How to Engage

By Stacy M. Menz, PT, DPT

Engagement—what does this mean to you?

Do you think of your staff? Of your patients? Of your referral sources? It could mean all three areas, and I think depending on when you are reading this, and the state of your business at that time, engagement might mean something different to you.

I’ve been reflecting on employee engagement, what that means to me, and what my goals for engagement include. Do I expect everyone to be at the same level of engagement? In terms of patient care and clinical growth initiatives, my answer would be yes. In terms of business growth and development, again, my ideal answer would be yes. However, in reality, I understand that everyone has different professional goals that shape how engagement looks to them, and those goals may not mirror my own.

Every time I meet with my staff we talk about their goals and where they see themselves in one and five years. We also utilize a career ladder that allows them to engage in areas of personal interest that also help grow and build the business. Based on these conversations, I look for ways to encourage and foster their involvement in both the company and the profession.

Now that sounds great until you hit a point, like we have, where we are understaffed and everyone is stretched a bit thin. I have to remember that my staff’s level of engagement may change during stressful times since they are utilizing their resources to focus on patient care. It’s a fine dance as a business owner trying to balance a busy clinic’s productivity while monitoring the potential for staff burnout on the horizon.

While my emphasis is currently on obtaining tools to stimulate staff engagement, I think that this month’s issue highlights many great articles and ideas to improve all areas of engagement that you may be focused on as a business owner. I would love to hear some of the ways you maintain and encourage engagement in your business.