Author: webadmin

It is that time of year — when the bombardment of ads encourages everyone to review their Medicare coverage — and includes considering the Medicare Advantage plan. But buyers beware. The window of open enrolment can mean that clients and patients may look to healthcare practitioners for advice, opinions, or clarification. Depending on the profession and circumstances, there can be vast differences in the responses — especially with physical therapy.  

This insightful article outlines some broad reasons why the Medicare Advantage plan may not, in truth, be advantageous. 

Along with leaves changing colour and the omnipresence of pumpkin spice comes the avalanche of ads, commercials and telephone calls, entreating us to believe that Medicare Advantage is the best thing since the invention of the Internet. With open enrollment season upon us, it’s critical to examine that claim. In traditional Medicare, the government pays doctors and hospitals directly. Recipients usually pay premiums and must meet deductibles, and many choose a supplemental “Medigap” plan to help with out-of-pocket costs. Medicare Advantage was designed about 20 years ago as an alternative to traditional Medicare, meant to provide innovative ways of delivering care at a lower cost. It pays insurers — middlemen — a monthly fee per patient to manage their care. Premiums are often lower than traditional Medicare and can offer perks such as gym memberships or limited dental or vision care.

However, while traditional Medicare gives access to any participating provider, Medicare Advantage plans limit care to doctors and hospitals in their networks. They are also more likely to deny needed care by requiring prior authorizations for tests or procedures.

Earlier this year, the federal government reported that 13% of denials in Medicare Advantage would not have been refused under traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans are also increasingly ending nursing home and rehabilitation care before providers consider patients ready to go home. While medical professionals make those decisions under traditional Medicare, in Medicare Advantage the insurer decides. So instead of innovating care, Medicare Advantage seems to mainly withhold it. It has also proven to be costly. Because such plans get higher government payouts for sicker patients, insurers have the incentive to exaggerate the sickness of enrollees. According to federal audits, 8 of 10 of the largest companies have submitted inflated bills, and 4 of 5 of the very largest have faced federal lawsuits accusing them of fraud. In 2020 alone, these exaggerated risk scores generated $12 billion in excess payments. Because of this and other factors, the government spends 4% more for Medicare Advantage enrollees than traditional Medicare.

Despite all this, the low premiums and perks may still be attractive to seniors who are not (yet) sick. The situation often changes when they develop an illness. They may find a specialist or hospital they wish to see is out of network. They may experience delays or denials of care due to administrative barriers. Their out-of-pocket costs will often be higher. A little-known fact about Medicare is that when patients are enrolled in Medicare Advantage for over 12 months but want to change to traditional Medicare, Medigap plans are no longer obligated to take them without underwriting, which involves passing a health screen. In other words, if you get cancer and want to go to a cancer centre not covered by your Medicare Advantage plan, you may be stuck. Surely this program should be called Medicare Disadvantage. When a middleman makes profits from “managing” your healthcare, they inevitably do so by limiting the care you get. Medicare recipients, beware! And as citizens and taxpayers, we should all demand that Congress take Medicare out of the hands of corporations, freeing billions of dollars in savings to deliver actual health care.

Navigating the challenges (and endless information!) of owning a physical therapy clinic can feel overwhelming — which is why we are here! Perform Practice Solutions can help you optimize your practice — significantly. Visit our Facebook page or call us at (833) 764-0178.

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Reference: [https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article267774792.html]

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At Perform Practice Solutions, we are always looking for ways to improve your practice revenue. CMS has finally done something right and is reimbursing for RTM codes. Below you will find a guide on what CMS’s new final rule is and how to apply it to your practice.

This can add up to $100 extra per case for each of your Medicare patients. This compounded on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis will increase your bottom line by possible leaps and bounds.

Whether you are currently offering these services and not billing, OR want to figure out how to enhance your practice with these services AND build your bottom line — we can help. Just book a free consultation with Kevin Rausch and he will get all your questions answered — www.calendly.com/kevinrausch.

What is Remote Therapeutic Monitoring

1. CMS approved the final rule starting in January 2022. It is the use of patient-engagement technologies to remotely monitor and communicate with patients outside the walls of the clinic between the PT visits

2. These are designed to be billed separately from clinic visits however currently insurance is accepting these in addition to normal codes

What is Being Monitored

3. A Patient’s Musculoskeletal System (MSK) Status.

How are Data Points Tracked?

4. An app. This is data that is self-reported by patients and analyzed by the PT to improve care. Medbridge is a common app you can use.

