Owner’s Mindset: Incentive Compensation: Part 1

Cascading Schedule

We need a new kind of team member.  We refer to our team members as “Intrapreneurs.”   

Intrapreneur:   A team member who has an owner’s mindset.  They do not assume the risks of an entrepreneur. They have access to the resources and capabilities of a well-built practice. Their earning potential is not limited by the constraints of an hourly or salaried employee. Their compensation is limitless and is based on a percentage of the revenue they bring into the practice.

Early on in my journey as a business owner, my former accountant said something that really struck me. “The #1 reason business owners sell or close their business is not because it is financially failing,” she said, “but rather they are mentally and emotionally exhausted from dealing with their employees and customers.”

For quite a few years, I compensated all of my staff on either an hourly or salaried basis, depending on their position within the organization. I felt crushed by the emotional weight of financial obligations that seemed to fall on my shoulders alone. The team behaved as though they believed that money grew on trees, and demonstrated little concern when we received cancellations – or when very few of their patients completed their 10-visit goals. 

For several years, my accountant and HR manager tried to convince me that I needed to change my compensation structure to piece-work (per patient).  I admit that I possessed neither the courage nor the confidence that such a compensation structure could be executed successfully. Then one day in December – after several months of cash-flow crises – my HR manager said we were switching to a per-unit compensation structure starting January 1st. Despite my apprehension, I consented. I understood that even if we lost some of our clinicians – we had to do this in order to grow. The team needed a front-row seat to view the realities of running a business – so they too would shoulder their share of the burden.  

I have never looked back. 

It has been three years since we made this switch and our entire team now experiences the healthy tension that is necessary in order to keep everyone’s schedule full.  I now know that this system results in higher productivity – as well as higher compensation for our team – and is vital to scaling a thriving hybrid practice. 

Today, I am going to share with you how we prioritize our scheduling.  I have built this “Cascading Scheduling” system that visually explains how we prioritize our scheduling.

Cascading Scheduling: 

Goal 5 or more units per hour, 10 or more visits per patient: 

In Owner’s Mindset: Incentive Compensation: Part 2, we will look at how to set up your clinicians for success and set their own earning targets that they are excited to achieve.

Grateful to be on this journey with you,

Dr. Matthew Harkness