Just like in our “Burned-out PT” blog, it’s not uncommon for your other team members to lose motivation at one point or another. Everyone experiences good days and bad, but it’s important to keep your team spirit and culture positive and uplifting so those bad days don’t stick around.
Keeping your employees motivated is important in order to ensure they work hard, stay productive and enjoy their time at work. Your patients will notice if your employees are motivated. Higher motivation will lead to a company culture that will impact your patient experience and outcomes in a positive way.
If you’re noticing a lack of motivation amongst your clinical or non-clinical staff members, here are some things you could be doing to boost morale:
Offer Competitive Compensation
It may sound basic to some but with declining reimbursements and increasing costs, it can be difficult to offer competitive pay or increase staff wages annually. If it’s been more than one year since you gave your employees—or yourself—a raise, read this plan that will ensure you and your team get a raise every year.
Make sure your compensation is competitive with other clinics in the area. If you offer lower wages, you can expect to hire lower-quality employees. Fair and competitive compensation is necessary to hire the best talent in therapy, admin, marketing and billing.
Offer Performance-Based Bonuses
Did you know performance-based bonuses can have a huge impact on productivity amongst your clinical team? You can also offer performance-based bonuses to your non-clinical team to boost motivation and productivity.
Performance-based bonuses will ensure you have a full schedule, you’re meeting your productivity goals and your team is rewarded for their hard work. Watch this short video to learn more about offering performance-based bonuses in your practice.
Be a Hands-On Leader
Being a hands-on leader means being involved in daily challenges and daily victories. Pay attention to your employees that are excelling and your employees that are struggling. Offer both praise and additional guidance where it may be needed.
As the owner of your practice, you set the tone for the rest of your team. If you come in to work on time, excited and ready to go, your team members will follow your lead. Here are 7 ways to be a better manager.
Communicate with Employees One-On-One
In order to identify issues within your practice or the reasons why your team members are unmotivated, you must consistently communicate one-on-one with your employees. Keep the door of communication open and make sure your employees feel comfortable sharing with you.
Your employees may have questions or concerns about their job duties, personal issues hindering their performance or they may just need a little pep talk!
Host Team Activities
Team activities in the clinic and outside the clinic will help your team members bond, share ideas and have fun! Staff outings or holiday parties will give your team something to look forward to and help everyone get to know their coworkers outside the clinic.
Group activities will stimulate collaboration, motivation and team-building to unify you and your employees.
Treating and managing in a private PT practice can be extremely challenging! As an owner, you have to take on a management role and grow and nurture your employees. If you can do that, your entire business will benefit.
