Sterling Practice Management - Glendale, CA: One excellent method of ensuring optometry staff retention is to play games with your staff and reward high production and accomplishment. Doing this often will get your employees all on the same page and motivated to help you achieve your practice or company goals.

The Importance of Games at Your Practice

Setting targets and getting your staff playing to make them is key to motivating them. By giving your staff incentives to make production targets, you get them on board. If your production targets are in the direction of meeting your goals for the practice, then you essentially have your staff invested in the practice.

So, play games with your staff and to meet production goals and celebrate achieving your highest-ever numbers or other milestones.

Here are some suggestions for games awards:

• A nice dinner for all employees and their spouses,
• An in-office party,
• A gift certificate for a shopping spree.
• something the staff will get excited about and really play for.

Make sure the award or prize is something the staff will get excited about and really play for. This is very important.

How to Create and Play a Production Game With Your Staff

Any time you create a production game for your staff, do the following:

1. Set specific and objective goals to be reached so there will be absolutely no question whether the game was won or not. Make the prizes sufficiently above the ordinary, but within a price range that the practice can afford the cost.

2. Survey the staff as to what prize the majority of them desire. Do not make it an open question or you’ll get no answers back. Give them several choices, including “other.” That way, if they do have a different idea, they can include it.

3. Put the game (including the prize) in writing so no arguments or disagreements ensue as to exactly what was said.

4. Remind them of the game periodically to keep them motivated and keep them abreast of how they are doing regarding winning it.

5. Deliver the reward as soon as it is won and do it enthusiastically and graciously. In other words, don’t feel bad or make them feel bad because you now have to spend money, or because they “barely” won, or anything that could mar the occasion. Set the money aside a little at a time so it doesn’t create any problem when it’s time for the reward.

Have fun with it!

Sterling Practice Management is an award-winning practice management and consulting company, devoted to helping professionals build smooth-running, profitable offices.