Benefits for the PT

5. It is a way to monitor:
a) HEP Compliance
b) Patient’s response to PT
c) Patient pain levels
d) PTs can modify the POC before seeing the patient again

Key Points:

6. Take-away

1. Patients should log in daily to the app to track their progress
2. This will help progress the patient faster and get them better results
3. This will develop the best possible POC
4. This goes above and beyond regular PT office visits
5. Supports the patient outside the clinic

RTM CODES

98975 RTM – Setup/ Education $26.99 Billed ONLY Once per Episode of Care

1. Initial set-up includes downloading the app on the patient’s phone
2. Educating patients on the process and what is expected of them
3. Reviewing the prescribed exercises on their HEP
4. Having the patient demonstrate and confirm the understanding of expectations
5. Requires 16 days of monitoring within a 30-day period

98977 RTM – Device Supply $68.51 Billed Once each 30-day Period

1. Billed once every 30 days
2. The cost of the app for patients
3. Requires 16 days of monitoring in a 30-day period

98980 RTM – Management-1 st 20 minutes/month $59.77 Billed Once per Calendar Month

1. Management of data and communication with the patient
2. First 20 minutes of monitoring and managing each calendar month
3. Must contain at least 1 minute of interactive communication with the patient

98981 RTM – Management-2nd 20 minute/month $49.08 Billed Multiple Times per Calendar Month

1. PT analysis of the data
2. Modifying HEP

You don’t need to do everything on your own. From billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification, Perform Practice Solutions can help. Give us a call today at (833) 764-0178, book your free consultation with Kevin Rausch — www.calendly.com/kevinrausch — and join our Facebook community for more physical therapy billing solutions and ideas.

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Many businesses are adopting growth marketing as a strategy. For that, it’s key to define what it takes to be successful with this approach. Here are four ways to meet your growth marketing goals — and remember, we offer free consultations to see how marketing your practice will benefit you and get all your questions answered. 

Whether you’ve been implementing growth marketing for a while or are new to the practice, you want to succeed. No one likes to miss a goal post. In business, the stakes are high. Not meeting your targets could lead to disappointed stakeholders, future resignations and financial losses. But to achieve success with growth marketing, you must be willing to learn from failure.

Unlike traditional marketing, there’s some experimentation involved. Growth marketers approach their strategies and tactics like scientists. Data and observation fuel a hypothesis, which gets tested to determine what holds water and what doesn’t. Nevertheless, growth marketing does offer tried-and-true tactics to help businesses thrive. Here are four ways to meet—and even crush—your growth marketing goals.

1. Use More Than One Channel

The marketing landscape is more dynamic than ever. TV, radio, and print are still around, but companies also reach consumers through social media and guerilla marketing tactics. Novel approaches such as native advertising are emerging to target audiences in unexpected ways. To exceed growth expectations, marketers should expand the number of channels or media types they use.

Attempting to reach leads and customers through various forms of media is known as cross-channel marketing. While most businesses do this to some degree, growth marketing strategies hyperfocus on finding the right combination. Even more so, marketers aim to discover which channels work best at each stage of the buyer’s journey or marketing funnel.

Maybe blog posts, podcasts and online events are highly effective for generating awareness and qualifying leads. However, personalized emails, direct mail and targeted online ads convert more leads into sales. Leveraging cross-channel marketing opportunities helps your business get its message across in ways that prospects and clients can appreciate. Using multiple media types also ensures you’re exercising the most appropriate tool for your audience at the right time.

2. Learn From A/B Testing Results

Remember that bit about testing hypotheses? A/B or split testing is where you get to do that. You start with an educated guess about your audience and run a test to determine whether it’s true. For example, you might conclude your clients respond better to promotions emphasizing limited-time savings. You reached this conclusion based on customer survey data.

So you test this hypothesis by sending two versions of an email. Both highlight your latest product sale, but only one includes language that encourages readers to act quickly. The test results show more conversions came from the email that stressed urgency. In this case, the results confirm the original hypothesis. Now you know to continue using this language to drive more sales with that audience.

Successful growth marketers also use A/B testing to discover who their consumers are. They may not have enough reliable data yet or want to see whether various customer segments respond differently. For instance, distinct landing page versions might reveal that certain age groups engage more with specific design features. Growth marketers can then use those test results to refine the page so it will resonate with their targeted demographic.

3. Concentrate on the Entire Buyer’s Journey

Traditional advertising usually focuses on the early stages of the buyer’s journey. The goal of a TV spot is to make consumers aware that a product, service or brand exists. Often, the hope is people will remember the business’s or product’s name when they’re ready to buy. But conventional marketing doesn’t typically address other stages of the buyer’s journey or funnel.

