I love this topic. I have worked with countless private practices where they don't hold these very valuable meetings. They come to me upset that their staff (contractors or employees- doesn't matter) are out running a muck with no rhyme or reason. My first question is, "When was your last staff meeting?" "Oh you don't understand, we're not like other practices, we let our practitioners have autonomy." I shake my head and tell them I understand their practice is unique. I've never heard this before. Then I say, "Let's get down to business."
Would you place a road map in New York or Melbourne and then hire a driver in California or Perth and proceed to ask them to get to New York or Melbourne using the map you left in those cities?
Similarly, why would you ask anyone who is representing your business and your name and your brand to drive your business without your road map? If people don't understand what you want or need for the business, they aren't going to take it in the direction you need or want it to go into. They can't see your road map if you leave it in your brain.
Decide a frequency and time and stick to it.
Your staff are going to make excuses as to why they can't attend. Hold the meetings anyway. Give them the notes the next day. Invite them to video conference in or require them to attend. Even if they are contractors. They have a duty to the practice to understand what is working and what isn't working and they are apart of that picture. If they choose not to attend, then you have the ability to let them out of the business.
Start to discuss this as a necessary component of the role during the interview process.
It is going to be very difficult to get people to change once they've started. Have practitioners already on board that aren't used to the meetings? Well, you may have to pay for their attendance, but if they're invested in their own business, they'll be there regardless of payment or not. Their business will only grow if yours does. If they are a contractor under your practice then the partnership warrants giving from both parties. I suggest you sit down with them and renegotiate the deal as partners.
Have useful information during these meetings.
Don't rock up on the day of the meeting with some crap agenda that isn't interesting to anyone including yourself. In my practice, my practitioners were required to attend a staff meeting every Wednesday for 2 hours. Unpaid. The agenda was preset so they knew what they were doing each week.
It look liked this:
First Wednesday of the month we held administration meetings. Anything that needed to be discussed about the functioning of the practice was discussed during this time.
Second Wednesday of the month we had case conceptualization presentations. Each practitioner was required to either bring a case with them (or sometimes I randomly chose a client for them) to present to the group.
Third Wednesday of every month we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about their services. This would be anyone my practitioners would benefit from learning about their services and how we could send through referrals.
Fourth Wednesday of every month was dedicated to CPD. I would purchase courses that everyone would be interested in or could learn something from and then we'd listen to it as a group. Each practitioner would send in their own CPD points accordingly.
(If there were five Wednesdays, they got a staff meeting day off).
I also required clinical and administration to sit in for the same meetings. With zero divide. It is important to up skill your administration as well as provide insight to your practitioners to ensure there is NO DIVIDE between the two. Neither have more "power" in the relationship regardless of their roles. Neither role can be completed without the other. Therefore, mutual respect is a must.
Now you know my secrets. Thoughts? Feedback? Questions?