Hiring an Associate Optometrist – Experience vs. Potential

When we start working with a practice, we collect a lot of information about the owner, practice, and the position. Some details are quantitative, but many crucial points are open for interpretation. Most practice owners tell us they need an experienced optometrist for their position. In most cases, that is the best option. In fact, most of the doctors we place have over one year of experience in practice or residency. But what are the tradeoffs to experience? When should an office consider hiring a doctor a year or two out of school rather than five to seven years out?

Experience

Pros-

• Production: Optometry School is just the beginning. It takes several years, lots of CE and thousands of chair side hours for most optometrists to hit their stride. An experienced optometrist should be better able to handle a full schedule.
• Known quantity: A seasoned optometrist brings credentials, a work history, and track record of past successes that will allow a new employer to project reasonably accurate results
• Less Babysitting: With experience comes independence and the ability to handle

Potential

Pros-

• Malleable: While an experienced optometrist will come to your practice with his or her own idea on how an office should operate or with a well-defined clinical philosophy, a less-experienced optometrist will be open-minded and receptive to guidance.
• Less up front needs: This is true of patient load as well as guaranteed income. While many recent graduates have huge student loan debts to consider, they typically have less expense in the rest of their lives. They also come to your practice without the burden of trying to reach previous income levels. They typically are better able to handle a growing practice than an optometrist who needs to maintain a higher standard of living
• Superstars are still available: Most practices would love to hire an optometrist who is motivated, great with patients, can keep procedures in house and who will be a boom to the practice for years to come. Optometrists like that are rarely available long. These are the optometrists who are partners or practice owners within a few years of practice.

ETS Vision is a Vision Recruiting firm specializing in finding and placing Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and Vision Staff throughout the United States. www.etsvision.com

Is Your Quest for the Perfect Candidate Hampering Your Company's Recruitment Goals?

Until a few years ago, prospective Google employees had to endure a hiring process that could involve more than 10 interviews. The resulting length of the hiring process created a time-intensive ordeal for hiring managers, causing the company to frequently lose top talent to its competitors. Two years ago Google overhauled its process and limited each candidate to five interviews, recognizing that the longer candidates are on hold, the more time they have to get another job offer or accept a counteroffer.
While Google's previous 10-interview process is atypical, many companies employ a lengthy interviewing and hiring process. Some organizations recruit in this manner because of lingering practices developed during the recession when companies focused on filling only the most vital roles, incorporating lengthy interviewing processes to avoid making hiring mistakes. Other employers simply argue that their process has historically proven to be successful in ensuring great hires within their organization. In either scenario, these companies don’t realize that lengthy interviewing processes are no longer effective in today’s executive, managerial and professional job market. In this space, which is largely candidate-driven and where the talent pool is small, top candidates are being courted by several companies and have many options at their disposal. A prolonged search not only hampers companies’ ability to recruit the best candidates, it also keeps employers from seeing the potential of well-qualified individuals who may be missing some of the job requirements.

Employers frequent look to recruiters to help them locate talent that are a perfect match to job descriptions, however the purpose of all new hires should be not only to match job requirements but also to bring in people that have the growth and leadership potential to help companies move their businesses forward.
"It's important to learn to recognize potential in candidates who can become 'perfect' employees through guidance and leadership," advises Rob Romaine, president of MRINetwork. "Don't focus only on how closely they match your job description, but also consider whether they can evolve into the current role and beyond."
MRINetwork recruiters typically offer the following advice to companies trying to evaluate whether they should streamline their hiring processes:

1. Determine if your interviewing process is time-efficient and considerate of candidates’ time. The best candidates are typically employed and are interviewing with multiple companies.
    
2. Review whether you struggle to hire your top picks or if you are losing them to counteroffers and other job offers.
    
3. Keep the lines of communications open. Explain each step of the interviewing process to the candidate up front. Provide feedback within 24 hours of the interview and explain next steps to keep them engaged in the process.
    
4. Consider what your interviewing process says about your company culture and brand. A lengthy process could give the impression that there is always a lot of red tape with getting things accomplished or approved. It can also give the wrong impression that you are no longer interested in the candidate.

