What would you do when a core team member leaves? How will you find resources that match the knowledge and skills of the teammate who left? To answer these, you need succession planning, which involves everything you and your team need to plan for the future. This includes instances when the Practice Manager leaves as well. Practice Management is about ensuring there is someone to continue the practice in such an event, such as a trained Assistant Practice Manager or suitable alternative.
The following tips will help you plan successfully:
Plan early: understand who might leave when (by retirement, promotion, etc.) and who can replace them, both on a long-term and short-term basis. Do so with open communication and discuss all possible options such as shadowing, flexi-hours, etc.
Focus on: learning and development. Allow juniors to learn through being challenged in real-work scenarios. This will make them more engaged and more practically prepared for the future. It would also allow the patients to build a relationship with the replacing junior, thus ensuring continuity.
Consider: replacing one role with many. Sometimes, one individual’s job can be divided among many of the team, thus using existing skills and allowing many to be a part of the process.
Avoid favouritism: move beyond the family and bring in new people to open up your practice to new ideas and ways of treating people. Handle this carefully so as to not be biased in decision making and invest in transition periods.
External help: if transitions are hard for you or your team, look beyond the team to outsiders who can help with developing an objective plan, as external people with expertise can help navigate emotions better.
