MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS

When family can help relieve staffing problems

Hiring a spouse or child presents a host of benefits, but can also bring unique challenges.

By Farrell “Toby” Tyson, MD, FACS

Farrell C. Tyson, MD, FACS, is a refractive cataract/glaucoma eye surgeon at the Cape Coral Eye Center in Florida. He may be reached at tysonfc@hotmail.com.

Talk of impending cuts to Medicare, cuts resulting from sequestration and the poorly implemented Affordable Care Act all stand to disrupt the equilibrium of our practices. Many practices have maxed out their efficiencies over the last several years.

With options dwindling, we may have to face the prospect of scaling down our workforce and retaining only highly productive individuals. We can no longer afford to carry dead weight. Some practices have turned to family members to help staff the practice.

FAMILIAL INCENTIVE

Family have a vested interest in the success of the practice. Other employees may not be as motivated. They can turn off their work life at the end of the day. The ophthalmologists’ family lives and breathes the practice. In times of trouble, employees can leave for greener pastures, but family is tied to the practice. Family can share in the physician’s sense of ownership and satisfaction from success.

Family also succeeds through trust. This family trust is most useful in areas of accounting and human resources where sensitive information may best be kept private. Trust and familiarity allows for efficient communication devoid of office politics and gamesmanship.

GUIDELINES

However, the strong commitment family brings comes with other trade-offs. Physicians must be careful to not allow staff to play family members off each other the way children become so adept at playing a mother and father against each other. Office roles need to be clearly defined between family members and outlined to the staff to prevent confusion.

Job descriptions are as important for family staff as non-family staff. All must maintain the same respect for any position as if it were filled by anyone else so the family member does not feel trapped or used. Clear and non-judgmental communication is even more important in these delicate relationships. Practicing an open approach hones communications skills, whether with a spouse, colleague, vendor, other staff or child.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Showing appreciation to family members is a small price to pay for their added commitment, loyalty and the hard work they bring to the office. Practicing this skill also spills over to all other relationships and will enrich your total life. Medical schools don’t necessarily train physicians in the area of interpersonal relationships. Our success, not only at the office, but in every other aspect of our life, depends largely on our ability to develop meaningful and rewarding relationships.

Even if you don’t want to deal with your family in the practice, be aware that, over time, relationships with senior staff starts to feel more like family and they start to expect in return to be treated more like family. Like it or not, family values are embedded deep within our psyche. OM