practice manager duties

[steff]

Hi all,
I am trying to come up with a list of responsibilities for my practice manager. Can anyone point me in the direction of some resources that might help?

Thanks
steff

[Senorwes1]

Does your practice mgr have optical duties as well or does he/she have only office duties?

[steff]

Optical duties as well. Actually, I would say that the optical duties come first, and the practice manager type duties come second.

steff

[Johns]

Optical duties as well. Actually, I would say that the optical duties come first, and the practice manager type duties come second.

steff

I made that mistake more than once. By making the optical duties a priority, the office will be run second class. If you're big enough to have an office manager, you should have a number one optical person, and an office manager that runs the office, but can handle some optical in a pinch. Otherwise, you should hire an office mgr w/ no optical experience, and let them run the office.

[HarryChiling]

I made that mistake more than once. By making the optical duties a priority, the office will be run second class. If you're big enough to have an office manager, you should have a number one optical person, and an office manager that runs the office, but can handle some optical in a pinch. Otherwise, you should hire an office mgr w/ no optical experience, and let them run the office.

Amen.

Actually, I would say that the optical duties come first, and the practice manager type duties come second.

Then your looking for an optician.

[steff]

I'm really looking for an optician manager - an optician to manage my opticians. They don't really do any 'practice' duties - I do the rostering, pays, accts, buying etc, but I'm paying them as a manager as I want them to be like a senior dispenser. Does that make sense?

steff

[HarryChiling]

I'm really looking for an optician manager - an optician to manage my opticians. They don't really do any 'practice' duties - I do the rostering, pays, accts, buying etc, but I'm paying them as a manager as I want them to be like a senior dispenser. Does that make sense?

steff

Yes and No. Sounds more like you are managing the practice you just need someone to manage the rowdy staff. ;) Not a bad idea but maybe a raise to someone in house that can fill that roll might work in this instance, especially since your not really looking for someone with a whoel lot of additional skill sets.

[steff]

Hahaha... it's just nice to have someone on the floor all the time to manage as opposed to me stuck in the room.

I have already hired someone. I've told him to go away and think up a list of responsibilities for himself and I would think up a list and we would sit down and discuss it... I'm just trying to figure out what he's supposed to do!

steff

[Johns]

I'm really looking for an optician manager - an optician to manage my opticians. They don't really do any 'practice' duties - I do the rostering, pays, accts, buying etc, but I'm paying them as a manager as I want them to be like a senior dispenser. Does that make sense?

steff

Then "practice" should be left out of the title, and out of the job description. The problems arise when there is not a very clear cut definintion of the job and specific responsibilities. If you hire an optical/optician manager, but then someone else is doing the buying, how can they take responsibility for sales on the floor? Or is it just a manager in name only? Is the senior optician senior only because of the amount of hours they are working, their length of employment, or their age?

[steff]

Well, I don't have a senior optician. I guess that's really what I want, isn't it? Oh well, I've employed him as a retail manager/dispenser, so I'll just have to call those duties retail manager/dispenser duties anyhow.

Anyone got any ideas as to what those duties should be?

steff

[HarryChiling]

Track sales (frames, lenses, lens options)
Provide training and support to other staff

Those are two potential things I can think of.

[rbaker]

You and only you can define the duties of your employees. Some owners of optometric businesses wish only to come in in the morning and see patients and have no interest or desire to have any tasks in purchasing, payroll or dispensary. Other optometrists want a hand in everything with the exception of cleaning the toilets and that is the single task assigned to their manager.

Most practices evolve their job descriptions over time and adapt their practice to their staff. You may find yourself blessed with a well trained bookkeeper in which case it would be foolish for you not to use these skills.

I guess the answer to your question is to sit down and make a list of everyone and their skills and their desires. Next, make a list of what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. Hopefully someone in your organization may have the skills or the desire to learn the skills of the things that you don’t want to do. Reassign some tasks and see what happens over a few months. Keep what is good and change what is not. Let your staff take an active role in the process and be open to change. Over a period of time you should arrive at a solution that both you and your employees are comfortable with.

[EyeFitWell]

I work under an Optical Manager and we also have a practice manager. Our Optical Manager works on inventory updates, does the schedule, is there to OK unusual remakes, tracks our sales on lenses/frames, and gives us articles and such to read (usually things that relate to a recent problem/remake). He is fourth in line to come out on the sales floor, but is always there when we need him (or just want to whine about the PITA on the sales floor). :-) I'm sure there's more to his job than that....like he handles the price changes, contracts with new labs, etc. I'm not really sure what else he does (I'm new), but I'm super impressed that I actually work for someone who wants me to learn as opposed to someone who's worried about their own job security. It makes me smile when he gives me articles to read...awe, he cares! :-)

[jherman]

I've told him to go away and think up a list of responsibilities for himself


It does appear you need a manager.

[Johns]

I have already hired someone. I've told him to go away and think up a list of responsibilities for himself and I would think up a list and we would sit down and discuss it... I'm just trying to figure out what he's supposed to do!

steff

Is this for real, or are we being hoodwinked here? :hammer: Please tell me that this is not for real.

[HarryChiling]

Is this for real, or are we being hoodwinked here? :hammer: Please tell me that this is not for real.

Johns,

I am so trying not to be a jerk about this, but you surely ain't helping. It seems this is the norm rather than the exception.

