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Hiring A Manager

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midwifebiller:
I have received a couple of private requests for advice on Policies & Procedures since posting here.  Please forgive me for not answering in private, but I thought there may be more people with questions.

Each company will have their own unique P&Ps.  The software you use, the provider type you bill for, how many people are doing which work--it all varies from company to company. So, where to start? This was my process (still ongoing).

I made a list of the tasks I no longer wanted to do. Then I got a spiral notebook and kept it by my desk. When I started doing one of the tasks that I wanted to pass on to someone else, I wrote down each step. And I mean EACH step!  The purpose of having a procedure is to eliminate any 'creativity' among your employees or associates.  There should be no reason for them to say, "Oh, I didn't know that."  After going through this step about three times for the same task (I always seem to miss something the first couple of times), I put it in a document, numbered each step, and named the doc.  When I had time, I added screen shots if it had to do with our billing program. I also have deadlines for each procedure. (Billing goes out within XX hours, Report A, B and C are sent every Friday to all clients, etc.)  Then I sent it to a couple of my associates and had them try it out and give me feedback. After that, it becomes official. If, down the road, a problem comes up, I review the P&P to see if it needs more clarification. After a year of doing this, most of our procedures are down on paper--which really helps when we hire someone new.

You will also need P&Ps for everything everyone does.  As a simple example, here is our P&P for phone calls:
Phone policy

•   Always remember that it is The Midwife who keeps this company running. They are our clients, not our buddies, or even our friends, and our communication needs to reflect that.  Midwives give so much of themselves when they serve their community and they frequently are tired, worn down or even grouchy. They can always use a little TLC.  As one Texas midwife said, “I need to feel special.”  With this in mind, it our official policy to treat them like queens.  Be professional and extra kind in your telephone conversations with them, listen and commiserate with them, acknowledge births, deaths, and reasons to celebrate with them. There are several billing services that they can choose from—we want our client care (i.e., customer service) to stand above the competition.
•   When answering your business phone, please answer in a pleasant voice, saying, "Thank you for calling Midwife Billing and Business. This is [your name]. How may I assist you?" (If you have caller ID and can see that it is a colleague calling, you do not need to answer with the full greeting.) Even though we may answer the phone 153 times a day, we want our clients to know their phone call is the most important thing we can be doing at that moment.  We do not want to sound rote with our phone greeting.
 
•   Please set up a voicemail message if you haven't already done so. Your business phone voicemail should begin with "Thank you for calling Midwife Billing and Business". You are then free to invite the caller to leave a message how you see fit, as long as it is professional. It is our policy to return phone messages from our clients with 24 business hours. Please purchase and use a carbon-copy phone log and record every phone call. If there is follow-up, please record the follow-up taken and the date. I have had colleagues summoned to court and their phone log became very important in proving compliance.
 
•   Please check your voice messages at least once a day for the first three months, then twice a day.  It is a good business practice to have a set time or times during your work day dedicated to checking and returning phone calls. This will ensure all phone calls are returned in a timely manner and cut down on distractions while you are working on other projects.  If you find you have too many phone calls to keep up, or that they are interrupting your ability to work on other projects, please let Kelli know.


I hope this helps!

Michele:
Thanks for sharing that!  Very thorough and very good.  And VERY TRUE!  You MUST spell out EXACTLY how you want something done, and then make sure they are doing it that way.  No one will treat your business the way that you do, but if they want their job they will do what they are told.  So tell them how to do things and have it in a written policy.  I can say from experience, the people that you don't think will ever be a problem, are sometimes a problem, and having it in writing backs you up when you need to act.

DMK:
Thank you Thank you! for addressing the phone manner!  When anyone takes on a customer service type job they should realize that their phone manner can make or break the business!  This includes staff at a doctor's office, billing service, and frankly, should include when people call a business to get services. 

The 1st conversation will entirely set the standard for the rest of the relationship.  I try really hard (even when I'm crabby or weepy) to always be pleased to hear that person's voice at the other end of the phone.  I'm enthusiastic and try to be as helpful and succinct as I can be.  It's easier!

PMRNC:
DMK..that's exactly what I did for my P&P .. great advice. I did same with my compliance plan, break it down and create your own map/plan of attack :) 

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