Oral surgery office managers play a crucial role in the practice. Just like Fortune 500 execs, office managers should guide and understand the team and practice.
As an office manager, do you think of yourself as a CEO? Investopedia defines a CEO as ““The highest ranking executive in a company whose main responsibilities include developing and implementing high-level strategies, making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and the corporate operations.”
Now doesn’t that sound exactly like your job description? Here’s a few tips to help you start thinking like a CEO.
Focus on the Practice's Future
Always plan ahead. This is good advice in general, but is even more so in the context of practice management. Keep an eye on future industry trends when it comes to technology, insurance, practice management software, and laws. Then figure out methods in which to implement them effectively into the practice. Staying ahead of the curve helps the practice grow and increase profitability.
Establish Goals and Key KPIs
Every oral surgery practice has different goals. Whatever your practice’s goal may be, figure out away to track the effectiveness of your current program and be prepared to adjust. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs), such as patient retention, profitability, average length of appointment/operation, etc. to help determine if the practice needs to become more lean.
Build Strong Relationships
Every successful CEO surrounds themselves with knowledgeable advisers. Relationships with vendors, sales reps, and other oral surgeons are crucial for growth. Take the time to understand the specific needs of your practice and make recommendations for products and services that will meet those needs.
To connect with other oral surgery office managers, join the AADOM. This will allow you meet and share ideas with like-minded individuals.
Involve the Team
Great leaders understand the needs of their employees, reward them for hard work, support career development, and build a positive work culture. As you share your vision for the future of the oral surgery practice, engage team members by showing how future successes will impact them personally. Incentives are a great motivator to help met growth targets and for encouraging continuing education programs. Empower your office staff to help make decisions for the practice.
Get a Handle on Expenses
Oral surgery practices are notorious for “throwing money at their problems.” Get a grasp on the practices financials and work to ensure that proper ROI is seen on each investment. In fact, every dollar spent be it on equipment, supplies, staff, or practice management software, should be seen as an investment and not an expense if you are doing your job well as office manager.
Emulate the Best
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, look at what other oral surgery practices are doing well, borrow from those tactics, and improve on them. Analyze the market to identify areas that already exist and make it better (for patients, for staff, and for your practice). Are you doing that for your practice?