Eyeworld

102 | EYEWORLD | JUNE 2022 P RACTICE MANAGEMENT by Corinne Wohl, MHSA, COE, and John B. Pinto About the authors Corinne Wohl, MHSA, COE President C. Wohl & Associates San Diego California John Pinto President J. Pinto & Associates San Diego, California management and reporting, improved HR policies, etc.), you are more likely to align your administrator's attentions to your needs as a practice owner. This kind of annual assessment will help shine a light on missing administrative skills that can be backfilled with training or outside advisory support. 2. Rally your middle managers; this is especial- ly important if your administrator is leaving under strained circumstances. During most planned exits, the administrator can hand off the baton and encourage the staff to move forward positively without them. When an ad- ministrative leader leaves under the duress of unplanned illness or other unexpected, abrupt circumstances, employees can react with fear, not knowing how this change will impact them personally or the practice overall. Staff need immediate and consistent reassurance that you have a definitive plan to move for- ward and that any stress or adverse impact on them will be temporary. The remaining man- agers and staff often use the opportunity of a departing administrator to step up and work together as a team to fill any gaps, especially when you as a physician leader step up and communicate specifically and consistently to the team. 3. Be prepared to step in substantially as the "MD/CEO." In small and medium practic- es—those with eight providers or less—a Always be prepared to replace your administrator—even if you want them to stay continued on page 104 P ractice administrators are usually—and ideally—replaced with a lot of no- tice and pre-planning. But in today's challenging workplace environment, an administrative changing of the guard can happen more abruptly than in the past. The challenges of modern practice, com- pounded by COVID-19, have left managers and doctors alike with a bit of a hair trigger. We are seeing more managers unexpectedly leave, and more short-fused boards terminating their lay leaders. But mostly, there is so much demand for top-notch management, administrators who were once well anchored have become flight risks. If your practice is especially dependent on one talented administrator who acts as the orga- nizational glue, losing them can be a lot harder than losing a contract or having a physician re- tiring early. The difficulty is doubled when their departure is unanticipated. Here are seven ways to have your practice prepared in the event of an abrupt need to replace your administrator. 1. Always know the kind of administrator you need at the moment. That will help you con- tinue to mold the manager you have to your ideal needs and quickly launch a new search should the need arise acutely. To accomplish this, annually review and revise your prac- tice's short- and long-term goals. When you know and prioritize what the practice needs (e.g., marketing, more detailed financial continued from page 100 something, I would say, 'I'd be happy to.'" She joked that this caused more work to come her way, but she added that having this type of atti- tude can make someone invaluable, especially if there is downsizing. When a staff member started at the prac- tice, we taught them the one lesson they had to do for their entire career with us in order to stay—we call it showtime, go time, all the time, she said. When the lights go on at the practice, it's showtime. "We hired the best people and taught them how to be great," she said. One of the last points that Ms. Guest emphasized was to ask for what you want. She suggested that it's better to find an opportunity to sit down with someone when something is on your mind or bothering you rather than acting out. Put some words to it, she said.

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