NICOLE McCANCE: THE BENEFITS OF AUTOMIZING YOUR CANADIAN PRIVATE PRACTICE | EP 39

Why you should consider systems 

Nicole, like many other psychologists and counsellors, felt the push to do something more beyond her solo private practice. With a bigger family on the way, and feeling the personal and financial pressure to make a change, she realized that she needed to do something different. 

If you are on the verge of burnout, consistently hitting a glass ceiling in your income, know that adding more work to your plate isn’t an option, and feel that you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want to, then you need to install some systems into your Canadian private practice and start a group private practice. 

‘I can’t do it anymore. I know that this isn’t the mom I want to be, I don’t want to be the mom working evenings and weekends, so I turned to [my husband] and I said, “I’m going to start a group practice. But, it is going to be automated, because I’m not going to be more overwhelmed, and the only way to not be overwhelmed is to have it completely systemised.” – Nicole McCance

Contractors or employees? 

If you are deciding between hiring contractors or employees, think about what you can afford and how much work there is to offer. Hiring contractors can be great because you only pay them for the time that they are with clients. Once you’ve decided, be clear when hiring about your expectations. 

‘It starts with the interview and setting those expectations. I was really clear [and said], “We’d love to have you [but] it might be a bit of a slow increase, are you okay with that? What are your expectations? These are mine”’. – Nicole McCance

When you’ve hired your new staff, practice clear communication right off the bat. They may approach the work that you set out for them to do differently than you, so if you want something done a specific way, you need to set that expectation so that you are both on the same page. 

Create documents 

Make a live Google Doc and write out how you do tasks in your Canadian private practice.

When you hire new admins or employees, send them this document to learn from so that you do not have to individually train each person with the same information. 

Consider writing an operations manual for your admin staff that includes: 

• How to book an appointment 
• What the cancellation policy is 
• How to handle client privacy 

‘Even better, you train your admin if they have a question to write the answer in the manual so that you don’t ever have to repeat yourself, [otherwise] you’re saying the same thing over and over’. – Nicole McCance

Use Loom to create educational videos for your staff to watch as many times as they need to learn more about operations or procedures within your Canadian private practice.

Use an online booking system 

If you want to optimize your business and save time and energy, then you really need to consider installing an online booking system. I use Jane and love that it is a Canadian EMR with a professional online booking system! 

Bypass the front desk entirely and have your admin staff focus on growth-related tasks rather than answering the phone. 

‘Here’s the system: you want a book-now button on your website to go directly to your online booking. Your admin is [now] not spending time booking appointments. They’re spending time running everything and making sure everyone’s happy.’ – Nicole McCance

Track your numbers

Be on top of your metrics because they show you how well your private practice is doing, where it may need additional support, and what could change for the better. Numbers do not have to be daunting! 

Once you understand them better, you unlock a whole other scope of supporting and growing your Canadian private practice by preparing, planning, and changing for what is needed in your business and within your community as life changes. 

‘Otherwise, we don’t even really know if we’re growing if we’re not tracking.’ – Nicole McCance 

At the beginning of each week, you can look at and track numbers like: 

• How many new consultations happen per week 
• How many new appointments were booked 
• In general, how many appointments were booked with recurring and new clients
• How many no-shows and cancellations happened

Nicole’s marketing tips 

• Before you do any marketing, make sure your website is well-branded. Don’t send anybody to your website if it’s not going to convert clients. 
• Remove any photos of a couch and an empty room! 
• Connect with local and family doctors 

‘One good family doctor [referral] can lead to an avalanche [of clients].’ – Nicole McCance