Hiring more people will not fix a poorly designed admin team.
When the front is constantly juggling phones, patients, insurance, and schedule problems, it is easy to think you need another person. But if everyone is expected to do everything, another hire may just give you one more overwhelmed employee. Before you add payroll or replace someone, take a hard look at how the work is actually divided.
A stronger structure starts here:
- Create levels of responsibility
Answering phones and checking patients in requires a very different skill set than working insurance, presenting treatment, or leading a team. Stop treating the front like one giant job and create clear roles people can grow into. - Build backups
You should never have a critical responsibility that only one person knows how to do. Your strongest people should be developing someone else who can step in when they are gone. - Protect your best people
Do not let your most skilled team members spend their entire day answering phones, solving basic problems, and putting out fires. Give them time to do the higher-value work that actually moves the practice forward.
A strong structure is not built by finding people who can do everything. It is built by creating clear roles, developing people intentionally, and making sure the practice does not depend on one person. Before you hire again, take a harder look at the structure you have already built. If this sounds familiar, there may be a better way to organize the team you already have.
P.S. If your practice is growing but the structure underneath it still feels shaky, that is exactly what we’ll work through at our DPH Retreat this October. You’ll spend the weekend with other practice owners solving real leadership and systems problems and leave with a clearer plan for what to fix next. Space is limited and October is coming fast, so grab your spot.
