Your practices' wage structure can vary widely depending on whether your practice is new, with freshly hired staff, or is older, with staff that have been with the practice for many years. For instance, you may find your office in the awkward position of having a long-term medical receptionist who makes more money than a newly hired registered nurse. These apparent inequities can create resentment among staff and influence negative staff behavior. By utilizing a smart wage structure and policy, your practice can mitigate these risks.
Research and detail matter
Developing a fair wage structure requires adequate research and detailed job descriptions. For example, to determine appropriate pay scales for specific jobs, you may want to research websites, such as PayScale, Indeed and Randstad. Professional organizations also provide guidelines for pay scales, and many organizations take geographic variations of cost of living into consideration.
Maintaining detailed, up-to-date job descriptions on file enables practice managers to better understand each position's job qualifications, experience requirements and responsibilities. All of these elements should play a role in the determination of a position's fair compensation. Your practice should also allow room to "customize" pay if a particular employee's expertise or duties surpass the bounds of his or her job description and bring extra value to the practice.
Benefits and perks help retain staff
It is also extremely important to consider the value of employee benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off and holidays, flexible scheduling and continuing education opportunities. You should also consider other, non-standard perks for employment, such as a casual dress policy, bonuses, trips or other incentives, as well as food benefits, such as pizza Friday or taco Tuesday. A strong suite of employee benefits can often be the determining factor for potential employees choosing your practice over another.
Compensation structures are key
After your practice has evaluated all of these factors, you can:
- Create a pay range for each position based on experience, education and unique skills;
- Decide on your practice's level of pay transparency—typically, bonus programs should be transparent, but not individual salaries;
- Determine amounts for initial offers, starting with pay levels for basic skills and then adding soft skills, such as personality and emotional intelligence;
- Be willing to negotiate with potential and existing employees; and
- Get to know the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules, which address minimum salary requirements for exempt and nonexempt employees.
These steps will go a long way toward helping you generate a fair wage structure and related policies.
Regular reviews keep staff involved and engaged
Finally, schedule regular reviews of not only each employee's individual performance, but also of your salary and benefits packages. The results may require periodic adjustment based on inflation or the success of your practice, but if you are willing to do this, then your staff will understand that the success of the practice is directly linked to their success.
Health Care Group Newsletter – Winter 2019
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.