Part 1: Ex-Staff Leaving & Practitioners Taking Patients – Why Allied Health Needs To Aim Higher!
Yep I’m going to go there! It’s something we don’t have open, honest conversations about enough and we need to start. Whilst I have my own experience with this, these stories are based upon the true accounts of many…
NOTE:
For the purposes of writing this…
Opening ‘around the corner’ is defined as anywhere in the Uber eats radius or local pizza route.
I used to think certain situations came down to bad luck or making wrong choices but, over the years I have come to realise that nothing surprises me anymore, not even a pandemic. In the two decades I have been a clinic owner I’ve learned a lot about private practice but more so, I’ve sharpened my intuition when it comes to human behaviour.
The only thing you can be certain of in business is that ANYTHING is possible.
The only thing you can be sure of when it comes to people, is that you can NEVER be sure.
When team members make the decision to open a clinic around the corner, leave for a competitor, or book a 6 month holiday without giving any notice, one thing is true — if they can justify their actions to themselves they will never feel they have done wrong. Many business owners are left blindsided or disappointed when this happens.
‘Surely they can’t do that?’
‘I at least deserved a conversation?!’
And on the flip side…
‘It’s something I had to do for myself, nothing personal.’
‘I’ve always wanted my own clinic.’
As an industry we often hear of stories in poor taste. We agree that soliciting patients is a breach in employment contracts. We also acknowledge that ‘technically’ sub-contractors can do as they please.
This situation is common in allied health. Some might say it’s inevitable amidst the ethical landscape of patient pro-choice. This might be true, but when it comes to a respectful exit, we all need to aim higher.
Opportunity and mutual respect MUST go hand-in-hand — the financial implications and heart-ache it takes to push back against these business conflicts far outweighs the fight itself.
“I just need to do what is right for me!” Is a predictable response when someone is questioned on their motives.
It’s not that someone has taken the initiative to open a clinic that is the problem, nor is the fear of competition; speaking for many clinic owners in this position, it’s the lack of transparency and intention to ‘hide or deceive’ that hurts the most.
It poses the question… If it’s not wrong, then why keep it a secret?
I’m not writing this as a bitter business owner who has been screwed over by ex-employees. I write this as an experienced one with a thicker shell and greater wisdom than when I first started. I have encouraged and supported four team members in their own clinic ventures in the last two years alone and another ten over the last decade. After twenty years, I’m a veteran when it comes to staff exits, but I am also proud to have created opportunities and secure career pathways that support longevity — proof that positive exits are possible, both mutually and respectfully. I also carry wounds of personal heartache, of ex-staff colluding to benefit from years of my hard work.
So where does it fall down?
The answer is easy. It’s generally not because of malicious intent, it’s because people struggle with conflict and initiating difficult conversation. Also because people make assumptions of how others are going to react and avoidance behaviour becomes the easier option.
Why?
Because business owners often don’t make people feel safe enough to be transparent with their future goals.
Because business owners treat associates like contractors and then expect them to act like employees.
Also…
Because exiting practitioners feel guilty, which leads to dishonesty.
Because many people consider their goals to be more important than others and so personal agenda wins.
Yes, Practitioners deserves the right to exit amicably.
But equally, Clinic Owners deserve the right to protect their business database, years of hard work and IP.
Both parties deserve the right to make the experience an honest one. Yet somehow, somewhere along the line we have developed a culture of acceptance when it comes to sh*tty behaviour, simply because the alternative is too hard to fight.
THE SOLUTION is reflective of two things.
- Respect
- Communication
Here are 5 things I have learned that allow me to embrace change as a clinic owner, support staff with their own vision, and encourage opportunities to ensure a positive outcome for everyone.
1. Assume that everyone will leave… eventually. [If they don’t, it’s a bonus].
As my favourite Ancient philosopher, Senaca, taught centuries ago… A baseless excuse for anyone is ‘I didn’t think it would happen.’
By thinking everything might happen, you can anticipate anything. It’s not a sad reality, it’s just one that every business owner should be familiar with. If you are not succession planning you need to start. The only silly one here is the one that ‘didn’t see it coming.’ Assume everyone will leave.
2. Be resilient and supportive in your leadership.
One of the greatest reflections of true success is resilience. Resilience through challenging times shows strong foundations and good leadership. Those two things alone can make your business a success.
No matter how big or small your clinic is, keep your eyes open – consider all the potential consequences, even the unlikely, the unusual, and the unintended ones. Everyone is replaceable, sometimes it is for the best.
3. Have open, honest conversations about your future and vision from day one. If people don’t fit encourage them to leave sooner rather than later.
To have the best chance at this you need to be both authoritative and approachable at the same time. Give people a safe place to talk about their dreams and aspirations and share in their vision, but don’t be desperate in your desire for them to stay. If your advice as a mentor is valuable the relationship will be one that they do not want to fracture. Earn respect by offering it first.
When someone does decide to leave following respectful communication and good intentions, use this as a positive example. Praise their initiative and openly support their venture. Prove that you can create a safe space to encourage future goals and exits.
