Optical Companies Launch Initiatives to Support ECPs in COVID-19 Crisis

Practice, Products | Services | Industry News

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COVID-19 Support from Industry

Optical companies are unveiling new initiatives to help eye care practices deal the the difficulties of COVID-19.  Here is a recap of what some of the companies are doing:

Bausch + Lomb Canada
Bausch + Lomb Canada are providing free home delivery of Contact Lenses direct to patients.  This initiative will assist practice staff and patients in social distancing.  All B+L Territory Managers will be working from home until further notice but will remain available to assist ECPs including handling sample requests of PreserVision® and Bepreve®.
View the company’s COVID-19 Statement here.

ESSILOR Canada
Essilor Canada is providing a measure of financial relief by providing flexible case-by-case payment terms, immediate late fee suspension for all iECP customers, and pre-authorized payment suspension (lens purchase accounts only) for a period of 90 days.   Click here to view the Essilor’s statement.

Company initiatives to support ECPs during the COVID-19 difficulties will be updated on this page.

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10 Online Trends to Watch for 2020

Digital Marketing, Marketing, Resources

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At the February 2020 Transitions Academy in Orlando FL, social media expert, Davitha Ghiassi, Executive VP Social & Integration served up “10 Trends Through a 2020 Lens” and offered advice to the eye care professionals and business professionals assembled.

Here are the top ten trends to watch for in 2020.

  1. Short-lived rich media content is boomingBorn on SnapChat in 2011, limited view time content has been highjacked by all social platforms. Instagram Stories leads the way, with 64% indicating they became interested in a service or product after viewing it on Instagram Stories.
  2. Vanity metrics will vanishLow level engagement metrics e.g. “Likes” and  “viewers” will be replaced by more meaningful measures of content experience and conversion. Look for “Dwell Time” and other social experience metrics to matter more in the future.
  3. Social platforms are growing a social conscience Voluntarily or, more likely by government edicts, social platforms will need to appease the societal ills they enable.  Privacy protection, screen/life balance and cyber bullying and hate speech are among the areas that will be addressed through hiding likes, setting scrolling curfews, and banning political ads.
  4. Social commerce comes of age
    Social media has become a natural driver of brand awareness, discovery and conversion. Instagram is capturing teenagers eyes and B2B leads are dominated by LinkedIn.
  5. Multilogue messaging overtakes mainstream SM
    Brands leverage the ‘Social Learning’ feature in Groups to offer bespoke, branded educational content and courses to their community. Many to many group apps like Twitter Chats and Facebook Groups, spark more meaningful conversations versus eliciting engagement through comments on content.
  6. Pay to play is here to stay
    Digital media ad spending has now surpassed tradition media spending. In order to achieve relevant reach and real results, advertisers will have to open their wallets. Even if  you are not spending money on ad space, your competitors most likely are.
  7. Rethinking influencer marketing
    90% of business decision-makers research opinions from peers and industry experts. While there is a strong belief that online Ambassadorships are effective, proving the ROI has been a challenge.
  8. Artificial intelligence will rule the day
    AI, machine learning and cognitive computing are not just evolving but advancing the way in which people and marketers curate, create and communicate. Cognitive computing will affirm accuracy, increase efficiency and enhance experiences.
  9. The sands of search are shifting
    While SEO has always providing constantly moving goalposts, the 2020 focus will be towards on-page content that is trustworthy, authoritative of high in quality. Quality over quantity is the message.
  10. Distinction between consumers and businesses is blurred
    The lines between B2B and B2C are blurring. The strict delineation of personal and business is fading away. Marketers are adapting approaches focused on specific individuals’ needs. Think P2P (People 2 People) instead of separate domains of “consumers” and “businesses”.
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Episode 7: How IRIS Challenged Ontario OD Regs and Won

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

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Dr. Daryan Angle shares the inside story behind IRIS’ struggle to modernize Ontario’s optometry regulations with host Dr. Glen Chiasson. Dr. Angle relives the 7-year battle with the College of Ontario Optometrists with a blow-by-blow account of how IRIS challenged the status quo and eventually overturned antiquated regulations.

