Your receptionist is the face, eyes, and ears of your physical therapy practice. The receptionist greets all incoming patients, observes how they behave while they wait, and is often the first person to hear complaints or compliments. A great receptionist should make incoming patients feel warm, welcome, and safe. If you’re looking for a new staff member to sit at your front desk, consider these 6 traits that make for a great front desk receptionist.
1) Punctual
Because your receptionist is essentially the first line of defense for your physical therapy clinic, punctuality is essential. Not only do receptionists check-in patients, but they also handle and manage many of the small and large admin tasks that you simply don’t have time for. Your receptionist’s punctualness can mean the difference between a successful and smooth operating facility and a poor one.
2) Professional
Professionalism is politeness with authority and know-how. A professional individual knows how to handle highly-charged individuals with a calm certainty that doesn’t make them feel belittled or reduced. A professional is honest, upfront, and isn’t afraid of accepting responsibility. This trait, like punctuality, is essential for a successful practice. Without it, you run the risk of losing patients, getting in trouble with your state, and losing all of your hard work. Professionalism should be at the forefront of traits you are seeking in a new receptionist.
3) Kind
Physical therapy can draw in a lot of vulnerable people. Pain and injuries can leave patients feeling like shells of their former selves. And, as you probably know, a PT treatment plan is not always the easiest for patients. Kindness can help ease nerves, relax new patients, and make everyone feel safe and comfortable. The world needs more kindness and that can start right at your physical therapy clinic.
4) Strong Organizational Abilities
As we mentioned earlier, a receptionist doesn’t just check in patients. Receptionists are often responsible for organizing and filing paperwork, updating files, managing the operating supplies in the office, and basically keeping the place running as smoothly as possible. Strong organizational abilities keep everyone in the loop, maintain the status quo, and make it easy for everyone to do their respective job aspects.
5) Tech Savvy
While they don’t necessarily need to know how to code a website, techy savviness is an essential trait for a new receptionist. While every location likely uses different software, today, many software are designed with users in mind. This means that they are relatively user-friendly for anyone who has basic computer literacy skills. A new receptionist should be able to easily use a computer, work a tablet, and answer phones. As well as access the internet and use email.
6) Able to Multitask with Ease
Because a receptionist is one job with multiple hats, it’s crucial that this new receptionist can easily flow in and out of roles and tasks with ease. Multi-tasking shouldn’t be the “norm” but it is a possible reality and one that shouldn’t be shied from. Checking-in patients while accessing their file via computer are just one example of a possible multi-tasking scenario.