Adds Romaine, "The most successful companies realize that recruitment is not about finding candidates that perfectly match job descriptions." "It is about matching talent that have the experience, skills, maturity and cultural fit to impact the company and lead it into the future. Most job-related skills can be taught within three to six months, but intelligence and leadership skills are something candidates either have or they don't. It is up to hiring managers and highly-skilled recruiters to be able to discern whether talent have the potential to not only fit into a given role, but also become strong leaders in the company."

Grow Your Practice in the Upcoming Year with a Business Plan

 

The theme of my articles around this time of year always revolves around planning and goal setting.  Like it or not, we are just 60 days away from the end of 2013.  It’s in the books, and that’s all she wrote…

Practice owners: If you don’t set time aside to write out your business plan or set your personal goals by November 15 it’s probably not going to happen this year.  Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, followed by Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years.

 

Associates and practice owners: Set your personal goals for 2014 by November 15. Whether it is improving your clinical skills, planning for retirement or your kid’s college, or getting back in shape, the time to set your 2014 goals is NOW!

 

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of articles, books, and blogs have been written about the importance or writing a business plan and setting personal goals.  I’d like to share a few of my favorites:

 

Eleven reasons to write a business plan:

 

1.     Achieve your long-term goals by developing a road map that details specific short-term goals and milestones.

2.     Prove to associates, employees, family members, and bankers that you’re serious about growing your practice.  It allows them to see where they fit.

3.     Share your strategy, your priorities, and your plan of action with those who will hold you accountable, such as associates, employees, your spouse, and business advisors.

4.     Determine when you will have to say “no.”  There is no shortage of good ideas.  Each year it’s better to pick a few and execute them well, rather than saying yes to everything and not giving any of the ideas the effort they deserve.

5.     Understand your patients, your competition, and your opportunities better in order to grow.  Writing a business plan forces you to do research on your market and the needs of your patients.

6.     Make your practice more attractive to potential buyers-- five, ten, or twenty years from now.

7.     Making a plan gives you a reason to stop doing things in your practice that don’t make sense anymore (or never made sense in the first place).

8.     A plan determines your financial needs.

9.     It allows you to assess new revenue opportunities as well as rejuvenate old ones.

10.  It also gives you a chance to make mistakes on paper, or to prevent you from repeating those mistakes that you’ve already made.

11.  Establishing daily and weekly goals simply makes it more fun and rewarding to come to work in the morning.

If you have never written a business plan before, you will find the following article helpful:

 

8 Simple Steps to Preparing a Business Plan

 

Twelve reasons to write down your personal goals.  (Today!)

1.     Writing transforms your goals from thoughts to tangible objectives.  Once goals are written, they are easy to remember, track, and accomplish.

2.     Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. (Washington Irving)

3.     First you write down your goal; your second job is to break down your goal into a series of steps, beginning with steps which are absurdly easy. (Fitzhugh Dodson)

4.     One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is better than half-a hundred half-finished tasks. (B.C. Forbes)

5.     All you have to do is know where you’re going. The answers will come to you of their own accord. (Earl Nightingale)

6.     A goal is a dream with a deadline. (Napoleon Hill)

7.     Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor. (Brian Tracy)

8.     You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change. (Les Brown)

9.     A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder. (Thomas Carlyle)

10.  The path of least resistance is the path of a loser. (Phil Weltman)

11.  Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk. (J.C. Penney)

12.  You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures. (Charles C. Noble). 

Written by Mark Kennedy, Owner/Managing Director of Executive Talent Search (ETS Dental, ETS Vision, ETS Tech-Ops). To find out more, call ETS Vision at (540) 563-1688 or visit us online at www.etsvision.com. 

Balancing the Chaos - Ten Tips to Create a Better Work Life Balance

I feel like I should start a support group with this introduction, but…

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I suffer from horrible work/life balance.  I work full time, am taking classes online, and I am raising two kids.  Throw into the mix household chores, two dogs, Girl Scouts, viola lessons, marching band, and a plethora of other projects going on at any given time, and you have a snapshot of my life.   Just writing this down is making me nervous.  What am I forgetting that needs to be taken care of or done tonight?!

Crazy thing about my little chaotic snapshot above is I know I am not alone.  Life is crazy anymore.  Looking around my office, each one of us has a handful or two of other activities and responsibilities.  Chances are your office is the same way.  Life happens regardless of your title or position.