Try this link it is the apprenticeship standard for optician it might help you come up with tasks.

http://www.doleta.gov/oa/bul07/NationalGuidelines.pdf

[Andrew Weiss]

Steff,

It sounds like you knew you needed someone to make your optical dispensary run more smoothly and more profitably, but you're not sure what jobs that person should be doing to make that happen. Is this accurate?

If it is, and if you've hired someone already, you probably put the cart before the horse. It's tough to match a person's skills to the job if you're not sure what the job actually entails.

That said, I am impressed that you've gotten your new employee involved in writing up the job description. I may take some heat from some of the others on this board for this, but I am a big believer in collaborative relationships between employers and employees. My experience is that those relationships give the employee a bigger stake in the business and therefore improve commitment and performance.

However, you need to know what will make your dispensary work. Here's a partial list of duties I see any optical dispensary manager doing. Each heading in the list has a group of sub-duties attached to it; I'm just providing the headings.

People Management (Staff):
Accounts Management:
Inventory Management:
Pricing:
Dispensary Design and Upkeep:
Trouble-Shooting (Technical and Patients):

Most importantly, I think, you need to decide just how much authority you're going to delegate to your manager and how much you're going to keep to yourself. There's no right answer to this one, in my opinion; I believe it depends on the temperament and skills of the two individuals involved.

Best of luck!

[Johns]

Johns,

I am so trying not to be a jerk about this, but you surely ain't helping.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself...:o

[cocoisland58]

How about going about this in reverse order. The question is "why do I feel I need a manager?" You surely did not wake up one morning with the thought that a manager would be great addition to your payroll. Obviously you have noticed things that needed attention or were not getting done. Once you make a list of the reasons you thought you needed this person then there you also have the list of responsibilities or a basis for it. Also, assuming you have hired someone with management experience they should have a pretty good idea of what they need to do in the office at least initially. If you hired someone without experience then it may be the blind leading the blind for a while.

[Johns]

Steff,


If it is, and if you've hired someone already, you probably put the cart before the horse. It's tough to match a person's skills to the job if you're not sure what the job actually entails.

That said, I am impressed that you've gotten your new employee involved in writing up the job description. .

I guess that's why I flew off the handle.

If a person has been hired before you even know what the job is, how do you know they are qualified? An optician (or OD/MD) does not necessarily make a good manager.

Also, if they are writing their own job description, they will taylor it to what they do best, but not always what the practice might be in need of.

I come from a much more frugal background, where I maximize my payroll by ensuring that every employee is matched up with a specific job, and I have those is advance.

I can understand however, how this situation could occur. You are trying to anticipate a need, but aren't sure what the need is yet.

I apologize for jumping the gun....

[Judy Canty]

A good starting point would be the "Eyecare Practice Tool Kit" published by Mosby/Elsevier and available through the OptiBoard link to Amazon.com. It comes with a CD so you can download and customize everything from job descriptions to patient handouts.

[steff]

Thanks for all the useful (and some of the less useful) ideas.

I do not apologise for hiring someone I think is useful, and then asking them to come up with a list of responsibilities they want to do. The way the optical industry in Australia is, I HAVE to snap up ANYONE that I think is useful, or I simply won't get any staff (trying to get a dispenser is like finding rocking horse poo). I like having people come up with a list of things they want to do in their job and a list of things that make them happy in a job (eg clearly defined goals, a supportive working environment etc). I am not promising that the list of duties they come up with is the list that they do, but if we both have lists, and we negotiate, it means that we can come up wtih something that is mutually satisfying as opposed to me dictating the things that they HAVE to do. I like to think it's all about teamwork. If I can keep job satisfaction up, with clearly defined goals and rewards, I can have happier staff, which means better retention, more patient satisfaction and more a more profitable practice. I really don't think there is anything wrong with that.

I guess I should have specified. I have already got my list things I think they should be doing (as well as indicators to indicate that they are doing it correctly). What I was trying to find out if I had forgotten anything, or if anyone had a fantastic idea on something new I hadn't thought of.

Anyhow, thanks for all the fantastic ideas.

steff

[steff]

Steff,


Most importantly, I think, you need to decide just how much authority you're going to delegate to your manager and how much you're going to keep to yourself.

Bingo! You've hit the nail on the head. I've had control of my own little world for too long, and I need to learn to let go.

After finishing my list, I think I need a senior optician as opposed to a practice manager - someone who is out on the floor all the time, and can ok the weird remakes, placate disgruntled customers, and reorder stuff that we need. The rest of it, I really want to do myself.

steff

[HarryChiling]

Bingo! You've hit the nail on the head. I've had control of my own little world for too long, and I need to learn to let go.

After finishing my list, I think I need a senior optician as opposed to a practice manager - someone who is out on the floor all the time, and can ok the weird remakes, placate disgruntled customers, and reorder stuff that we need. The rest of it, I really want to do myself.

steff

If I can make one more suggestion even though you will keep the reigns on many of the management duties make sure this staff member knows exactly how to do these things anyway. It will help give them a better foundation fro making those decisions like wierd remakes, disgruntled customers, and reordering stuff. Good luck and I double the suggestions Judy made about the Eyecare Practice Tool Kit lots of great templates and handouts in there, maybe not so relevent to your particular situation but usefull none the less.