Blog # 7 - Will Your Business Just Survive, Or Will It Thrive With The Influx Of Graduate Employees?
A new graduate can be a very profitable investment for your business and can be moulded to the clinician your practice needs.
The APA InPractice 2025 Report indicates private practices of the future will be staffed with a younger, inexperienced workforce, with the prospect of a decline in experienced clinicians. The report also indicates practices of the future will have a multidisciplinary approach to care, hence the owner of the business may not be of the profession of the newly hired graduate.
In both cases, accessing and providing structured professional mentoring to new graduates in the private practice setting can be challenging for the new graduate, business owner and business revenue.
Are you needing to develop a graduate program to attract and retain and manage this influx of younger staff? Don't know where to start or what to offer? How will your business cope when you have to hire graduates?
The answer, create a structure and systemised plan that can be implemented seamlessly over and over again. I can almost hear the next words to pop into your head.....
I don't have the time to create a program?
Physiomentor has a remotely driven one-on-one mentoring program for private practice owners. This concept is aimed at private practice owners requiring mentoring and graduate development programs for new graduates. Graduate mentoring enhances the professional growth of young clinicians in private practice and improves staff retention, productivity and development for YOU the business owner.
What are the benefits of mentoring graduates in private practice:
• 77% - Companies that reported increased retention of staff
• 20% - Employee turnover reduction with mentoring
• 35% - Employees who do not receive regular mentoring look for another job within 12 months.
•88% - Productivity increased for employees when mentored
•24% - Productivity increase for employees when training alone
•95% - Mentoring participants say the experience motivates them to do their very best
•60% - Graduate students list mentoring as a job criterion
** SOURCES: Pew Public/Private Ventures Impact Study 1995, Benefits of Mentoring 2007 by Triple Creek Mentoring Software (3creek.com)
The cost of your time as a business owner is extremely valuable. Your time spent on training and developing graduates is time taken away from spending with your family or working on the development of your business. What is the cost breakdown of YOU as the business owner or a senior staff member mentoring graduates in your business:
Senior Staff Member hourly rate $50 not including commission
Non Billable time spent in developing a program/ research and training 1 x graduate per week: 4 hours
Cost: $200 per week, $800 month, $9600 year
Potential earning capacity of Senior Staff Member: (Based on $85 consult fee)
$170 per hour - wage = $120 x 4 hours
Earning potential: $480 per week, $1920 month, $23 040 year
Senior staff member could have earned your clinic an extra $23 040 per year by working the billable hours available.
Please do not be disillusioned that Physiomentor is not encourgaing your senior staff members to take on the role of mentoring graduates, however it is a matter of finding the right person for the job that displays the qualities of an excellent private practitioner and is able to pass on this information to a young physiotherapist at the beginning of their career.
From a business perspective and what is best for business revenue, it may be a better option to utilise an already established program specific for graduates in private practice to manage this role in a structured manner tailored to your clinic culture and needs.
Which ever decision you make, whether to train in-house or request assistance, the graduate influx is coming and if we are not prepared now, the future of your business and it's staff may be in turmoil.
Access the Free Resource:
20 Point Checklist of Qualities and Skills A Senior Staff Member Should Have to Mentor Your Graduates for Success in Your Private Practice.
