When a holiday break or an extended time without major clinicians is approaching for your practice, there’s a likelihood that you’ll have a high volume of patients coming through the doors before trading closes. It’s reasonable that this can lead to sense of pressure, for you and your team members.
How can you avoid feelings of overwhelm, but simultaneously maintain a work/life balance that makes sure you’re not being consumed by work?
Look after mental health and general wellbeing
Be mindful of running yourselves into the ground. Signs for you and your team to be aware of include not being able to recall the last time you sat down to think, feeling low energy or fatigue, finding your emotions are unpredictable, and having an unusually negative voice in your head.
It’s easier said than done to accept that nobody is perfect, and that not everybody can do everything on their to-do list. Sometimes it can be hard to delegate because you don’t trust anyone else to get the job done well, but the benefits of assigning responsibility to other team members or asking for help are clear, with reduced risk of fatigue and stress.
It’s okay to ask for help, especially of your team members where you need it. Practice owners and managers in particular can want to do everything themselves, but delegating and sharing your workload can lead to a much easier day, as well as greater satisfaction and responsibility for team members when they get to help you.
Plan your tasks ahead
Scheduling your time leading up to the practice closure can help you to stay on track, which ultimately allows you to enjoy your time off. This includes not only scheduling your time before the holidays, but creating an action list of tasks to accomplish for when you come back after the break – helping to capture all those things you’re thinking of and get them out of your head.
Calendars and task lists are essential organisational tools. Creating a small calendar / task entry of items to complete when you come back from your holiday break can also help to create a smooth transition from holiday mentality to work mode.
Update your public information
If you’ll be closing, or merely changing your trading hours, it’s a good idea to identify this with your regular patients as they come in over the weeks before the change. This includes notification about the different hours in your practice newsletter, on your website contact page, and on notices at reception and in waiting areas. Handing over a tangible item, like a piece of paper with the temporary hours, to regular patients will provide them with a physical reminder.
Updating your online platforms is also an accessible way for your patients to access your hours in real time. This includes such things as posting to your Facebook page, adding a footer and an automatic response to emails, and updating your Google business opening hours.
Seek connections
For practice managers, there are community groups on platforms such as Facebook which can be a great tool for support. Joining a group to ask other practice managers and owners for tips and advice can boost your confidence in your work, with everybody there to help one another. Many practice managers in these groups have been working in their roles for years, and that kind of experience brings an abundance of knowledge.
Building personal connections with other practice managers and owners can also provide you with relief in real time, as opposed to waiting for a delayed online response. Forming relationships with supportive people throughout your career can ensure that you have people to go to in times of need and have loyal connections with people in the industry (and be there for them too!).
Create a workplace culture that lifts you up, rather than stresses you out
Acknowledging the value of your team members helps them to perform at their best. This doesn’t have to mean extravagant gifts, but can include things like thank you notes for a job well done, publicly recognising great work, nibbles in the tea room, and drinks or a dinner out to mark the end of a busy work period.
Additionally, a big impact can be made on workplace culture by ensuring that everybody is aware of practice protocols and policies. The last thing any of you need is backlash from team members who have misunderstood tasks they’re required to action, especially in the rush to get everything finished up. Checklists will help you with this, as well as team meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Having a great workplace culture also means having less staff turnover. Time away from work is often accompanied by reflection, so having team members feeling appreciative of and appreciated by their workplace is a positive way to wrap up the working year.
Enjoy your time away!
It’s really important that when you’re on leave you allow yourself to enjoy the break. If possible, turn off all work email alerts and avoid the temptation to log in! Having ensured you’re organised for when you return, you can relax, rejuvenate, and reset. Maybe you can even do something this holiday period that you haven’t had the time or energy to do during the work year?
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision makers in other key areas such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success. Get in touch to find out more, or check out our website www.augmentum.com.au.
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