Spring cleaning should not be limited to your personal life, with household chores such as cleaning out the garage or vacuuming behind the refrigerator. Start by blocking off a couple days on your calendar—and while it may seem trivial, digging in deep and focusing on bettering your business can reinvigorate staff and influence future growth.
Below are eight tips to guide you through the process.
- Review and revise business goals.
You probably drafted and committed to goals before the beginning of the year. Now is a good time to revisit them and analyze what tactics are working, what aren’t and what you can do during the coming months to ensure success. You may decide it’s necessary to revise some of your goals, and that’s OK.
- Get a handle on your budget.
Not likely the most fun aspect of your job, but a very important one. Take a look at your annual budget and see how you’re tracking. It’s possible that a project went above the allocated dollar amount, and you should address it sooner rather than later; that way you can evaluate whether there are other expenditures that may need to be scaled down or moved to the chopping block.
- Organize your workspace.
Take a look at your physical and digital workspaces. Clean out desk drawers, and encourage others to do the same. For office staff, paper and other clutter tends to pile up over time, and clinicians’ vehicles may benefit from a good cleaning after all the hours spent driving to patient visits. On the digital front, organize your files so they are easy to locate and, if possible, purge old documents you no longer need.
- Consider computer and software upgrades.
Evaluate the hardware in your office. Is the equipment appropriate for the person using it? Take clinicians, for example. They may benefit from using mobile technology, such as a tablet versus a laptop. Also consider the software your organization is using for scheduling, billing and beyond. Exploring options, such as a cloud-based system that combines back-office functionality with a point-of-care application, is a good idea to ensure effective patient care, happy employees and optimal reimbursement rates.
- Update your online presence.
This could encompass a number of platforms, such as your website and social media profiles. Have you added new service lines to your portfolio? Or maybe you had a management change. These are good things to update on the appropriate channels so your organization is best represented online.
- Organize your inbox.
An overflowing inbox can be overwhelming. Organizing emails is something everyone wants to do, but no one makes time for. Delete and file your messages, and mark time on your calendar each month to keep up the practice.
- Analyze the competition.
You probably don’t have time to keep tabs on the competition like you should. Use this time to see what others are doing and how your organization measures up. Your analysis should include talking to your sales and marketing teams, and doing your own research on competitors’ web pages and social media profiles.
- Catch up with your partners.
From your perspective, everything may be running smoothly, but there could be a glitch with one of your partners or vendors. Send key stakeholders a note to make sure everything is good on their ends, and open up the dialogue to ensure great relationships throughout the year.
