What Your Email Response Time Tells Your Customer

Long gone is the time when you left a message on a land line and understood that the recipient may not be around to retrieve it.  Today, messages are received instantaneously.  It is wise understand that the sender expects a response within 30 – 60 minutes.  Not replying within this time frame tells the customer their email is not of importance to you.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking “they will understand I am too busy.”  What customer wants to think they are not top priority?

It seems impossible…During the last decade, workloads doubled, employers ask us to produce more in less time.  In some corporate environments you literally received 200 or more emails by Noon each day.  How can you possibly get your work done and maintain your integrity?

• Scan each email and prioritize the necessity of a response.  Put yourself in the sender’s shoes.  Did they ask you a question?  Did the message imply a level of uncertainty or portray an inquiry?  If so, they deserve a quick response.

• Send a brief message stating that their email is important to you and that you intend to respond.  You can really impress them by setting a time and keeping that promise.

• Set up an auto-responder with something like “Thank you for your email.  Your email is extremely important to us.  Please know that we intend to respond to your message at our earliest convenience.”  A direct email addressed to the specific customer is preferred, but at least the customer knows you received it and they are in the queue and did not end up in your Junk folder.

Following these simple rules will set you apart from your average competitor.  Not following these simple rules may result in your customer contacting your competitor.  If you take the time to build proper rapport, your customer will know how busy you actually are and appreciate that you took the time to acknowledge them while managing multiple tasks.  Your customer will feel important.

Michael J. Nichols

CanvasResume.com © July 24, 2013

Why I Refuse to Address Physicians by their First Name

In the age of social media & lightning speed news cycles, we are all inundated with breaking news, Twitter feeds and Facebook updates on politicians, musicians, athletes and celebrities (although, I’m still trying to figure out why many are considered ‘celebrities’).  Impressionable people are left to believe they must emulate those in the spotlight.  But do most of these people in the spotlight deserve our respect and admiration? 

The individuals who invested time and money to become caregivers and life-savers are our true heroes.  Except for Armed Forces, police, firefighters, educators, and a handful of philanthropists, I can’t think of any profession in which I have more respect for than a healthcare provider.  And how do we treat them? We bury them with paperwork that seems hinder them from their passion of practicing medicine!  Yet, they continue on, and for the most part, in silence. 

So, doctors, I am honored when you ask me to call you “Fred,” but please understand this is my way of showing you the respect that you deserve and so rarely receive. 

Excuse me, Doc….the hospital MSO, the insurance payor, malpractice carrier and state medical board need you to complete these forms before you perform that procedure…..again.

How many times have you been faced with this?  Even though you may have been in practice for over 20 years, simply stating that there have been “no changes” does little to satisfy the paperwork mongers in the healthcare field.

Physicians spend more than 22 percent of their time on nonclinical paperwork, resulting in a loss of some 165,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians. Source:The Physicians Foundation 2012 Biennial Survey

Canvas Résumé & Consulting Services will help you redirect your focus to your patients by assisting with credentialing, licensing and CV writing services for a reasonable price.  When was the last time you updated your CV anyway?  What you will receive as a return on your investment is our top commodity…..TIME.

Questions?  Our consultation is free of charge!  consultations@canvasresume.com

A Few Things to Know About Government Locum Tenens

We are inundated with news of mounting Federal debt and government budget cuts.  However, with the current trend of building an entitlement society, one thing remains certain for healthcare providers:  the availability of Government healthcare contract positions will remain steady. 

Billions of dollars in Federal medical services contracts are awarded each year.  Two major factors the Government agencies use in awarding contracts are the cost of services and the presentation of the healthcare providers’ knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA).  Pennies can make all the difference and cost often trumps the latter.

There are ways to keep your submission competitive when allowing an agency to include you on the bid.   In their proposal, agencies will include the total budget for the life of the contract to include transportation, travel, housing, and malpractice costs.  Of course, don’t forget, the agency needs to make a profit as well.

Offer to take your own vehicle in exchange for mileage reimbursement or a travel allowance.  The alternative is to have the agency arrange a rental car for you, typically with insurance included so there is less liability risk on the agency.  With insurance and corporate agreements, monthly rental costs may range anywhere from $1400 – $2500/month depending on location, availability and other economical factors. By taking your own vehicle, you will eliminate the cost of an airline flight, airport parking and baggage fees.  The agency submits an estimate of the cost of all these items, but they do not purchase the flight until they have been awarded the bid, and often not until you have been fully credentialed to work. Who’s to say the cost of the flight has not doubled since they submitted the proposal?  Agencies will account for this possibility in the bid, therefore making the cost of your services higher.

Ask for a housing allowance, as opposed to having the agency arrange your housing.  If you depend on the agency to arrange your housing, chances are the individual assigned with the task will not treat this as a top priority.  If housing coordination is an individual’s only task for the agency, they are busy with multiple orders and not giving this the attention you would give it yourself.  Large agencies may have discounts with vendors, but those discounts are spread thin across multiple locations across the country.  Do you really want to limit your choices to large housing vendors?  The point is, you can do much better on your own and have the comfort of knowing you thoroughly checked it out before booking.

Picture this:  the Government Contracting Officer, also tasked with stocking the restrooms, has the first set of eyes on the bid proposals from multiple agencies.  The Officer then selects what documents will be presented to the Chief of Medicine.  To ensure you are one of the top choices, your CV should be professional, concise and easy on the eyes.  The Officer should not have to dig to find the required knowledge, skills and abilities.  Your CV should list specific experiences that match the Statement of Work (SOW) order issued by the Government.  Keep in mind that the agency you partner with may include multiple candidates for each one position.

By doing some homework, a little legwork and tailoring your CV for each contract, your chances of landing a long term Government contract will remain high and you will become a top choice by Government medical staffing vendors.  Do you ever wonder who they call when the contract in Hawaii comes up?

– Michael J. Nichols, CanvasResume.com, July 2013

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