So, how do you balance it all?  Initially, I started looking for sites with tips, but I decided it was better to get real life answers so I took my question to my colleagues and Facebook followers.  Some answers were almost universal; some were a little more unique.  Here are some highlights….

Ten things you can do to create a better work life balance

1. Limit the amounts of time that you do work stuff at home or vice versa.
2. Use a calendar!  Scheduling events makes it easier to know what is coming up and plan accordingly.  Google Calendar is a favorite for many of those that responded.
3.  Create lists.  Do what must be done first.  Do what you do not want to do and get it out of the way.  Once something is completed, check it off and move on to the next.
4. Turn off your alerts; do not be a slave to your phone.  Check your emails on your own terms; not with every beep, buzz, or blinking light.
5. Take some time for what makes you happy: read a book, watch a movie, go for a run, exercise, or go out for a drink with a friend.
6. Find some peace.  Pray.  Meditate.  Get a massage. 
7. Get help!  This was a tough one for me, but there is no reason that my kids couldn’t straighten up the house while they are waiting for me to get home or wash the dishes from breakfast.  They even like starting dinner once in a while. 
8. Don’t be afraid to let go.  One of my Facebook friends said it best, “When I was working full time, was a full time graduate student and a single mom I achieved balance by letting go of things that do NOT last-dishes, dust and laundry.  Instead, I chose football practice, school activities and a kid flick.”
9. Say no.  I struggle with this one, but it is okay to not do everything all of the time.  If something is not important to you, let it go and focus on what needs your attention.
10. Find what works for you.  Take advantage of the time you have; I study on my lunch breaks and can knock out a good bit of my reading without interruptions which helps me immensely.  A colleague wrote, “Having the opportunity to work remotely is a huge thing for me.  It helps me not to feel guilty about going to my kids’ activities (games, etc.) and I make up my time in the evenings when they are engrossed with homework.  Sometimes they will come and hang out in my office as they do their homework and we’ll all be ‘working’ together.” 

I guess I have some pretty smart colleagues and friends!  Of course this is only a small sampling of the ideas out there; what do you to do to make your own chaos work?  I would love to hear what works for you.    

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. 
-Harvey Mackay 

 

Tiffany Worstell is a nationwide Recruiter for Vision Staff at ETS Vision. She can be reached at tworstell@etsvision.com or 540-491-9112. ETS Vision is a Vision Recruiting firm specializing in finding and placing Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and Vision Staff throughout the United States. www.etsvision.com

Job Searching in a Saturated or Difficult Job Market

The job market for associate optometrists is improving across the country.  However, it is still competitive and often challenging in many larger metro areas in the U.S.  There are not enough jobs available for the number job seekers in saturated areas such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. At ETS Vision, we speak with optometrists everyday who are having a very hard time finding opportunities.

 

Don’t Get in Your Own Way: The biggest disservice you can do yourself is to think you are the only qualified applicant for the job. In a saturated market you have to sell yourself much more than the practice has to sell itself to you. For example, I recently worked with a practice in San Diego, CA. I had 6 applicants within 2 hours. By the end of the first week, I had 30 to 35. Your resume, cover letter, attitude, and the things you say have to express what you bring to the table to benefit the practice. What skills and experience do you have that will benefit the practice? What sets you apart? Can you speak Spanish? Do you love working with kids? Can you do specialty contact lens fits? Can you bring new patients into the practice? Don’t move the conversation straight to how much they will pay you. You don’t even have the job offer yet, and this approach can cost you the job.

 

Expand Your Options: Most job seekers we speak with would much rather work for a private practice or small group practice. Corporate optometry is a last resort or often not something they even want to consider. However, large group and corporate optometry is a large part of the industry and continues to grow. These practices can offer you stable employment, great training, a guaranteed minimum salary, and benefits. If private and small group practices are not hiring in your area, don’t limit your options. 

 

Use an Independent Recruiter: A few optometry recruiters, like ETS Vision, have contacts with practices throughout the U.S. Most often we are working on openings that are not advertised in any other channels. Our clients entrust us to locate the right talent to grow their practices. We speak with job seekers in order to understand their goals and experience. We have the ability to market strong candidates to practices with whom we have built relationships with over the years. Sometimes it’s who you know, and recruiters are good to know. 