About the Guest

Dr. Daryan Angle graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry in 2001. He joined IRIS in 2002 as a practicing optometrist in British Columbia, and shortly thereafter becoming a franchise partner in 2 IRIS practices. In 2006 Dr. Angle relocated to Kitchener, Ontario and led a legal challenge to the regulations governing the business practices of optometry in Ontario which ultimately led to modernization, allowing for open collaboration, marketing and retailing of eyewear in optometric practices. He currently holds the title of Vice President Business Development and in that role, primarily focuses on buying, partnering and integrating optical stores and optometry practices into the IRIS network.

 

Episode Notes

Changing the Game

For nearly a 30-year period, Ontario optometrists were prevented from having an association with opticians, either as employers or as business partners, and were restricted in pricing and marketing activities by College regulations.

Dr. Angle recounts the inspiring impact of the IRIS model of combining professional eye care with competitive retail-optical dispensing in a meeting with IRIS founder, Dr. Francis Jean, who passed away suddenly in 2014.

Dr Angle and his IRIS colleagues began to tackle the myriad of restrictive regulations for Ontario ODs by taking the argument to the Ontario Registrar and the Executive Committee, only to be resoundingly rebuffed, and even targeted for their efforts.

IRIS then adopted a legal challenge on the basis of the the “right to associate” embedded in the Canadian Charter of Rights.  They also brought the arguments to the Ministry of Health and the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council, which shared the perspective of leveraging various health care professions.

The Competition Bureau of Canada, which had a vested interest in ensuring there were multiple modes of practice in eye care to the benefit of consumers, were also an ally in the cause. These relationships, coupled with media interest, applied significant pressure on the College, which eventually capitulated on their long-standing positions.

Forces within Optometry began to join in the battle that IRIS initiated, and de facto changes to the regulations and enforcement began to take hold in 2008 and 2009 which lead ultimately to wholesale changes to the regulations in 2014.

Correction Note: The optical market in Canada is estimated @ $5 Billion CDN.

IRIS Franchise Partnership Model – Looking for Acquisition Opportunities

Dr Angle explains the IRIS franchise model is a partnership with either an optometrist or an optician or both. Each location leverages the IRIS brand name and power of a larger organization while providing the local practitioner the opportunity to practice in a sophisticated environment with advanced technology and pursue their professional passions.

The IRIS model provides younger doctors the opportunity to get into ownership without the stress and workload. For exit-ready older OD owners, the IRIS system guarantees that the practice will run smoothly and allows the owner to enjoy life when they go home. Many of the operational aspects such as HR, accounting and purchasing are taken away which helps the seller transition to a full exit.

IRIS is reaching out to acquire practices and/or optical stores and partner them. If you are somebody looking towards an exit, growing a career or taking your practice to the next level with a lot of support, IRIS may be an ideal partner.

Interested parties can reach Dr. Angle through the Web.

Click here to start the conversation

Resources

 

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As  a host of  “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn  looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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12 Tips for Stressed out Practice Owners

Human Resources, Managing Others

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Being an independent practice owner is tremendously rewarding but also can be very stressful and requires a lot of hard work. Where many tend to struggle, however, is when it comes to working too much, putting their work before their health and not handling stress properly. The bad thing about stress is if you don’t take care of it, it will take care of itself usually in the form of sickness and even death. How can business owners better handle their stress?

Dr. Alok Trivedi is a human behavior and performance expert, author of the book ‘Chasing Success’ and founder of the Aligned Performance Institute.

Here are his 12 tips for entrepreneurs to better handle stress:

  • Stress will kill you: So many entrepreneurs put in 16 or more hours each and every day to build their dream, and they’re literally killing themselves. Stress is a real serious problem that leads to mental and physical health problems. If you don’t learn to slowdown and recognize stress, your body will ultimately do it for you.
  • Take breaks: Everyone, even the hardest working entrepreneurs out there, need to take breaks throughout the day. Your body can’t perform at it’s best if you are constantly tired, overworked and running on fumes. Even small 10 to 15-minute breaks throughout the day can do wonders for your mind and body. Remember, lunch isn’t always about eating, and it needs to be a mandatory rest period you take advantage of each and every day.
  • Don’t become a multitasker: Our society thrives on being able to do more with less. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst things anyone can do and will increase your stress faster than anything else. Instead, focus on completing one task at a time. Not only will the quality of your work improve, you’ll make fewer mistakes and get more accomplished in the long run.
  • Become a master delegator: So many entrepreneurs live by the phrase, “I have so much to do.” But guess what? You don’t have to do it all. If you find too much on your plate and your stress building, it’s time to delegate some of your work to other people on your team. Remember, entrepreneurship is a team effort, and we are in the age of collaboration.
  • Know that you are not invincible: I was talking with a very successful entrepreneur recently, and honestly, I was concerned about him. He thought he was invincible. Two weeks later he was in the hospital recovering from exhaustion, dehydration and high blood pressure. If you don’t take steps to reduce your stress, it will sneak up on you and take you down no matter how great a business you run.
  • Make time for fun: Whatever your definition of fun is, make time for it. It can be playing golf, hanging out with friends, spending time with family or whatever. Everyone, especially the hardest workers among us, need time to have fun. If you’re constantly working and not enjoying your life, what’s the point?
  • Play the 80/20 rule of energy: Give everything you do your maximum effort. Envision a meter that slowly builds as your energy depletes. Once the meter hits 80%, it’s time to let the mind and body recover. Remember, focusing on your health and well-being is one of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur. We all need to take time to disconnect and recharge in order to perform at our best.
  • Change your breathing: One of the best ways to relieve stress is to breathe properly. Most people take very quick and shallow breaths through their chest. Instead, the proper way is to breathe through the diaphragm (belly area). Inhale to the count of seven, hold for seven seconds, and slowly exhale to the count of seven. Do this a few times in a row and you will feel your stress diminish.
  • Diet and exercise are as important as ever: It should be common knowledge by now the importance of diet and exercise, but so many people, especially entrepreneurs, get this one wrong. They say they are too busy to eat right and hit the gym while downing fast food and sitting in front of the computer all day. Diet and exercise need to be a priority in order to alleviate stress and be your best in business and life.
  • Let your work fulfill you: Anyone can start a business, but not everyone can find true fulfillment in their work. When you find fulfilment in what you do, the state of your mental health will be much better off, and your stress will be much less. Not only that, but that fulfillment will rub off on everything else you do, and your overall level of happiness will be at an all-time high.
  • Get more sleep: Your brain can’ t process high levels of information without the rest it needs. Without quality sleep, your body and your work will fall apart. Your ability to manage stress decreases drastically when you don’t sleep properly.
  • Be realistic: If you think a project you are working on is going to become the next Facebook, Uber or other big thing, it’s more than likely a fantasy most novice businessowners try to believe. That doesn’t mean not to aim big, but it’s wiser to play your own game and take the right strides to make your business efficient and grow methodically. Doing so will keep your stress in check.
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5 Reasons Canadian ECP’s Don’t Get Access to the Best Designer Frames

Practice, Products | Services | Industry News

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International eyewear shows like Vision Expo are flush with beautiful independent designer frames that whet the appetite of many Canadian eyewear fashionistas. However, not all ECP’s have the opportunity to attend major international buying shows and the reality is that a large number of distinctive eyewear collections remain inaccessible to Canadian ECP’s.

 Optik Magazine recently investigated the reasons behind this and identified 5 key reasons, that the Canadian market lags behind USA and Canada in accessibility to independent designer frames.

  1. International Suppliers Don’t “Get” Canada
    Many international suppliers don’t understand the geographic reality of Canada: huge distances and low population density. They make minimum quantity purchases unrealistically high. The high minimum order quantities are often required to offset the high absolute cost of shipments. Distribution costs within Canada are among the highest in the world due to Canada’s geographic reality. This burden gets pushed onto the ECP and, ultimately, the eyewear purchaser and provides a practical limitation to market penetration.
  2. Order Surprises and After-sales Service are Problems
    Correcting an order error, such as wrong colour or frame size, is problematic. Servicing a broken frame part can be a headache leaving angst and distrust for the consumer and the client. It can take several weeks to get parts from a foreign supplier or implement a make-good for an incorrect order. These problems put barriers in place for Canadian ECP’s and complicates the relationship with the foreign supplier.
  3. Expansion Through National Agents is Slow 
    Even when a foreign supplier gains a beachhead in the Canadian market through distribution in a few accounts, the costs to expand coverage across the country is high. Niche products may rely on sales agents that have limited resources and reach.  It means that a fantastic product, which might otherwise be a great fit for a differentiated dispensary is difficult to find and remains undiscovered.
  4. Frame Suppliers Want Direct Control 
    Some of the independent boutique collections place a high value on direct communications with the retailer. For some companies, the relationship that is forged between the eye care professional and a Canadian distributor or agent is simply not intense enough. The communication chain can be erratic and may be harmful to the image of the foreign supplier. Companies may prefer to work directly with ECP’s to better understand the market. Still, their approach is often to focus on high density markets such as the GTA and Montreal leaving much of the country outside of their focus area.
  5. Following the Money Can be Difficult 
    Vendors accustomed to working in their home environments, in either Europe or USA, find obstacles in dealing with foreign exchange and payment methods. These are real operational difficulties in servicing Canada from a foreign base. While these problems could be solved by working with one of the several Canadian distributors, doing so comes at the cost of losing control and lower margins.