A complete marketing funnel consists of six different stages. Awareness represents the top of the funnel. However, the remaining stages are acquisition, activation, retention, revenue and referral. Many people might be aware your product exists. A smaller percentage will visit your website or store for more information. From there, some will fill out a form, subscribe to your email list or make a purchase.

Once leads become customers, you want them to stay. Ideally, you want them to make repeat purchases or add more services. Hopefully, those clients are so satisfied and enthusiastic about your brand that they refer others. Growth marketers who meet or exceed their goals realize that generating awareness is only the beginning. Revenue opportunities exist throughout the entire funnel, and customer relationships require nurturing to drive sales.

4. Rely on Real-Time Data

Effective growth marketers realize data from a few months ago may not be reliable. Consumer behaviors and lifestyles can sometimes change drastically. A looming economic recession and supply chain disruptions might lead to behavior changes that impact your business. If consumer confidence is low, your customers might be less willing to add on new services.

Alternatively, real-time data from website analytics and surveys may reveal a growing interest in replacing aging products or equipment. Perhaps current feedback indicates more of your customer base is responsive to promotions. They’re willing to act and recommit when they can get a deal. At the same time, customers want reassurance they can get the savings on the product they want.

Growth marketers see all of this data as an opportunity to personalize the customer experience. Current inventory and client data could help craft marketing messages targeting customers with aged equipment. Those communications would likely highlight current promos on newer models from the same brand or manufacturer. Personalized emails could also show online and local inventory numbers to motivate clients.

Conquering Growth Marketing Objectives

It takes grit and a willingness to learn and adapt to become successful at growth marketing. Strategies and tactics that drive results with one customer segment may not move the needle with another. Implementing diverse initiatives and juggling simultaneous experiments are par for the course. That said, a commitment to cross-channel marketing, A/B testing, relationship building, and real-time data can help you realize the outcomes you want to see.

You don’t need to do everything on your own. Perform Practice Solutions is your Physical Therapy Digital Marketing company. We can help you with marketing strategies to help you achieve your clients. Contact us today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more perform physical therapy solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2022/07/24/4-ways-to-crush-your-growth-marketing-goals/?sh=516cef46184a]

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You should always look for ways to improve your practice, but there is such a thing as pushing in too many directions or growing too quickly. There’s no formula for instant success, but we’d like to help you boost your practice’s growth with some tips. Here’s how to take it to the next level. For customized solutions for your PT practice, we are here — with decades of experience in billing, credentialing, marketing, consulting, sales — and more. Let’s talk!

Growing a small business isn’t easy. It is one of the toughest challenges many face when they are looking to get out of the 9 – 5 daily grind.

The success of your small business depends on your efforts to grow profits using various methods. From employee training to marketing, every aspect of your business deserves attention.

Rapid growth doesn’t happen overnight, but there are several steps you must take to keep your business moving forward. It takes time and effort. However, when you start reaping the benefits, you will see that your effort is worth it. Here are some tips to consider if you wish to see your business grow.

How to Grow Your Small Business

Understand Your Customers

You can only develop products and services that will be a huge hit if you are attentive to the needs of your customers and prospects. One way to understand exactly what your customers want is through research and surveys.

You should be constantly inviting them to provide honest, even brutal feedback. Reviews and surveys are the best ways to get inside the minds of your customers. This makes it easier for you to develop products and services that are suitable to the current demands of the market. Moreover, it helps you understand the areas in which your company needs to improve.

Improve Customer Service

If you don’t provide quality customer service, it will be difficult to satisfy your customers even if you have a superior product or service. This aspect of the business is about taking the extra step to make them feel special.

Let your customers know that they are valued. If they have problems, make sure you address them right away. If they have questions, take time to answer them. They should not feel like things are difficult for them if they raise certain issues. Social media is a great way to understand your customers by listening to them. If they find the customer service satisfactory, they might even recommend others to also buy from your business.

Establish Loyalty

It takes time to encourage customers to come and buy what you have to offer. But it’s not enough to just get them to buy. You need to encourage loyalty. Considering that there are other competitors who could offer them better, you want them to remain loyal to you. Don’t feel complacent just because you already have a lot of loyal customers. They can be easily attracted to other options and they might leave you.

Provide loyalty rewards. If there are discounts and promotions, let these most loyal customers be the first ones to know. You must sure your customers know they are appreciated.

Maximize Social Media

Without a doubt, social media is a very powerful tool. It reaches out to hundreds upon thousands of people at once. Make sure your business is engaged in social media. This helps you stay relevant. Listening to people and reading their comments will give you an idea on how to make them feel more satisfied. You will also understand their behaviors and find ways to meet their demands. The best part is that you won’t have to spend a lot of money just to attract new customers. You don’t need to engage in comment wars though. Just keep it positive and make everyone feel that they are heard.