 

Volunteer: Many new graduates can benefit from this in difficult areas. Volunteering can help build or maintain skills. It helps you learn chairside communication and build patient rapport. It can even help you connect with other practitioners, and possibly lead to an employment opportunity. Look for volunteer opportunities in free clinics or giving your time by participating in free vision screenings that may be offered in your community. 

 

Shake Some Hands: Go to optometric society meetings. Get online and join discussion groups. Get on LinkedIn. Hand out business cards to every optometrist you meet. Drop in and say hello to offices and leave a resume/CV. You can’t be shy in a saturated market. Let people know who you are, and let them know you are looking for an opportunity. 

 

Multiple Part-Time Jobs: Most saturated markets have more part-time openings available than full-time. You should definitely consider trying to get 2 or 3 part-time jobs if you need a full-time income.

 

Relocate: It’s an extreme measure for many, but for some it can mean the difference in having a career or several short-term, part-time positions or nothing at all. Relocating expands your options exponentially. Just make sure you are not expanding your options of relocation to another heavily saturated area.

 

Optometrists - What To Know Before You Accept an Associate Position

Finding a new associate position can be a daunting process for both new and experienced optometrists.  While making a good impression on an interview is important, it is equally important to learn as much as possible about the practice. Here is a compilation of questions from job seekers who I have worked with over the years. I hope that this list will make the decision process less intimidating.

Relationship
-Employee or Independent Contractor?
-Employee at will?
-Is the doctor open to restrictive covenant in case of future ownership?
-Is the doctor open to a transition period, if needed? (After purchase)

 Type of Practice 
-What type of practice is it (full scope, pediatric, etc.)?
-Age of the practice?
-When/what do you refer out?
-How many treatment lanes?
-How many opticians?
-How many technicians?
-How much is the practice overhead?
-How long has each employee been there?
-What does the practice do to market itself?
-How many FT and PT staff?

Patients
-What is the patient pool like?
-Have the number of active patient records been reviewed?
-Is the practice growing or declining in number of patients seen, new patients attracted, and young patients?
-Average number of cancellations per week?
-Average number of patients seen by associate per day?
-How far ahead is the doctor book filled?
-How far ahead is the associate book filled?
-Discounts/Bartering/payment plans?
-PPO type of insurance? Insurances: accept all kinds or just selected ones?
-How much is the discounted price of the PPO compared to the fee schedule?
-Medicare or Medicaid acceptance?
-What percent is FFS, cash and discounted PPO?
-When was the last fee increase?
-Are the fees low, high or average for the immediate area?
-Do you offer patients credit?

Schedule 
-Days, hours, on call, etc.
-How many office hours and days per week is the office open?

Duties
-Job description (separate document) or general description

-Is the doctor responsible for pre-testing?
-What were the most of the cases being done by the associate?

Facilities
-Supplies, equipment, support, etc.?
-Is the practice EMR compliant? If so, what system is being used?
-What is the square footage of the office? Can it be expanded?
-Average age of equipment?
-Do you have a confirmation system for appointments?
-How do you deal with NO Show?

Term of contract
-How long?
-What is the required notice period should either party wish to terminate the relationship?

Compensation
-Is there a guaranteed salary, draw, daily rate or hourly rate?
-Is commission determined from collections or production?
-If collections, what is the collections rate in the practice?
-What percentage of production/collections is used to calculate income?
-Is there a chance to increase compensation in the future?
-Taxes withheld?
-How will the associate be paid? (Weekly/bi-weekly/monthly)
-How much on average was the last associate making?
-What was the average associate production per day?
-Can I get a fee schedule of the practice?

Benefits
-Medical Insurance: health and dental?
-Malpractice insurance?
-Disabilities insurance?
-Required CE courses? How much and for how many hours a year? Are they paid for/reimbursed? Is there a stipend?
-Retirement?
-Sick days…….. # allow per yr…..
-Personal days/vacations…..# per yr allow……
-Holidays?
-What benefits are given to the staff?

Expenses
-Define, list, when paid, etc…..
-Will the practice support the acquisition loan (in case of future ownership), pay the overhead expenses and afford a reasonable income?

Other Questions and Notes
-What is your practice Philosophy and Goals? For the Practice and with new patients?
-Have you had associate before? How many? How long did they stay? What was the reason for the associate resignation?
-How do you advertise?
-Who determines how long I have to spend with new patients/initial exam and record?
-Is there a particular doctor in the area who is your main competitor?
-Who sees the patient first (technician or optometrist)?
-Why was the partnership offer turned down by an associate (if applicable)?
-Will I be able to visit the office during regular working hours?