Notwithstanding the barriers, Canadian ECP’s that persevere through the obstacles will be rewarded by the addition of outstanding distinctive eyewear collections that enhance the appeal of their gallery.  Independent frame suppliers that find their path to the Canadian market are rewarded with growth opportunities in a market that values distinctiveness and differentiation.

Read Optik Magazine article: “Frame Designers Faced with Complex Canadian Market”, in February-March 2020 issue.

VuePoint Staff

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Episode 6: The State of the Nation – An Opticianry Perspective

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

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Dr. Glen Chiasson explores a wide range of professional issues with guest Robert Dalton, Executive Director of the Opticians Association of Canada.

 

Robert Dalton, Exec Dir. OAC

About the Guest

Robert Dalton is currently the Executive Director of the Opticians Association of Canada. After 20 years of independent retail opticianry experience and various volunteer efforts, he made the leap to member organization leadership in 2008, and was appointed to his current role in 2010. Robert splits his time between Winnipeg (OAC HDQ) and his home in Nova Scotia. He travels extensively in the fulfilment of his responsibilities as OAC executive director.

 

Episode Notes

Glen and Robert explore a variety of issues relating to Opticianry and in particular the relationships between Opticians, Optometrists and Ophthalmologists in a Canadian context. Robert provides a succinct overview of the scope of practice initiatives across Canada, including the history of gaining refraction services and why he feels the future struggle will be easier than in the past.

He provides some candid thoughts on how relations between optometry and opticianry have evolved. He makes the point that patient-centric collaboration between the professions happens successfully everyday, and when discussion gets elevated to the “political level” it can get bogged down.

He keenly observes that advancing technology makes a lot of the discussion between the professionals moot. Robert opines, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the very soon we are in a situation where the public themselves comes in with their refraction already done.”

They end their conversation on a note of optimism on how Bricks & Mortar eye care already successfully competes and how they will continue to do so in the future.

Dalton provides some additional thoughts as this weeks Insight Guest profiled on Eye Care Business Canada.

Resources

 

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As  a host of  “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn  looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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COVID-19 and what it means for your office

Practice, Resources

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The Coronavirus has dominated much of the news in the past couple of months. Lately, it has made its inevitable appearance in Canada and other countries beyond its origin. Health Experts have begun to educate the Canadian public about precautions and preparations to help us understand how best to respond to this situation.

What can your practice do to proactively manage the health risks?

I was recently at both the emergency and the oral surgeon’s office (one of the benefits of having four children, I am well acquainted with most health care practitioners!). Both had protocols in place to screen for recent travel and signs and symptoms related to the flu.

This is something that would be easy to implement in any optometrist office. It might even be something that could be screened for prior to a patient’s visit to your office. If a patient has recently traveled, for routine eye exams, it may be prudent to reschedule them until after a two-week period following the trip.

For those that visit the clinic, and for the employees and doctors who work there, it is a good time to revisit hand washing protocols. It is understood that coronavirus is transmitted by droplets, so the most effective way to reduce transmission is to keep up a diligent regimen of hand washing between every interaction.

There are other measures you can take to make sure your office stays healthy. Ask your cleaning staff to clean from high to low. Implement a daily routine to clean areas that hands and fingers often touch like light switches, elevator buttons, doorknobs and other handles.

It is also understood that the risks associated with coronavirus are very similar to that of any flu we experience every winter. Like SARS in 2003, part of the fear with the coronavirus is the unknown. Having experienced SARS, however, Canada is in a much better position to share information and assist the general public to minimize their risk. Optometric offices, as part of the larger health care system, can help to educate the general public. They can both set a best practices example on how to screen and proactively diminish exposure risk and they can help alleviate unnecessary worry by educating on ways to protect yourself from contracting the disease.

