Q: When should offices replace team members that have left because of child care, or other obligations, due to the effects of COVID 19 even though production/profits are down?
A: Add team members as needed….
just like when a practice grows. There is no need to have extra team members around that may just end up having them sitting around and “having nothing to do”since schedules are not as full at the moment. Also, as long as a team member is not overwhelmed with the tasks that are at hand for them currently. I would wait as we progress moving forward, post COVID-19 to stay in communication with your team and the office manager in morning huddles to see how they feel things are being handled and making sure no daily tasks are not slipping through the cracks. Make sure that the current team members are also completing the tasks of the previous team members that are no longer in the office. They can use our daily checklists as an example to make sure nothing is being missed.
Please see the following:
Download: Office Manager Daily Duties
Download: Treatment Coordinator Daily Duties
Download: Financial Coordinator Daily Duties
Download: Scheduling Coordinator Daily Duties
You could also consider outsourcing some of these daily duties as well, such as insurance and accounts receivable, instead of hiring someone new. It could help ease the stress of your team members and help the front office run more efficiently. You can outweigh the option of the cost for the outsourcing company compared to hiring a new team member.
Read: Insurance Outsourcing
Read: Should I hire an outside agency to collect installment payments?