Partnership/Buy-in/Sale
-Discussion/Formula/Price
-What will be the time frame for an associate position before we can talk about partnership/buy-in/buy-out?
-Is there an option for future ownership? Are you considering a move out of state?

Restrictive Covenant
-Define

Chante Smith is the Western U.S. Account Executive and Recruiter for ETS Vision. She can be reached at csmith@etsvision.com or 540-491-9105. ETS Vision is a Vision Recruiting firm specializing in finding and placing Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and Vision Staff throughout the United States. www.etsvision.com

Gaining a Competitive Advantage as an Employer of Choice

As the economy rebounds and more employers adapt to filling executive and management positions in the candidate-driven market, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to distinguish themselves as employers of choice, to attract top candidates. The most recent Gallup annual Work and Education poll revealed that only 47 percent of American workers are completely satisfied with their jobs, indicating employers are better positioned than ever to attract candidates who are ready to move out of current roles. So then how does a company become known as an employer of choice that attracts star talent and makes employees never want to leave?

"In today's job market, aggressive salary and benefits packages that will potentially beat out counteroffers are not enough to lure top performers to new companies," says Rob Romaine, president of MRINetwork. "Employers have to develop unique ways to attract candidates into their companies and away from competitors."

To accomplish this, employers have to connect with their employees, find out what is most important to them and then provide programs and services that will be of value to the entire staff. This entails providing career advancement opportunities, ongoing training and continuing education programs, atypical benefits packages and employee perks that will make any employee think twice about leaving. Some companies have gone to great lengths to achieve this, providing unlimited sick and paid time off, flexible work schedules, game rooms and employee appreciation days where catered lunches, massage services and field days are brought in-house for staff enjoyment.

SAS Institute, a North Carolina software company, became the employer of choice in its industry by providing its employees with workplace amenities like an on-campus gym, no limit on sick days, company gates that don't open until 7 a.m. and close promptly at 6 p.m., and maybe most importantly – free M&Ms. These perks resulted in a turnover rate 16 percent less than competitors.

So what strategies can companies use to establish themselves as employers of choice? "It's important for companies to realize they can't become an employer of choice overnight," says Romaine. "It takes a collaborative effort from multiple teams within the organization, focused on developing and implementing strategies that attract star candidates and retain key employees. Each department has to look at what they can do in their respective areas to contribute to this process."

The following are steps companies can take to become an employer of choice:

1. Know the company culture and the type of employees the company hopes to attract.
    
2. Develop a sound employer branding strategy that is focused on distributing consistent messaging about the company culture and mission to clients, investors, employees and candidates.
    
3. Conduct periodic employee surveys to determine employee satisfaction with the company. This provides staff an opportunity to express their feelings on everything from benefits and career opportunities to a variety of company-wide practices, while identifying areas that can be improved.
    
4. Review the feedback from employee surveys and develop strategies to improve areas of concern.
    
5. Look for unique ways to create the "ultimate employee experience", reasons that make employees never want to leave, including anything from on-site cafeterias, gyms or daycare to parking and transit privileges.
    
6. Submit a company nomination for an Employer of Choice or Best Places to Work award in your industry. These awards invoke employee pride and bring increased credibility to the company brand.

While hiring managers may not always have the authority to implement the above strategies, there are things they can do to help retain employees. They can create career tracks for each position, so employees have a clear path for advancement in the company. They can also provide ongoing training, development and mentoring opportunities. Managers should additionally create an environment where creativity and outside the box thinking is encouraged. Finally, managers should reward employees for a job well done via company announcements and awards, or performance-based bonuses, promotions and raises.

Retention of happy, top performers is the most critical strategy for companies to become employers of choice. This is where the status of being a choice employer begins – promotion of the company's values through the ambassadorship of employees.

"What makes a company a great place to work for some people will not be great for others," advises Romaine. However, a company that is an employer of choice will recognize this in the hiring process and give as much consideration to the candidate's fit with the organization as it does to experience, qualifications and talent. They will additionally recognize the value in providing a collaborative, company-wide approach to not only attracting, but also retaining top performers that will move the company forward."