For now, the risk of contracting coronavirus remains low in Canada. With some education and diligence, the risk is likely to remain low. As part of the Health Care front line, we can play a critical role in education, managing the risk and decreasing the chances that our patients and staff are exposed to the virus. Like SARS, coronavirus will teach us new insights. It will remind us to keep proper hygiene protocols in our offices and those will benefit all of us long after the fear of coronavirus has abated.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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7 Reasons Why ODs are Behind Dentists and Vets

Differentiation | Business Strategy, Practice

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In a recent Eyes Wide Open podcast hosted by Dr. Glen Chiasson, Jackie Joachim, COO of ROI Corporation, Canada’s leading health professions business broker, stated that when it comes to buying/selling practices, Optometry is 10 years behind Dentistry and 5 years behind Veterinary professionals  Listen to the Podcast.

Eye Care Business Canada asked Jackie, based on her 25+ years of experience, to share her thoughts on why Optometry is behind the other health professions.  Here are her top 7 reasons.

By  Jackie Joachim, COO ROI Corporation.

  1. There are more 3rd parties that value practices for Dentistry and Vets
    There are more active players in Dental in the past 10 years and Vets have increased. Eye care doesn’t have the same number of interested parties, so far. Corporate acquisitions in dentistry took off in 2008 and vets 5 years later. We now see many more groups with capital reaching out to us for optometry and optical stores.
  2. Banks needed to catch up with optometrists
    Until about 2017, banks did not provide 100% financing for OD practices. Bankers may have thought of optometry as more a retail business than a health care professional because of the sale of eyeglasses and contacts. However, most of the major banks now put optometry in the same category as dentists and vets.
  3. Education on valuation is still in a developing phase
    In the other professions, more private groups, like ROI Corporation, are expending more effort on seminars and articles educating practice owners. Dentists have greater access to relevant information. We are starting to change that with our efforts in eyecare.  When we do appraisals, most of the clients are pleasantly surprised at the value.
  4. The law of supply and demand
    Dental may have the biggest return for lenders and brokers because their values in equipment and building out are significantly higher. But the competition is also greater for market share. Vets were the next choice and now people are realizing that optometry presents the same opportunity.  Hence the reason we moved into this space 8 years ago and are now seeing greater momentum from our efforts.
  5. Advisors in the industry tend to be other optometrists
    Unfortunately, professions initially trust their own instead of an objective outside professional brokerage like ours. Years of experience with thousands of successfully closed deals cannot be replaced by someone who dabbles in the business on a part-time basis. Within eyecare we have completed a significant number of projects, which gives us great objective insight to the eye care business. Professional expertise applied with sector insight provides the best value for clients.
  6. The EBITA formula trap – Just do the math!
    Straight formulas miss the nuances of a practice to be recognized, such as long-term leases without demo clause, highly attractive location, policies within the office etc. ROI intentionally applies a cash earnings methodology that catches these nuanced factors. ODs are not as educated on value and are still more receptive to private deals using simple formulae. They risk accepting an offer that looks attractive but is really lacking.
  7. Consumer awareness and penetration is lower for eye care.
    It’s well known that Dentistry has promoted their profession remarkably well over the decades (often with the assistance of related commercial interests like toothpaste!) The number of dentists to patients ratio has significantly increased to the point of oversaturation. The number of Vets has also grown due to the positive publicity pertaining to pets. Small animal clinics have gained a lot of positive exposure helping clients see the value in the role of vets. By comparison, eye care has not marshalled the resources that provide the scope and intensity of professional promotion required to create the same level of top-of-mind awareness among consumers. This ultimately trickles down to valuation.

Fortunately, we do see positive trends in all these areas notwithstanding the factors that might be working against a more professional and robust acquisition market and higher practice valuations in eye care.

We expect the gap between optometry and the other health professions to close and are proud to do our part in bringing education and a professional approach to the industry.

Jackie Joachim is the Chief Operating officer for ROI Coporation. ROI specializes in assisting healthcare professionals in the Optometry, Dental and Veterinary spaces appraise and sell / transition their practices.

Insight with Jackie Joachim

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The Return on Investment for Continuing Education

Human Resources, Managing Others, Practice, Resources, Training & Onboarding

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I was recently asked about paying for Continuing Education for staff in an optometrist’s practice.  This practitioner is already investing in staff education by attending association and buying group events.  His question actually was; did it make sense to invest in staff education that was outside of the typical offerings within the optical industry.

My answer was yes.