Focus on Professional Development

The success of your business also depends on the quality of employees that you hire. Building an effective team is the key to ensuring that your business prospers.

One of the best ways to have motivated employees who work hard is to give them a sense of purpose. They should not just feel like they have to work for the sake of working.

They want to belong to something bigger than themselves. They must understand the bigger goals. This is where branding comes in. Many mistakenly believe that branding is something you do to attract customers. However, a powerful brand will also help you draw quality workers to your business.

Your employees should also feel that they are heard. There are team-building activities that could help them perform well as individual employees and through collaborative tasks. You should also send them to training sessions and seminars so that they can improve on the current bank of knowledge that they already have.

Spend Time Attending Networking Events

If given the chance to join these events, take it. This is the opportunity to extend your networks. This is highly important – but it is something many entrepreneurs neglect. You must build relationships with other people.

Networking is a great way to connect with people who can help you build your business. You can find employees, more customers, and even investors.

Focus on Corporate Social Responsibility

Your business must have something it is passionate about. This helps in improving the image of your business. People will patronize you because they know that the money they are spending goes to the right causes.

It is important that you ensure your business exists for more than just making money. Nowadays, people want to feel emotionally connected to the companies with whom they do business. This is why it’s important to craft a unique brand perspective for your company. Is there are cause you wish to support? Is there something in the world you want to change? Let that be one of your company’s missions.

Don’t Hesitate to Get Loans

If you are starting out as an entrepreneur, you need money to help fund it. The same thing is true for those who have been around for some time and have decided to take things to another level. If you need small business loans to make your plans happen, get them.

Make sure you partner with the right banks or lending firms. You need to fill out the application forms and provide all the requirements. It is also important to ensure that your credit is in good standing so your application is easily approved.

There are other ways to get loans if you are denied. One of them is to look for another party to serve as your guarantor. This is how SBA loan program works. The SBA will guarantee the loan you take from a bank. If you default, the SBA will reduce the risk of the lender. Of course, they won’t just do it without anything in return. You need to understand their requirements. You should also read the terms and conditions before getting started.

Find Out What Works

Ultimately, you will know which of the approaches you’ve used worked well. Take note of these tactics and use them again. Those strategies that failed must be eliminated to help your business move forward. The goal is to remain relevant. Refine the approach and focus more on those that bring satisfactory results.

In the end, you will see your business improve. You just have to be patient. You also need to work really hard and not let obstacles prevent you from doing better. Soon, you will see the positive results you have always hoped for.

There are few things more important than your physical therapist’s credentials. We can help keep the money flowing to you and ensure that your therapists stay in-network. We take care of every detail. This is one of the many areas of expertise we can offer your own PT practice. Contact us today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more perform physical therapy solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/04/how-to-grow-your-small-business.html]

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To build a solid foundation for your business, you must first identify your typical customer and tailor your marketing pitch accordingly. However, it’s not an easy task, harder than you might think. If you’re wondering how to get started, here are some tips on how to define the target market for your business. Questions? We are here!

A target market is a specific group of people with shared characteristics that a business markets its products or services to. Companies use target markets to thoroughly understand their potential customers and craft marketing strategies that help them meet their business and marketing objectives.

Identifying a target market is an integral part of any new business undertaking, whether at a Fortune 500 company or a soon-to-be-launched small business. Knowing your target market sets you up for success.

This article will cover why target markets matter, examples of them in action, how they are defined through segmentation, and the range of marketing strategies used to reach them. You will also find next steps and suggested courses to help you on your next marketing endeavor.

Target markets: Why they matter and examples

When you identify a target market, you can improve your overall marketing outcomes. In this section, you will learn why it matters and find examples of it in action to help you better understand how it works.

Why target markets matter

The purpose of identifying a target market is simple: to have a clear understanding of the possible customers that might purchase a product or service in order to direct marketing efforts.

Knowing their target market helps businesses craft marketing campaigns that reach and appeal to their customer base. There are many ways to define a target market, including demographics, psychographics, firmographics, and customer behavior.

Research suggests that thoroughly preparing a market strategy, which includes identifying a target market, could lead to marketing success. For example, one study conducted by CoSchedule found that marketers who documented their strategy were 414 percent more likely to report success than those who didn’t. A comprehensive understanding of a target market could help businesses meet their overall marketing objectives.

