How To Choose The Right Practice Manager

Running a high-performing medical practice takes a lot of hard work, a great business plan and a strong team. At the heart of this "organised chaos" is your Practice Manager as they are there to keep the machine well oiled.

Choosing the right person for this pivotal role is vital to your success.

So What Makes A Great Practice Manager?

A “great” Practice Manager will need to have the ability to wear multiple hats on a daily basis. Their role will require them to know:

• business management

• marketing

• governance

• human resources

• finance; and

• risk management

They will need to have a strong understanding of the laws that make up the ever-changing landscape of the medical industry within Australia and they will need to be tech-savvy, keeping their finger on the pulse of all digital platforms and data protection for patients.

Plus managing staff and their requirements - contracts, hours, rosters, Awards, and staff personal needs.

How Do You Find The Right Practice Manager?

Specialised industry recruitment agencies can certainly assist in finding the right person but don’t forget other avenues such as LinkedIn, which can give you great insight into what a potential candidate has to offer since their experience can be endorsed and verified by previous colleagues and employers.

What Are 5 Interview Questions To Ask Your Potential Practice Manager?

1. What does effective leadership in a practice mean to you?

This question will show where the candidate’s focus lies - are they people and team-oriented, which is ideal, or logistics oriented. It’s great to have the logistics covered but empathy and warmth play a major part in longevity within the healthcare industry.

2. How do you manage the financial component of running a practice?

A strong practice manager must be financially literate, meaning they can demonstrate previous experience of setting up an accounting system that is suitable for the size of your practice. They should also be able to prepare reports and present them with a sound knowledge of the financial summary, maintain financial records and liaise with banks where necessary.

3. How would you support the success of the team?

Your practice manager should know how to work with ALL members of the team, which will often mean that different staff members will need to be managed differently; as they all have different responsibilities and outputs.

4. Describe a time in a previous role where you streamlined a process to benefit the team?

This question will show whether the person you are interviewing is always thinking about ways to improve the day to day operations (for everyone) or whether they take a back seat and will only do the minimum that is required of them.

5. How would you handle a privacy breach within a medical practice?

VERY Important! There are definitive laws around data protection for patients and it is important to find out whether the person you are interviewing has a thorough understanding of the law and also how they would handle an event like this.

Would they be able to implement a solid process/ procedure?

Running a medical practice requires a lot of dedication and it truly is a fine art juggling the operations aspect alongside strategic business planning.

Hiring the right team is a huge component of your success! It will greatly affect staff retention which can flow on to your patients who value seeing the same faces when visiting your practice. There is no greater comfort to some patients than seeing a familiar face.

If you find that you or your Practice Manager requires assistance with any of the legal processes (and we know there are many) of running or setting up your medical practice, please contact the team at You Legal for assistance.