What Is A Director Of Operations?

So obviously I’m passionate about operations and keeping independent practices strong - but why am I honed on this specific key position for CEO Doctors? Well, because in short, the Director Of Operations is the other half to the CEO. They are professionals who handle the back end of the business so that you, as the practitioner, can continue to hold the vision and provide patient care.

Director Of Operations is not the same as an Office Manager or Practice Manager - yes those roles do participate in the back-office needs, but these roles are heavy in implementation pieces of the practice and don’t handle the entirety of the operations themselves.

 Let’s discuss what a Director Of Operations does because as you get more clarity on this key role, it’ll make it easier for you to know what exactly that means for you and your business growth.

1. They run the day-to-day operations of the practice.
2. They develop and refine the systems, processes, and upholds the standards.
3. They are the middle man and keep the space and energy for the CEO; that means they are the go-to for the CEO as well as the team.
4. They are strategic and detailed and heavily participate in strategic planning, team cadence, and provide leadership.
5. They create project plans and manage those projects, the team, timelines, and execution.
6. They handle the human capital to the business such as job planning, hiring, firing, performance management, and team development. 
7. They are educated in financial fundamentals for the practice and create measurable metrics, data-driven decisions, and ultimately help to increase the bottom line. 

In short, they create operational efficiency, high-level strategy, and business management.

 Next question is, why is the DOO role such an important one?

Most CEO Doctors start as the Visionary, they handle Strategy and Management and hires their team for the Implementation. Most practitioners start with a very lean team and for a while that works okay - but it ultimately creates a glass ceiling that is hit every time and will suffocate the growth and scalability of the practice. The back end of the practice can’t be ignored but if the practitioner only has a team of implementors, it ultimately does, leaving them frustrated, burned-out, and stagnant. 

Most Office Managers are implementers with a level of management, so why do I want to elevate your OM over bringing on a new hire of a DOO?

The answer is simple: They know you, the unique values of the practice, the patients, and they often have the innate ability to be a director of ops.

Bringing in an outside DOO will bring in additional learning curves and lengthen the time of trust and solidification of the role - this isn’t to discourage you from deciding on this option, but often the solution is right in front of you. 

That brings the question, when is it time to elevate your Office Manager into a DOO or to hire a DOO?

First, I want to know where YOU are. If you are connected to a bigger vision than yourself, you need a team to get there together, and your growth has completely stagnated then you’re ready for a partner in hand in strategy. If you are too much in the day-to-day, consistently handling small fires, and constantly getting pulled into the back of the practice, then you are ready for a partner in hand in management. These are the biggest indicators that initiate looking for a solution. 

Next, review your revenue, profit margin, and labor costs. 

Private practices need to be at minimum a multi-six figure practice, profit margin of at least 10%, and labor costs  around or less than 30% (this is NOT the total overhead or the doctors pay - this is just the payroll expense) 

Why the benchmark? Well, I want to make sure it's financially sound for you. If you are past the point of sound and into the risk area because you’re on the brink of burnout, just know - it’s a risk and I would suggest then you bring on a fractional DOO rather than elevating your OM. 

The next step is assessing your OM. Not all Office Managers are the same. I’m looking for specifics on their experience, their MO (through the Kolbe Assessment), and their actual desire to be elevated into a new role. If anything is out of alignment - whether hard skills or soft, I won’t move the OM into the program. I don’t want it to be a waste of anyone’s investments and certainly don’t want to leave you back at square one. 

 If you are saying yes, yes, and yes, then I invite you to take the next step. On August 18th I will be hosting a live workshop on "What Infrastructure Scaling Practices Have And Where Growing Practices Should Start." This will be a 90-minute workshop hosted at 11 am MST.

You can register for the workshop waitlist here!