VMC, Inc is proud to announce a new national seminar. We have developed a two-day program entitled H.R. Boot Camp. The number one concern voiced by practice owners and practice managers in almost every study is personnel management. This is the one area on which we spend most of our time and it has the greatest impact upon the success of our practice. To meet this need we have pooled the resources of VMC, Inc.—Dr. Mary Ann Vande Linde, Sheila Grosdidier, Monica Dixon Perry and I have put together a program of which we are very proud. We will address the problems faced by practice owners and practice managers in our typical straightforward and practical VMC fashion.

This two-day program is designed as an upper level practice management program in which we will address new laws and regulations in the field of human resources, enhanced ways of recruiting prospective employees, how to improve employee retention, behavioral interviewing, how to deal with conflict in the workplace, performance based evaluations, tiered job descriptions and performance based compensation—to name a few of the topics we plan on covering. Also included in this seminar is a working dinner where you will have the opportunity to sit down with other practice owners and managers to share and learn from each other.

We have initially scheduled two of these H. R. Boot Camps. The first one will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 28th and March 1st. The second will be held in Costa Mesa, California, on March 14th and 15th. We are really excited about this program and hope that you will join us. If you have any questions please call our conference coordinator, Ms. Julia Fields, at (303) 674-8169 or e-mail her at jfields@vmc-inc.com. We look forward to seeing you at one of these meetings, they will be awesome!

Communicating Your "A" Priorities to Your Team

It’s time to communicate our A priorities to the healthcare team. How you deliver the message is extremely important, and you can only deliver information clearly if you understand how people hear you. We all have different communication styles. You could be an “advocator”, enthusiastic and receptive, wanting to share ideas and opinions. But if you’re talking to an “analytic” who prefers written communication and detailed results, you’ve got a problem...

Just Where Have They Been?

Last month we asked the question "Do you know where your internet surfers are?" This month, we'll continue with how to tell what sites have been accessed from your computers.

Now, we get to the good part. Here are the ways to review where a computer has been on the web:

There are several ways to find Web sites and pages you've viewed in the last few days, hours, or minutes.

To find a page seen in the last few days

1. On the toolbar, click the History button.
   The History bar appears, containing links for Web sites and pages visited in previous days and weeks.
2. In the History bar, click a week or day, click a Web site folder to display individual pages, and then click the page icon to display the Web page.
   To sort or search the History bar, click the arrow next to the View button at the top of the History bar.

Are Your Team Meetings Motivating and Engaging?

If your team meetings are routine and mundane, I assure you that your healthcare team is not being consistently motivated and engaged. Team meetings should not be the time to point out all of the things they are doing wrong, but should be a platform for focusing in on the positive aspects regarding the practice, its services and clients. Make your next team meeting fun and exciting by incorporating these five simple elements.

1. Celebrate service anniversaries. Team members remember the month, date and year their employment began at your practice and so should you. Take a few minutes out of each meeting to acknowledge service anniversaries. You can present a plague or a small token of your appreciation. Not only is your healthcare team acknowledged, but longevity is rewarded and your appreciation is made public. Other team members will look forward to the month that their service anniversary is acknowledged and celebrated.
2. Incorporate an Employee of the Month Program. Allow the entire healthcare team to nominate an employee of the month. The team member that receives the most nominations will be that Employee of the Month. This encourages the team to acknowledge the efforts and hard work of their peers and boost morale for the entire team. Read all of the nominations aloud so that everyone is privy to the works of others. The winner of this designation should be awarded something special to acknowledge their achievement. Some ideas are a designated Employee of the Month parking space, Employee of the Month button that clients and others get to see, dinner for two at a local restaurant, a free car wash or movie passes. The list goes on and on, but taking the time out to acknowledge one team member each month for a job well done becomes a win win situation for you as well as your team.
3. Incorporate Role Playing. The team members that love acting and the opportunity to be on stage will love this idea. The more timid and shy employees will need some prompting. However, if role playing is done correctly it can be a fun activity with an exciting approach to educating the entire team. Allow the team to nominate topics they would like to role play – examples may be introducing a new product or service or preparing for a target marketing program. Allow team members to role play the nominated topics. The team learns while being entertained.
4. Incorporate the “I Love My Job” Segment. Allow team members the opportunity to discuss the reasons why they love their job and the positive events they have recently experienced. When they recall and remember the days or shifts that flowed well and what attributed to its success – not only does this make them feel good, but it opens up the lines of communication in which the entire team can learn. It is so easy to dwell or the negative, but encouraging them to focus on positive events will boost morale and strengthen your team bond. Some team members may be reluctant initially to participate in this segment so I encourage tossing a stuffed animal or toy around the room and whoever gets the stuffed animal has to speak on why they love working at the practice.
5. Provide feedback. Your health care team works hard and attributes to the success of your practice. They want to know how the practice is doing. You do not have to necessarily discuss the amount of income that is generated, but you can incorporate a key indicator review into your meetings. For example, you can let them know how many new clients the practice saw the previous month and if the practice is in line with industry benchmarks. Other key indicators may be the goal you set for performing a certain number of heartworm tests and letting them know if the practice reached or even exceeded that goal. Letting them know how the practice is doing is essential to engaging them. If they are given monthly feedback on how the practice is doing, I am certain they will be more willing to recommend and promote certain products and services so that the practice is successful. If you are not reaching or exceeding your goals, you can utilize the meeting to discuss what needs to be done to achieve those goals and what part they can play in that success.

Does Your Accounts Payable List Include Items That Are Already Paid?

Have you ever viewed your accounts payable list and noticed that it included items that are already paid? For example, you selected Vendors, then Reports, then Accounts Payable Aging Detail to have the report appear on the screen. You then double clicked on items that were on the list and the invoice says it has been paid.

The reason this happens is the check to pay the invoices is dated later than your current date. Once the date is changed to the current date or a prior date the invoices will no longer appear on your accounts payable aging.

A quick way to recognize this is to open your check register (Banking-use register) and a different colored line will appear on today's date and all items entered with a date after your current date will appear below the colored line.