Are you working each day to enrich the lives of your staff? If you’re not making your employees a priority, you could be leading your aesthetics clinic to failure. Unhappy staff lead to unhappy patients, and this leaves little chance of success for your aesthetics practice—even worse, not supporting a positive work culture can easily be one of the most costly mistakes clinics make. When staff are happier and encouraged by a positive workplace, that feeling extends to your patients and can be the core source of your practice’s overall success. Here, we list a few ways you can help build a more supportive and positive work culture for your aesthetics clinic to improve staff retention and build a high-performing aesthetics team.
Top Tips for Building a Positive Work Culture at Your Aesthetics Clinic
Hire for Behaviors Over Skills: Many skills can be taught but behaviors and demeanors aren’t so easy to learn. When hiring, don’t rule out candidates who might have to receive a little more training if their personality fits in well with your clinic’s brand and current staff. A strong passion and desire to learn can offer greater potential for your clinic than skills that can be easily learned on the job.
Get Everyone Aligned in a Common Goal or Mission: As your aesthetics clinic grows, there will inevitably be more people to manage and more voices weighing in on business decisions. To ensure your staff is on the same page and to prevent chaotic arguments, having a clear goal or mission statement can encourage a greater sense of teamwork and keep everyone focused on a common thread.
Hold Positive Meetings and Celebrations: Meetings can be intimidating for staff, particularly if your aesthetics clinic only ever calls one to discuss improvements. It’s important to acknowledge failures, sure, but celebrating a win in your clinic can leave a greater impression on your employees. Consider celebratory lunches when your clinic meets its monthly sales goals or host town hall meetings to offer employees the opportunity to suggest new creative ideas to grow the business.
Don’t Forget to Say Thank You: If employees are putting in long hours during a busy time or covering for members who may be sick, taking the time to acknowledge their efforts and commitment can demonstrate that they are respected and valued. Further, giving credit where credit is due when an employee’s idea proves successful is a great way to show your appreciation for them. It reinforces the need for employees to contribute for the overall success of your aesthetics clinic.
Give Staff the Opportunity to Socialize: While not all staff will feel eager to socialize outside of work hours, providing employees with the means to get to know each other a little more outside of their work roles can lead to a greater sense of camaraderie and loyalty. In fact, according to one study, peers and camaraderie are the top reason employees work harder and go the extra mile, not money (though fair compensation should be a given). Consider creating social clubs or hosting monthly post-work social hours to give staff the chance to know each other outside work. Furthermore, when hiring new staff, consider hosting a little gathering to welcome them.
Accept Responsibility for Failures: It doesn’t benefit the team to point fingers or hold confrontational discussions to find out who is to blame. It is especially important to not call out anyone’s failures during meetings. Instead, when addressing difficult topics, speak in generalizations and use fictional examples rather than recalling specific events. It’s also important as a supervisor or manager to acknowledge your weaknesses, get feedback on how you might better support staff to avoid failures in the future, and work on looking forward rather than looking back.
Stand Up for Employees: If a particular patient is being difficult and verbally attacking an employee, take point and reassure the employee that they shouldn’t take it personally. Offer to support them in whatever way they need. If a failure on their behalf may be the reason for the patient’s concerns, offer a solution to the patient and keep the employee’s faults—including what they should have done—for a later conversation when in private. Allow them to express their concerns before addressing their faults. This allows employees to feel like they are supported and can be open and honest when mistakes occur.
Ask for Feedback and Actually Listen to It: Statistics suggest that the employees who feel like they can engage in a company’s growth, have a greater impact on the company’s profits and overall success. More specifically, low engagement can result in a 33% decline in operating income and an 11% drop in the company’s earnings growth. In comparison, high employee engagement results in an average 19% increase in operating income and 28% boost in earnings growth. Clearly, it pays to have employees actively and regularly engage in their roles to improve your business.
Invest in Their Career Growth: Another important factor in building your team’s professionalism and dedication is ongoing training. Ensure you work staff education and professional development into your yearly budget. Devote some time each week or month to an educational training session. Where possible, cross-training employees can also help to cover staff absences, encourage career growth, and help employees recognize the contributions of their colleagues. This helps to foster empathy while also allowing you to explore areas in which current staff might be able to shine a little brighter. For aesthetics clinics just getting started, partnering with an aesthetics device company like Venus Concept that offers ongoing clinical education as part of the package can be a budget-friendly way to ensure your staff still have access to this perk. Building employee expertise enhances your practice overall, so keep your staff updated on industry trends and new procedures.
Interested in learning more about the perks of a Venus Concept partnership for both your business and your staff? Contact an expert today using the button below.
Practice Enhancement Tips