4. Business owners have a right to protect their business and exemplify the law. There needs to be an agreed courtship.
Hold firm on your agreements. Non-compete clauses are common in professional-service industries such as law, consulting, and finance; the same goes for healthcare. Our services are equally based on trust and outcomes. Allied Health is no different. Patients are clients and are still protected as such when it comes to colluding.
A courtship stage is built on integrity; doing the ‘right thing.’ It’s a time where a clinic owner and exiting practitioner work together to devise plans and discuss strategies so that everyone’s goals can be achieved without conflict. This is an important but risky stage and the freedom of honesty is a mixed blessing. Due diligence is vital and too often neglected, but the absence of oversight can give rise to improper and even illegal behaviour.
5. Don’t be a sh*t human. Do the right thing.
That means, the exiting practitioners and business owner need to do what they say you will do. The culture of ‘they are MY clients’ and ‘patients have a right to choose who they want to see’ is merely confirmation bias and an excuse to condone a said behaviour. If a relationship with a patient or client was formed via a professional introduction under an agreed employment contract the line is clear. THESE PATIENT DETAILS ARE NOT THE EXITING PRACTITIONER’S TO TAKE.
If what you are doing is legal there is no reason why you should not be open about your intentions.
Regardless of what the law says you can and can’t do, your actions should reflect your personal integrity and respect the business relationship. Inevitably, if the relationship is fractured so too will be the exit. Ego and intention will always prevail. That goes for both the exiting practitioner and existing business owner.
Remaining silent with an intention to open in competition and doing so behind someone’s back only causes strategic gain with considerable pain. For most clinic owners, and from my own personal experience the hurt is not a financial one and one that stays with you for many years to come.
A crucial point to reinforce is that the vast majority of clinics that open up ‘around the corner’ are in direct competition. Most remain solid on the foundations of an existing reputation, but occasionally an existing clinic can suffer immensely by the loss.
Some practitioners leave to start new ventures and take staff with them. This is true even if all relationships had been collegial and warm. Some of the worst stories I’ve heard are when one of the two parties feels the move has been open and above-board, and the other is left heartbroken from a broken friendship. It can be counterintuitive!
Do the right thing. Have the conversations. It’s time for Allied Health to lift the bar. We need to do better than point fingers and cast blame after the fact.
If you want to check out ‘Part 2: The Amicable Staff Exit’ – Grab your coffee and keep reading my advice to business owners here on how they can reduce risk and retain patients. Also my advice on how exiting practitioners can do so respectfully and with transparency.
Bringing you my best,
Jade Scott xx
Part 1: Ex-Staff Leaving & Practitioners Taking Patients – Why Allied Health Needs To Aim Higher!
Yep I’m going to go there! It’s something we don’t have open, honest conversations about enough and we need to start. Whilst I have my own experience with this, these stories are based upon the true accounts of many…
NOTE:
For the purposes of writing this…
Opening ‘around the corner’ is defined as anywhere in the Uber eats radius or local pizza route.
I used to think certain situations came down to bad luck or making wrong choices but, over the years I have come to realise that nothing surprises me anymore, not even a pandemic. In the two decades I have been a clinic owner I’ve learned a lot about private practice but more so, I’ve sharpened my intuition when it comes to human behaviour.
The only thing you can be certain of in business is that ANYTHING is possible.
The only thing you can be sure of when it comes to people, is that you can NEVER be sure.
When team members make the decision to open a clinic around the corner, leave for a competitor, or book a 6 month holiday without giving any notice, one thing is true — if they can justify their actions to themselves they will never feel they have done wrong. Many business owners are left blindsided or disappointed when this happens.
‘Surely they can’t do that?’
‘I at least deserved a conversation?!’
And on the flip side…
‘It’s something I had to do for myself, nothing personal.’
‘I’ve always wanted my own clinic.’
As an industry we often hear of stories in poor taste. We agree that soliciting patients is a breach in employment contracts. We also acknowledge that ‘technically’ sub-contractors can do as they please.
This situation is common in allied health. Some might say it’s inevitable amidst the ethical landscape of patient pro-choice. This might be true, but when it comes to a respectful exit, we all need to aim higher.
Opportunity and mutual respect MUST go hand-in-hand — the financial implications and heart-ache it takes to push back against these business conflicts far outweighs the fight itself.
“I just need to do what is right for me!” Is a predictable response when someone is questioned on their motives.
It’s not that someone has taken the initiative to open a clinic that is the problem, nor is the fear of competition; speaking for many clinic owners in this position, it’s the lack of transparency and intention to ‘hide or deceive’ that hurts the most.
It poses the question… If it’s not wrong, then why keep it a secret?
I’m not writing this as a bitter business owner who has been screwed over by ex-employees. I write this as an experienced one with a thicker shell and greater wisdom than when I first started. I have encouraged and supported four team members in their own clinic ventures in the last two years alone and another ten over the last decade. After twenty years, I’m a veteran when it comes to staff exits, but I am also proud to have created opportunities and secure career pathways that support longevity — proof that positive exits are possible, both mutually and respectfully. I also carry wounds of personal heartache, of ex-staff colluding to benefit from years of my hard work.
So where does it fall down?
