Navigating employee retention, clear job expectations, and smart management strategies for success in aesthetic practices.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Data-Driven Decision Making: Deep dives into data are essential for preventing hasty decisions and reducing turnover, leading to better outcomes and disaster prevention in aesthetic practices.
  2. Running a Year-Round Business: Establishing a year-round business approach is crucial for success, focusing on delivering results through clear job expectations, effective management strategies, and consistent employee retention efforts.
  3. Clear Job Advertisements: Attracting top talent and reducing turnover begins with setting clear job expectations through well-crafted job advertisements, emphasizing factors such as work hours, job stability, income potential, and the rewarding nature of the role.
  4. Avoiding Management Pitfalls: To operate as a successful YRB, practices must avoid common management pitfalls, including underpaying employees, neglecting incentive structures, overlooking the importance of employee satisfaction, and failing to make strategic investments in marketing and equipment.

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In April’s “Are Your Employees About to Quit?—part 1,” we covered Deep Dives into Data (DDID), emphasizing its role in preventing hasty decisions based on limited research. This approach not only reduces turnover but also leads to better outcomes and disaster prevention. Now, it’s time to Run a Year-Round Business, or YRB.

The YellowTelescope team has thrived for 15 years, facing challenges like hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic. We learn from mistakes, focusing on delivering results for clients in sales, staffing, leadership, and organization consulting through DDID and running a YRB.

We’ve focused on nurses throughout Part 1 of this article, but one of the most important positions to the success of any med spa, aesthetic, or cash-pay practice, is your salesperson. In most specialties, this is called a patient care coordinator, or PCC, and it’s one of the top 15 jobs people most want to quit in America. Although we provide national data, it’s essential to use DDID to understand the specifics of your local market, specialty, and other relevant factors. After all, finding a perfect fit may be challenging in your area and retaining them is far from guaranteed. Still, we believe that it should not be this way and you cannot run a YRB without a year-round-team.

Clear Job Advertisements

A common adage YT teaches is that people quit jobs because their expectations are not met. And expectations are not met, because they are not set. Attracting better people through writing better job ads helps improve staff quality, decrease turnover, and improve the ease with which you can run a YRB.

Here are some key points we suggest including in your interview and job ad to effectively promote the position and attract top talent to our industry. This approach ensures clear expectations are set, guiding only those genuinely interested in what you offer to apply.

  • “This is typically a Monday through Friday job.”
  • “Hours are reasonable and often 8-5, 9-6, or similar.”
  • “We help healthy people look better or build confidence or feel better, not sick people to feel better.”
  • “You work with largely happy patients, as well as educated and honest owners and doctors.”
  • “The role offers stability, as our industry typically sees few layoffs. Most doctors earn a comfortable income, making them resilient even during economic downturns.”
  • “Most small and large practices offer a sense of ownership and a familial atmosphere.”
  • “With the right doctor who engages in YellowTelescope resources like YT articles and our annual training seminar, income potential can be substantial, including uncapped bonuses.”
  • “It’s challenging, but not overwhelming.”
  • “You will be making 50-100 patient contacts a day by email, phone, and text.”
  • “This is a sales role, not a customer service or administrative role. Your income is reflected by your work ethic and sales acumen.”
  • “The job is rewarding and fun.”
  • (Insert every single other good and bad thing about the position, covering aspects such as pay structure, perks/benefits, and any challenges like late or weekend hours or unique expectations/requirements, in 10-20 more concise bullet points.)

Misdemeanors to Avoid to Run a YRB

I held the title of PCC for around seven years, and I loved it. Every consultant we have on our team also held this position and loved it.  They all earned six figures. On paper, it’s one of the more sought-after jobs for many women and some men. (Three of our senior consultants are proudly male PCCs who excelled in the role). “Plastic surgery sales leader” attracts hundreds of resumes in most markets for a single position when we staff those roles. Yet, turnover is rampant nationally. 

While occasional PCC turnover occurs for various reasons, our clients across most of North America maintain exceptionally low turnover rates and robust growth. This success stems from avoiding common management pitfalls, including what we coined over a decade ago as the “Misdemeanors of Management” in our published article in PSP, such as neglecting to operate as a YRB. In addition to the job description tips provided above, let’s review a few keys to get you even closer to YRB status:

  • Pay your employees market average, plus a little bit more. While every city differs (DDID to figure out what is average for your hyper-local area), unless you are a brand-new start up close to going out of business, we recommend paying higher than average, without being gouged, for your PCCs, managers, and nurses.  A top PCC (i.e., the elite 1% or so) nationally currently earns $200-$300,000/year, with some of our very best approaching $500,000/year. Sound crazy? It might not if you know some of those doctors might be selling over $15 million dollars in a year with no associates and only two to four mid-level providers. It might not if you knew they earned $5 million-$8 million in personal income per year. And it might not if you realized that losing a PCC who consistently books over 200 surgeries without missing a sales opportunity, averaging $20,000-$50,000 per order, could cost a doctor millions. While paying a PCC over $200,000 annually isn’t necessary, compensation plans should allow for it as your practice expands.
  •  The article we reference suggests the average pay for the position is $46,300/year.  Talk about a DDID fail.  None of our associates earn anywhere near that amount. We aim higher than average—aiming for the 50th percentile feels like settling for an “F.” PCCs in medium-sized cities, who excel at their jobs, have sales backgrounds, and are individuals you’d personally buy from, should ideally earn between $70,000 to $120,000/year, including base salary and legally allowable bonuses. Investing in higher compensation ensures retention and avoids missing out on potential sales revenue.
  • Offer Strong Incentives. Top PCCs thrive on competition, the feeling of achievement, and the ability to earn more. Ensure all your PCCs have incentive pay—and make it substantial, assuming legally allowable in your state. While total compensation ultimately matters most, a 1%-4% bonus on revenue sold will earn you more than it costs—and those running a YRB love ROI. For nurses, incentivize your injectors who earn you money with bonuses, and pay more to surgical or medically focused nurses once you achieve a certain number of surgery or treatment hours so they earn more when they are asked to work harder. It’s that simple. 
  • Raise Your Prices: Concerned about that 1%-4% bonus? Bills in general? Raise all your prices by 10% today and you have a very high chance of increasing profit nearly 20% overnight. Inflation is real. You deserve a raise. Increase prices and stop worrying about the shallow data that there is a lot of competition that is lower in price. That’s not a DDID. YT’s 15 years’ worth of proof over 9 figures in results is your cheat code to serve as your DDID. 
  • Get Out of the Office: Only hire individuals you genuinely enjoy being around, but maintain appropriate professional boundaries, especially with direct reports. Cultivating positive relationships outside of work can lead to greater satisfaction and retention. Try to connect with your team regularly, whether it’s through shared meals or outings. Humanizing yourself to your team fosters loyalty and reduces turnover, conflicts, and regrets. Host annual events outside of the office, like dinners or traditions, to further strengthen team bonds. YRB means investing time, not just money, in your people.
  • Forget the Data and Economy: Yes, in some cases a very DDID is needed. But often, instead, use common sense.  And share it. We overpay people slightly during good times to ensure we don’t risk them being scooped up by other companies. The data shows that losing valuable team members when the economy improves due to feeling underpaid and underappreciated is counterproductive. Overpaying slightly during lean economic times aligns with our YRB philosophy. By planning ahead and treating employees more than fairly, we foster loyalty, especially considering the uncertain job market. We assure them of job security during future recessions and demonstrate our commitment by not laying off or cutting pay during challenging times, like the recent Covid shutdowns. This approach has resulted in low turnover and exceptional performance, even during difficult periods.
  • Don’t Over/Under Spend: Cutting marketing if it has good ROI not only hurts you, but it also hurts your people. Your PCCs get less leads. Your nurses have less hours and feel less stable. Despite this, many clients tend to cut costs during cash-poor summers and overspend on equipment like machines and lasers when they feel cash-rich after busy holiday or spring seasons, across various specialties. Stop the cycle. Spend a little less in the winter and invest in those things that have a 90% chance of a two-times or greater ROI. Couple it with a very DDID on any purchases before moving forward so you feel extremely confident when you do make larger investments. Do the exact same thing during the summer. Stop cutting things that are break-even or better to temporarily free up cash or make you feel better. Save in the winter so you can keep spending in the summer without letting how you feel affect good decision making. You can do it! It’s a YRB, not a seasonal hotel.

Consistently diving deep into data is crucial, provided it’s done thoroughly by someone with expertise and time. Falling short can lead to well-meaning but misguided decisions. Keep honing your DDID skills, but also recognize when common sense is key and establishing consistent systems for an efficiently run YRB is the solution. While data is important, maintaining a year-round business approach typically leads to more rational decisions and business growth, according to YT.

As their business grows, practice owners become happier and better managers, inclined to offer competitive pay and treat people well. This positive momentum fosters retention in a competitive talent market and attracts top performers to our team, creating a community “gravity” that yields better outcomes and a satisfied, higher-earning workforce. When team members embrace being Year-Round Employees and take a Deep Dive into Employment, they recognize they’re in the right place to build a career and contribute to business growth.

Jon Hoffenberg, YellowTelescope’s president, is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania; an award-winning speaker;and has served on faculty at the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Global Aesthetics, and more. For over 15 years, his consulting team has worked with aesthetics and cash-pay practices and med spas to grow results.