No one will disagree that so far, 2020 has been extremely challenging and medical practices have had to learn to adapt quickly. COVID-19 has presented new approaches to how a medical and, or plastic surgery practice has traditionally functioned. The continually altering restrictions have led to a level of uncertainty that has impacted us all. As employers finding new ways of working, often remotely, has brought additional pressure that will undoubtedly follow all medical practice owners and employees into 2021.
Developing strategic plans around an operating model that can still thrive regardless of uncertainty is essential for success as we finish 2020 and enter 2021. Translating lessons that have been taught by the necessity to respond to evolving scenarios.
The Value of Productivity and Outsourcing
Society has faced changing conditions daily and hope that the world will revert is unrealistic and naive. Medical practices need to consider how the client’s needs have altered and identified the actions that can be taken to increase feelings of safety during the unfolding coronavirus pandemic. Lack of personal contact with clients can be balanced by excellent customer service during every client interaction. This must start from the initial inquiry and continue through to discharging a client, further to successful treatment or surgical procedure.
Now is the time to act strategically. Practices should take the next couple of months to consider if bringing a third party aboard that can react quickly to any changes that could occur over the next year is the best response.
When planning for 2021, it is vital to evaluate the resources at hand and utilize your workforce for their skills, outsourcing tasks that can be done more efficiently by a third party company.
This is an exercise in measuring the value of each individual’s productivity that contributes towards the profitability of the practice.
There are various approaches to take; however, it is universally accepted that business processes need to be adapted during periods of ongoing uncertainty. When calculating how to spend the budget for 2021, streamlining your employees’ services and finding new ways of collaborating with external parties could be the key to higher profits.
During this transitional process, practice managers need to be aware that employees may feel confused or insecure if certain tasks are removed from their current role. Building trust and fostering a sense of individual responsibility is required to collaborate with all employees who will work closely with a third party company.
Streamlining essential processes and ensuring all practice elements are functioning effectively, embracing new methods and driving employees to perform at their best capacity can mean that structural changes in organizational operations can bring about long-term success and increased profits.
The ongoing coronavirus crisis requires flexibility and changes that encourage loyalty and employee engagement to find solutions without needing to gain authority from higher up. The hierarchal ways of working need to be flattened out to enable quick decisions to be made and install a sense of individual responsibility to follow up on actions without instruction.
Goals need to be established and accepted by the complete team and partnerships with external companies must be transparent to all employees. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it vital for everyone within a medical practice to cope with new disruptions that present evolving disruptions to overall operations and potential success in 2021.
Tracking results and knowing precisely what is working for the practice and what ways of working need further adaptation has resulted in collaboration with external companies.
Collaboration with External Companies
Successful collaboration requires third party companies that provide seamless integration of the tasks that have been outsourced.
Clients should not ever know if they are dealing directly with the practice or speaking with an external company. This is fast becoming the element that separates third service providers and one that Elite Med Listings comprehend both has value and significance. Significant structural changes and investment in new IT can be less cost-effective than outsourcing, especially as numerous cash-based practices now need to assess the 2021 budget quarterly rather than annually.
Trust is at the foundation of every service that is outsourced. This is even more relevant for primarily cash-based practices that rely heavily on long term client relationships to survive and grow.
Working closely with your in-house team, Elite Med Listings can provide real-time data to ensure everyone works together to achieve a unified objective. Innovative solutions need continuous learning and digital documentation to provide accurate measurements that allow for instant tracking of performance.
The medical practice that embraces forward-thinking and understands key business drivers will reduce costs and focus on what is working to drive profits.
2021 is the time to reinvent and prioritize spending using flexible KPIs that encourage proactive action.
Having an external team at your side to provide new value measurements will support your practice to consistently review best value ways of utilizing all employees for their specific skills during periods of uncertainty over society’s priorities versus individualized priority.
What is clear is that empathy is critical during communications with employees to build trust during evolving business operations.
Strategic plans need to be based on real-time data that reflects the reality of current business success and provides predictions about the coronavirus pandemic’s ongoing impact. Elite Med Listings CRM (customer relationship management system) is combined with quantifiable call center metrics. Performance can be reported daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly to allow for consistent reassessment of which areas of the practice generate profits and where improvements can be actioned to ensure long term success.
