How do you know it’s time to let a therapist go?
There’s this therapist in your group practice that has been on your radar for a while now.
They have a pretty good retention rate, and seem friendly enough, but…there are some rumblings that you can’t ignore any more.
So you’re asking yourself - how do I know if it’s time to let a therapist go and how do I do it?
How do you know if it’s time to let your therapist go?
Here are a few scenarios that might be let you know that it’s time to part ways with your contractor:
They aren’t fitting in with the culture that you want for your team. For some group practices that means that the therapist is yearning for more connection and interaction than you’re wanting or able to provide. For others that means that the therapist is not engaging with others; comes in and leaves without talking to anyone; doesn’t attend team meetings, and is basically flying solo. Question to ask yourself: do they fit with the culture I’m trying to build here?
They are disruptive or countering your leadership. That might look like blatantly sending emails or saying things in your team meetings. It can also look like short answers or opting not to engage when in a team setting; sending you emails after an interaction rather than face-to-face; gossiping about others when they’re with your team. Question to ask yourself: do they trust and respect my leadership?
You’ve met with the therapist a number of times, both in a relaxed and more intentional setting. You’ve had discussions about what isn’t working well, and offered suggestions for improvement, and they aren’t moving forward. This can look like discussing client retention; participating in promoting themselves; how to close a session so that the client books the next one or questions they have about the direction you’re taking. Question to ask yourself: have we tried to make this work and they aren’t following through?
They’re a really nice person and have decent client retention, but they are sapping a lot of your time and mental and physical energy. This can look like not submitting their invoices properly or on time; asking a lot of you and that you respond quickly, but not responding when you ask something from them; them complaining that you have a certain process in place and not following the procedures you have. Question to ask yourself: how much time am I spending on this therapist and why doesn’t it feel like it’s working for me or for them?
This list is not exhaustive, but it touches on the most common points of dissatisfaction that I have come across in my own team and in listening to other group practice owners. You know your team member, and you know where that point of tension is showing up. If it isn’t in this list, send me an email so that I can be sure to add it to my list!
So now you’ve decided it’s time to let this therapist go. How do you let your therapist go? Before I answer that question, I want to make sure that you know I’m answering as if your therapist is a contractor. The answers would be slightly different if you have employees, but since Canadian group practices generally have independent contractors, I’m basing my suggestions on that.
How do you let your therapist go?
1. While there is the adage “hire slowly and fire quickly”, I’d suggest that it’s important to make efforts to make this work before you just let someone go. So the first thing that I’d suggest is to meet with your contractor to see if there is a way to make this work. If they are wanting to stay, then make a list of steps that need to be taken (perhaps on both sides) in order to make that happen, and set a date. I would suggest that the longest amount of time you give them to make change is three months.
2. If step one doesn’t come to a positive end, then it’s time to let them go. Before you meet with them, though, you want to make a few decisions:
a. How much time do you want them to stay at your practice for therapist care? If they have caused damage to a client, then you’d likely ask them to leave immediately. But if the reasons are something I’ve listed above, then consider 4-6 weeks for the transition period. If they are only virtual, this time can be a lot shorter.
b. Determine what options you will provide to the contractor’s clients. Remember that the client belongs to the client, not you or the contractor. Giving them options for moving forward puts your practice in a positive light and gives them a voice in their journey.
Stay with the contractor
Stay with us and we will help you find another therapist
We can provide you with another referral
c. Draft up an email that you will send to their clients to notify them that this therapist is leaving.
You can be vague about why the therapist is leaving (they’re leaving to pursue other adventures and we wish them well), but this needs to come from you.
Let them know the choices they have
Let them know that they can reach out to you with any uestions
3. Meet with the therapist in person, or at the very least virtually. Don’t do this over the phone or through email. Remember that your therapists are a billboard for your company, both while they are with you and in the process of leaving. The more effort you can make to have them leave with a good taste in their mouth the better. You want to make sure you cover the following:
Remind them of the things that haven’t been working, say something positive that you see in them, and then let them know that you are freeing them up to pursue other opportunities. Keep the conversation short, friendly, and to the point.
Provide them with the draft email that you’ll send out right after your meeting and ask if they have any questions or would like to tweak something.
Ask them to let their clients know they will be moving on in each of their sessions and reiterate the options that you have provided.
Provide them with your offboarding process so that they know what the next steps are.
Be kind.
Having a therapist leave your group practice can be really hard on you, your ego, and your financial bottom line. Being the one that says a therapist needs to leave is even harder. It is my hope that the information here helps make this decision a little bit easier to follow through on. As always, my goals is to help you build a thriving group practice, and sometimes that means a little pruning needs to happen.
