3 Signs Your Staff Needs Re-Training

For all intents and purposes, your employees are your business. When an employee communicates with a customer, the customer views it as information coming from your business, not from a singular person. This is why it is so vital that your employees have accurate, up-to-date information and skills. Not only could you lose business if employees are uninformed, but you may be at risk for legal consequences as well. Keep an eye out for these signs that a re-training from a healthcare practice consultant is in order.

You Handle Frequent Complaints About Misinformation

As an administrator, manager, or business owner, you are likely to be the person who calms the storm when a customer is upset. This could come in the form of negative online reviews or handling direct complaints from patients or customers.

Always look for patterns. If you receive many complaints from patients saying that they were told something that turned out to be incorrect, it means your staff is unclear on some facts. While it helps to find out which employee gave the inaccurate information, do not assume that this employee is the only one with the misunderstanding. It is likely a word-of-mouth miscommunication that has spread throughout the business. You could even use strategies like secret shopping to try to identify the specific problems and miscommunications.

Patients Ask the Same Questions Over and Over

In the same way you need to look for patterns among patient complaints, you should pay attention to the questions they ask you, too. For instance, you may have patients at your medical spa asking repeatedly whether a specific treatment will improve age spots.

It may be that they have asked other members of your staff the same questions and your staff didn’t know the answers. Even if that is not the case, hearing the same repeated questions should tell you that this is information that many people will want to know. It is worth your time to make sure your staff all knows the facts.
You Are Not Getting As Much Business As You Had Hoped

If your business is not thriving the way it should be, you have likely assumed that you needed a better online presence, more services to offer, or lower prices. In reality, your staff’s training could play a larger role than you realize.

When patients call to ask questions, they can tell whether or not your staff is knowledgeable. If they get the sense that the person on the phone knows little about your services, they will go somewhere else that does have a well-informed staff. In some cases, misinformation isn’t the only issue. It is possible that you are getting plenty of calls from new and returning patients, but that your staff simply is not calling them back or following through and booking an appointment with them.

In addition, a well-trained staff member knows enough about your services to recommend them to the right patients. When they don’t have that information, they will not be able to suggest services to existing patients who may love them.

Staff training needs to be an ongoing task for your practice to be successful. Whether you are adding new services or simply helping staff brush up on older services they may know little about, keep an eye out for the signs above to tell you when it is time for re-training. Our team at McCauley Marketing Services can help you through the process.