As a practice owner or administrator, you want a benefits package that attracts new staff and satisfies the needs of your current team. Ideally, you should reevaluate your benefits package annually. In this post, we’re here to help! We spoke to Dr. Hiral Lavania, MD, FAAP, IBCLC, about what she considers when building her practice’s benefits package, as well as Bill VanDeventer of PCC, who has overseen the EHR company’s benefits package for many years.
“How can we compete with hospitals?”
Dr. Lavania is the founder of One Family Pediatrics, a two-provider practice in Cumming, GA. She says building a benefits package is all about flexibility. Her practice is near two hospital systems, so while the hospitals might be able to offer nearly double the salaries for staff, Dr. Lavania depends on her practice’s values and culture to select benefits that suit her team and stay competitive in the market.
“Our practice values family, so we work with people around that. If you have a kid, we might waive the deductible or copay for their visit as a professional courtesy. If you need a consult, we might do it at a different hour for you. Our practice also has predictable schedules: if you know you’re working 8 to 3, you can pick up your kids at school or daycare.”
- Dr. Hiral Lavania, founder, One Family Pediatrics
Lavania says the culture she’s committed to creating includes an open-door policy, so if her staff needs to speak to her about something that’s not meeting their needs, she can make reasonable accommodations.
A close knit, family-focused culture has plenty of other perks for employees, too. In a hospital system, a long illness or needing to care for a child or spouse might mean leaving your position. At One Family Pediatrics, Lavania says that while she might not be able to offer paid time off beyond an employee’s allotted amount, she can ensure someone returns to their job. There’s also less competition, since there are fewer employees. “There’s lateral growth,” says Dr. Lavania, “And increased responsibilities mean increased pay.”
Bill VanDeventer of the Care for PCC team at Physicians’ Computer Company agrees that a great benefits package is all about sticking to your cultural values. “It’s important to make people feel valued,” he says. “Have freedom, have benefits that remove concerns like healthcare costs, for example.” PCC’s culture, for example, overlaps with One Family Pediatrics’: PCC is all about compassionate care, which means that PCC’s benefits package allows employees to focus their energies on helping pediatric practices, as well as balancing their personal lives.
Such benefits packages are part of an office culture: they also build trust and relationships, which makes for more cohesive teams and, ultimately, happier families.
Building Your Benefits
If you’re a new pediatric practice starting from scratch or you want to completely renew your benefits package, here’s some advice from VanDeventer and Dr. Lavania:
- Be sincere and transparent. Offer meaningful benefits to employees such as healthcare and 401(k) match. Let employees know that you’re giving them the best package you can and whether you’re open to benefits ideas.
- Follow the law. State laws may determine the amount of paid time off (PTO) you must offer. Brush up on employment law and then determine if PTO is something you’re willing to negotiate; for example, offering more PTO in lieu of higher pay.
- Scale appropriately. A smaller practice can offer flexibility, while a more established practice can add feel-good extras such as office lunches, events, paid volunteer days, and more.
- Don’t get caught up in the dollars. While you should build a package you can afford, try not to focus on the monetary value of your benefits, as this can erode trust between you and your staff.
- Play to your current team’s strengths. Your current team might value time with their families, support in getting an extra certification, or guidance in professional growth. Get their input and keep benefits flexible to suit them.
When it comes to maintaining a benefits plan, there’s no need to get tangled in the weeds of written policy, says VanDeventer. “You should review your offerings every year, but that doesn’t mean it needs to change.” To remain flexible, neither Dr. Lavania nor PCC have all of their benefits on paper. VanDeventer does recommend recording details of your paid time off, health insurance, and 401(k) policies, as these are not likely to change much, and employees need such information readily accessible.
Dr. Lavania describes her benefits plan as constantly evolving to suit her team’s “work love language”. Paying attention to what your staff needs and values can help you create a benefits package that not only attracts and keeps talent, but also adds a crucial component that many larger organizations lack: the sense that your team can rely on you, and you on them.
For more information about creating benefits packages for pediatric practices, Dr. Lavania recommends reaching out to the AAP’S Section on Administration and Practice Management (SOAPM) for advice from other physicians. To get started, VanDeventer points employers to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