The answer is easy. It’s generally not because of malicious intent, it’s because people struggle with conflict and initiating difficult conversation. Also because people make assumptions of how others are going to react and avoidance behaviour becomes the easier option.
Why?
Because business owners often don’t make people feel safe enough to be transparent with their future goals.
Because business owners treat associates like contractors and then expect them to act like employees.
Also…
Because exiting practitioners feel guilty, which leads to dishonesty.
Because many people consider their goals to be more important than others and so personal agenda wins.
Yes, Practitioners deserves the right to exit amicably.
But equally, Clinic Owners deserve the right to protect their business database, years of hard work and IP.
Both parties deserve the right to make the experience an honest one. Yet somehow, somewhere along the line we have developed a culture of acceptance when it comes to sh*tty behaviour, simply because the alternative is too hard to fight.
THE SOLUTION is reflective of two things.
- Respect
- Communication
Here are 5 things I have learned that allow me to embrace change as a clinic owner, support staff with their own vision, and encourage opportunities to ensure a positive outcome for everyone.
1. Assume that everyone will leave… eventually. [If they don’t, it’s a bonus].
As my favourite Ancient philosopher, Senaca, taught centuries ago… A baseless excuse for anyone is ‘I didn’t think it would happen.’
By thinking everything might happen, you can anticipate anything. It’s not a sad reality, it’s just one that every business owner should be familiar with. If you are not succession planning you need to start. The only silly one here is the one that ‘didn’t see it coming.’ Assume everyone will leave.
2. Be resilient and supportive in your leadership.
One of the greatest reflections of true success is resilience. Resilience through challenging times shows strong foundations and good leadership. Those two things alone can make your business a success.
No matter how big or small your clinic is, keep your eyes open – consider all the potential consequences, even the unlikely, the unusual, and the unintended ones. Everyone is replaceable, sometimes it is for the best.
3. Have open, honest conversations about your future and vision from day one. If people don’t fit encourage them to leave sooner rather than later.
To have the best chance at this you need to be both authoritative and approachable at the same time. Give people a safe place to talk about their dreams and aspirations and share in their vision, but don’t be desperate in your desire for them to stay. If your advice as a mentor is valuable the relationship will be one that they do not want to fracture. Earn respect by offering it first.
When someone does decide to leave following respectful communication and good intentions, use this as a positive example. Praise their initiative and openly support their venture. Prove that you can create a safe space to encourage future goals and exits.
4. Business owners have a right to protect their business and exemplify the law. There needs to be an agreed courtship.
Hold firm on your agreements. Non-compete clauses are common in professional-service industries such as law, consulting, and finance; the same goes for healthcare. Our services are equally based on trust and outcomes. Allied Health is no different. Patients are clients and are still protected as such when it comes to colluding.
A courtship stage is built on integrity; doing the ‘right thing.’ It’s a time where a clinic owner and exiting practitioner work together to devise plans and discuss strategies so that everyone’s goals can be achieved without conflict. This is an important but risky stage and the freedom of honesty is a mixed blessing. Due diligence is vital and too often neglected, but the absence of oversight can give rise to improper and even illegal behaviour.
5. Don’t be a sh*t human. Do the right thing.
That means, the exiting practitioners and business owner need to do what they say you will do. The culture of ‘they are MY clients’ and ‘patients have a right to choose who they want to see’ is merely confirmation bias and an excuse to condone a said behaviour. If a relationship with a patient or client was formed via a professional introduction under an agreed employment contract the line is clear. THESE PATIENT DETAILS ARE NOT THE EXITING PRACTITIONER’S TO TAKE.
If what you are doing is legal there is no reason why you should not be open about your intentions.
Regardless of what the law says you can and can’t do, your actions should reflect your personal integrity and respect the business relationship. Inevitably, if the relationship is fractured so too will be the exit. Ego and intention will always prevail. That goes for both the exiting practitioner and existing business owner.
Remaining silent with an intention to open in competition and doing so behind someone’s back only causes strategic gain with considerable pain. For most clinic owners, and from my own personal experience the hurt is not a financial one and one that stays with you for many years to come.
A crucial point to reinforce is that the vast majority of clinics that open up ‘around the corner’ are in direct competition. Most remain solid on the foundations of an existing reputation, but occasionally an existing clinic can suffer immensely by the loss.
Some practitioners leave to start new ventures and take staff with them. This is true even if all relationships had been collegial and warm. Some of the worst stories I’ve heard are when one of the two parties feels the move has been open and above-board, and the other is left heartbroken from a broken friendship. It can be counterintuitive!
Do the right thing. Have the conversations. It’s time for Allied Health to lift the bar. We need to do better than point fingers and cast blame after the fact.
If you want to check out ‘Part 2: The Amicable Staff Exit’ – Grab your coffee and keep reading my advice to business owners here on how they can reduce risk and retain patients. Also my advice on how exiting practitioners can do so respectfully and with transparency.
Bringing you my best,
Jade Scott xx
Jade Scott is a leading identity within Australia’s allied health community. Having successfully established a number of osteopathy clinics in Victoria Jade recognised an opportunity to create meaningful change and innovation within the Allied Health Industry.
