3 common HR challenges for medical practices, and how to overcome them

HR is an evolving challenge for medical practice owners. Technological advancements, fluctuating patient volumes and complex healthcare regulations are a few factors that impact staffing.  

Whether your onsite team consists of one medical secretary, or a team of medical receptionists overseen by a practice manager, employing staff is often a costly investment. It therefore pays to consider staff utilisation, engagement, performance, HR structure and strategy to ensure operational efficiency and compliance. 

Below are three common HR challenges – and how our Practice Management team can help. 

If you’re unsure your HR management is up to scratch, use our checklist to help you gauge whether you're on the right track. 

3 HR challenges for medical businesses 

1. Recruitment 

Recruiting staff can be one of the most challenging parts of operating a medical business. For doctors starting out in private practice, hiring a medical secretary is often the first time they’ve conducted an interview process. For practices scaling and growing, it can be difficult to ensure staffing resources meet demands whilst maintaining business continuity and high-quality patient care. 

Our Practice Management team can guide your recruitment strategy to help you attract and retain the right support for your practice. The tasks we can assist with include: 

• writing job descriptions 
• posting job ads 
• screening resumes 
• phone screening candidates 
• conducting first-round interviews 
• shortlisting candidates 
• reference checking 
• coordinating employment contracts. 

2. Staff performance 

The success of your practice relies on the competencies and capabilities of your staff. If your onsite medical receptionists are underperforming or disengaged, it could harm your bottom line. 

Our Practice Management team can offer support to lessen the risk of underperformance. Below are some of the ways we can help. 

• Offering advice on monitoring staff performance. 
• Conducting a strategic review of staffing levels and responsibilities.  
• Reviewing and revising the management structure and reporting lines. 
• Conducting professional development reviews and activities. 
• Offering mentoring for workplace incidents (i.e. having difficult conversations with underperforming staff members). 
• Conducting staff training to upskill staff where necessary. 
• Reviewing staff utilisation and identifying outsourcing opportunities (e.g. outsourcing key administration tasks to Avant Practice Solutions’ Virtual Administration and Reception Service). 

3. Documentation 

Your medical business must comply with employment laws and regulations set out by Fair Work Australia, or you risk non-compliance. Your business must have documentation relating to: 

• staff roles and responsibilities 
• employment contracts  
• policies and procedures 
• staff payslips with all the particulars of their pay 
• contracts with other doctors and medical professionals working in your rooms (if applicable). 

If your medical practice does not have the required documentation in place, you’re not alone. Keeping up with HR regulations can be challenging, especially when your business experiences unexpected growth. 

Our Practice Management team can advise you on the specific documentation your business needs and help you implement it. 

To learn more about how our Practice Management team can support your HR and staffing needs, book a meeting with one of our Practice Success Consultants. Our team can offer ongoing practice management support on areas such as financial analysis and operational efficiency. 

They can also conduct short-term projects like a Gap Analysis – an assessment of your business’s strengths and weaknesses to identify pathways for improvement.