The New Hybrid
Nearly a third of full-time employees in the U.S. already work remotely at least part time.
In its latest findings, WFH Research determined that 28% of employees currently work a hybrid model. While it’s more challenging in a service sector like eye care, more and more ECPs are deciding that a remote or hybrid schedule can work for some staffers.
Who is most likely to want this latitude? According to Gartner, those who most value flexibility are women, millennial employees, and top performers in general. In the end, the benefit of remote work aids in the acquisition of top talent and overall employee retention.
How can you introduce a hybrid approach to staffing at your office? Here’s how three eyecare professionals answered that question. They are:
→ Thanh Mai, O.D., of Insight Vision Center Optometry,
a Vision Source practice in Costa Mesa, CA
→ Carissa Dunphy, ABOC, a marketing specialist for PECAA (Professional Eye Care Associates of America) in Seattle
→ Tim Trinh, O.D., of All Eyecare Optometry located in Thousand Oaks, CA
Here, each expert addresses four important topics about combining in-office with remote services.
Functions
What eyecare office functions can be done remotely?
• Dr. Mai: The better question is what can’t be done [remotely]? Phone calls, patient education, billing, refracting remotely, and slit lamps can share video and livestream to a doctor off-site. Also, ordering, redesigning contact lenses, most marketing functions, hiring, accounting, bookkeeping, webinars, CE…and the list goes on.
• Dr. Trinh: Scribing, recalls, and reminders, plus sending patients invoices and copies of prescriptions and notes to other providers, providing patient education materials, posting payments, billing medical and vision insurances, plus completing prior authorization requests.
• Dunphy: There are many administrative roles that can be done remotely! The most important things are to ensure that the patient’s quality of care plus the culture and mission of your eyecare practice will not be reduced.
Qualifications
What type of skills help to make an employee a good fit for remote or hybrid work?
• Dr. Mai: They must share the same core values as any employee. For virtual work, they need excellent communications skills and a stable internet connection.
• Dr. Trinh: It’s all the same requirements—attention to detail, honesty, good communication skills, [and] being self-directed and motivated.
• Dunphy: Any employee should meet the needs of the company. In addition, a remote employee needs to be disciplined, a self-starter, and resourceful, with good time management and sufficient software skills.
Managing
How is management different for remote workers?
• Dr. Mai: I schedule meetings through Google Calendar, which also creates the Google Meet instantly. Remote staff should have at least one weekly meeting with someone on-site.
• Dr. Trinh: Set up tasks, weekly or daily meetings based on responsibilities, and have some employees logged in on an iPad for immediate communication if needed.
Training
How can practices best train remote workers?
• Dr. Trinh: Create training material for referencing, and pair the remote person with an
in-office team member. Also, record and retain videos of computer processes.
• Dunphy: Your staff will need to train a new employee about your specific procedures, but outside companies that offer training for specific roles can save you the time it would take to train a new employee on your own.
• Dr. Mai: There’s no need to be in the office at all. For most things, we can share a screen, train live, and then create videos to memorialize the process.
As competition for staff continues, employers will need to come up with more ways to create remote and hybrid positions. And, regardless of the industry, they need to figure it out fast.
Why? As reported by Upwork, nearly a quarter (22%) of the domestic workforce will be remote by next year. And, according to Buffer, nearly all U.S. employees (98%) would at least like to work a hybrid schedule.
