I suspect this may be a holdover from the recent visit to the
As they will, however, the best-laid plans will occasionally drift and wander into a little something that we never intended.
A couple of ophthalmologists were recently describing their effort to rein in costs at their practice by reviewing some of the lagniappes that had drifted into the area of expectation. They discovered that over time the practice had assumed responsibility to provide staff with a number of things that may or may not be standard issue in yours. One of them was free soda in the lunch room. Their decision to start by eliminating this little something led to an unfortunate lesson in practice management on how to withdraw a free, daily caffeine-and-sugar high from more than 60 people who have come to rely on it to navigate the day.
This is the time of year for bonuses so it makes sense to think about what may have been a wonderful idea at some point in the past. You don't have to go Ebenezer Scrooge on people, but there's no harm in making sure your original intent is still being served. As often as not, bonuses become not a little something but a big, expected and relied-on part of many employees' financial plans at this time of year. So before you cut off the soda supply or anything more substantial, our cover story on bonuses will provide you with some starting material.
But since we're in reviewing mode, this holiday season is as good a time as any to take some downtime to see what other parts of your practice, your professional life, even your personal life, that may have started out as a little something extra but devolved into another stone in your backpack. Sometimes it's just a matter of reminding ourselves what we set out to do, and renewing that commitment.
Peace on earth.