Some of my own favourite learning has come from outside of the optical industry.  We recently hosted a Former Executive from Disney.  He provided us with some interesting perspective on staff engagement and the idea of having the hard conversations that lead to the results that every business is striving for.  It has become part of the dialogue that I have with my clients as we discuss when to add staff and when to let staff go.

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a gift certificate to attend a Cooking School at a local restaurant.  It is sort of fascinating to reflect on how this experience influenced my consulting efforts following that.  One of the most important pieces of the evening was the experience.  “Deconstructing” the Chef role and allowing the patrons to become part of the process gave us all new respect for the meals that are created each and every night.  Besides the intuitive way the chef was able to compensate and change ingredients to “fix” mistakes, I was also reminded of how important the quality of equipment is.  A walk in fridge meant we could cool down sauces quickly to move on to next steps (without the risk of thawing everything else in the freezer!).  The industrial induction ovens held more heat and cooked items more evenly.  He pointed this out to us as we went.

So while this learning wasn’t specifically optical related, I walked away with some great transferrable learning.  It reminded me to speak to my clients about the experience they are creating for each of their patients and where they could add some extra value and make the experience a little bit more unique.

In an industry where there is significant employee turnover, it can feel discouraging for employers who are continually investing in employees who will likely not be with them in a year or so.  My advice is to change the perspective.  Supporting new learning has two major benefits:  employees will bring their new learning to benefit the clinic even if only for a short time and employees who feel supported in their personal development are less likely to leave their current employment.

Finally, I recommend creating a budget that is equally available to each member of your team.  Create the CE budget by treating it like a Staff Bonus.  Take .5% of your Gross Revenue and divide by the number of team members.  This is amount the team member can be reimbursed by the clinic for.  Ideally, the team member would pay for the course up front and then submit an expense for reimbursement upon its successful completion.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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3 Essential Benefits to Creating a Process Manual

Human Resources, Managing Others, Practice, Resources, Training & Onboarding

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Our consulting partnership, SIMI, recently went through a significant change. One of the founding members left to pursue a new opportunity.  Working as partners for five years, we had naturally fallen into a pattern of knowing who covered what and had complete faith that the other would fulfill their tasks and obligations.

Now venturing alone, I had to quickly figure out how to close any knowledge gaps.  And suddenly I was following the advice I give my clients; creating a “Processes and Procedures” manual to document each step of every process critical to the business.

Three Key Benefits

Going through this exercise has multiple benefits.  The first and most obvious benefit  is that the exercise reduces the likelihood of missing a step.  Certainly, until tasks become  habits, following written instructions might take more time but require less effort in memory recall.

The second benefit comes from the deliberate review of a process.  When we break down a task into steps, there is an opportunity to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the current process.

Recently, I saw a great example of this in an office.  The doctor wanted to know the reason for any cancellations on any given day.  However, to get to this information displayed in the EMR, the office created a process that required many unnecessary steps.  The benefits of knowing the reason for the cancellation did not outweigh the steps it took to create this transparency!  And by adding so many additional steps, there was a lot more room for error.   Moving forward, it was decided that staff would rebook or create an appropriate recall in the EMR for any cancellations or rebooks.  As well, a daysheet would be printed at the beginning of the day – and a quick note would be added beside a patient who cancelled so the doctor could refer to it later.

A third benefit to creating this manual is for onboarding and training purposes.  As I went through the exercise of learning new things myself, I understood the value of written documentation first hand!  Having a reference guide provides a reassuring sense of security.  In a small organization it’s easy to fall into the trap of having just one person handle a certain task in the office.

I remember clearly an incident that happened when I was an optometric assistant many, many years ago.  I came down with a stomach flu.  I could barely walk without feeling like I wanted to pass out.   One of the doctor’s I was working with at the time called and begged me to come in.  I was the only one in the office at that time that could do OHIP billing and submission (think paper files and minimal electronic support – gasp!).  In hindsight, creating a step by step instruction sheet for this process would have made it possible for another employee to step in with confidence.

How to Start

While creating a Processes and Procedure manual  is not a small project , it’s  an essential undertaking for the benefit of your practice.  Start my making a list of every single task that is done in the office – from answering the phone and the greeting you expect, to how to how to order products.  Have the team member currently responsible for the task, write out their current step by step process.  Together, review each one for efficiency opportunities.

This will be time well spent and benefit your practice in all the years to come.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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