It is permanent, self-sustaining, does not take your time or anyone else’s time to accomplish. The impact on production is irreplaceable. What you really want are staff who are self motivated, right?

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a quality that only a few rare personnel have. It doesn’t always mean that those who have it should be instantly promoted to a managerial position in your office - not that this is a bad idea. There probably is a small minority of personnel who would not become self motivated no matter what you did, but they should have been weeded out before the end of their first month on your payroll. The majority of your staff and associates are fully capable and actually enjoy being self motivated.

Guarantee of Success

In building successful practices I have found that bringing about continued self motivation of a staff is a prime target for the simple reason that it is the best guarantee of success in that practice.

Here is where you start the process. Self motivation is the direct result of careful training which leads to knowing one’s job cold. It continues with putting in place a practice environment that allows each person in it to manage their own area without streams of orders.

Here’s how this looks from the perspective of an associate doctor.

“Each year my personal income has been greater than the previous year without yearly raises because I know how to manage. I know how to produce efficiently. I know how to communicate better to my patients. I even know how to get my patients to help expand the practice.”

“I get direct benefit everyday from the management skills Mr. Sanders gives his clients. Personal incentives means that I control my own income. I like that. I don’t know what associate wouldn’t. This system makes it possible for everyone on staff to contribute to the overall prosperity of the practice. I like that a lot. It feels good. I would recommend this system to any optometry office personnel. You’ll see - you can have a lot more prosperity with this system.”

Warren Sonnenberg, Woodstock, GA

Dr. Brinkley, President of Vision Practice Management, has this system down cold in all five of his optometry practices. As a result he can be away from the office for weeks at a time and production still purrs along in his absence. Or he can put a shoulder to the wheel and create highest-ever statistics despite a lousy economy.

So, we recommend you learn the system which he uses. What difference might it make in your practice? Why not create a self-motivated staff!