Finding and incorporating the right office manager
You can be the best clinician in the world, but if you cannot effectively run a business, you are likely to struggle. Having the right office manager is a key part of that success.
Finding the right office manager can be one of the most important, yet challenging aspects of a practice. I often tell my interns at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry that while it may be hard to believe right now, seeing patients is the easiest part of practice-running a business is the difficult part. You can be the best clinician in the world, but if you cannot effectively run a business, you are likely to struggle. Having the right office manager is a key part of that success.
Not only can the right office manager help a practice run efficiently and increase profitability, but he can also allow you to focus on practice growth and life outside of the practice. On the flip side, having the wrong person in place or not making a change to find the right person can be very destructive and costly. A good office manager will more than pay for herself. As center director for a multi-specialty referral center for nearly 20 years with a staff of almost 60 people, I have worked with several office managers. In addition, I have also seen a variety of successful and not-so-successful situations in private practices.
I have put together a list of tips that I think are critical to finding and incorporating a successful office manager.
Avoid hiring within
While it is possible to have a successful in-house transition, it definitely comes with its challenges, so be prepared. I had the fortunate opportunity to work within our practice before and during optometry school. It was a time when I gained a lot of great experience. Once I graduated from school, I was hired as an assistant center director, then moved to center director within a few years. Transitioning from coworker to boss can be challenging on many fronts. It is hard for coworkers to recognize the authority shift, and it can be difficult for the new boss to properly manage and not show favoritism. Hiring from the outside can also bring new and fresh ideas to the practice.
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