Target market examples

Businesses define their target market to know who they are selling to and how to reach those customers through their marketing efforts. In effect, every product or service on the market today can be said to be directed toward a specific target market.

A target market can be defined by various factors, such as shared demographic characteristics or traits. Some examples of target markets—and products that might be marketed within them—include the following:

• An action figure targeted to boys aged 9-14
• A pair of vegan running shoes created from recycled materials targeted at eco-conscious athletes aged 24-45
• A high-end, direct-to-door meal kit company that targets busy professionals with disposable income ages 30-45 

Target market segmentation: Defining a target market

Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into smaller groups of people, or segments, to identify areas for possible market growth. Through segmentation, marketers can identify the key characteristics that define their target market and direct marketing efforts to their unique needs, interests, and personalities.

To help you define your target audience, the section below contains descriptions of four of the most common types of market segmentation. Though each segmentation is distinct and offers its own view of a target market, it is also common for marketers to use many of them together to paint a more complex and telling portrait of their potential customers.

Demographic segmentation

Demographic segmentation classifies consumers based on specific attributes, such as age or income level. Demographic segmentation offers a glimpse of consumers as actual people in the real world using common data collection methods. Typically, this segmentation is best used for business-to-customer (B2C) marketing efforts.

Typical attributes to consider during demographic segmentation include:

• Age
• Gender identity
• Ethnicity
• Sexual orientation
• Income level
• Household size
• Education level
• Geographical location

Psychographic segmentation

Psychographic segmentation classifies consumers based on their psychological and personal traits, such as values and attitudes. Unlike demographic segmentation, which describes who consumers are, psychographic segmentation offers a glimpse into the motives behind why they buy something. Typically, this segmentation is as helpful for B2C and business-to-business (B2B) marketing efforts.

Common psychological characteristics and traits to consider during demographic segmentation include:

• Personal values
• Religious beliefs
• Opinions
• Attitudes
• Aspirations
• Political leanings
• Lifestyle

Firmographic segmentation

Firmographic segmentation classifies companies and businesses into a set of shared attributes, such as their industry and number of employees. In effect, firmographics is akin to demographics, except that it focuses on the characteristics of businesses rather than people. As a result, it is used exclusively for B2B marketing.

Common attributes to consider for firmographic segmentation include:

• Industry
• Location
• Size
• Status or Structure
• Performance

Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation classifies consumers based on their behaviors surrounding products or services, such as when they decide to purchase them and how they use them. By focusing on consumer behavior, behavioral segmentation provides a look into how consumers interact with businesses, which allows marketers to improve the effectiveness of their efforts. Typically, this segmentation is as useful for B2C as B2B marketing efforts.

Common areas of consideration for behavioral segmentation include:

• Usage frequency
• Occasion
• Brand loyalty
• Benefits needed

Target market strategies

A range of strategies allows you to market your product or service to your target market. Typically, these strategies are broken down from the broadest target market to the most narrow and specific. The exact method you use will largely depend on the target market you have identified.

Read on to learn more about four of the most major target marketing strategies.

Mass marketing

Mass marketing is a marketing strategy that forgoes segmenting a market and instead advertises to the broadest possible number of people. Unlike other marketing efforts, mass marketing doesn’t create different campaigns for different market segments but instead runs a single campaign for the entire market.

Mass marketing is particularly attractive to companies selling products or services with broad appeal. For example, gas companies, telecommunications companies, and manufacturers of salt and sugar typically only conduct mass marketing campaigns because nearly the entire market uses their products.

Differentiated marketing 

Differentiated marketing is a marketing strategy in which a business creates different marketing campaigns to appeal to different target audiences. By differentiating their marketing campaigns, businesses are able to more effectively articulate their value proposition to various market segments and, ideally, increase the success of their marketing strategy.

In order to reach diverse segments, differentiated marketing requires businesses to dedicate more of their budget to the creation of different marketing campaigns. As a result, differentiated marketing is a strategy well-suited to businesses selling goods and services to a target market composed of distinct target audiences.

Niche marketing 

Niche marketing is a marketing strategy in which a business focuses all its marketing efforts on a highly specific and unique target market. As a result, niche marketing often targets gaps in the marketplace, where the needs of specific customers are not currently being met.

In targeting a niche, businesses can craft highly targeted advertising campaigns that appeal to their specific market. In turn, these efforts are well-suited to smaller businesses looking to enter an already crowded marketplace that nonetheless includes several, specific gaps that are currently not being serviced.

Micromarketing 

Micromarketing is a marketing strategy that specifically targets a narrow segment of a niche market. Typically, the target audience of a micromarketing campaign is defined by specific characteristics such as age, job title, geographic location, or gender.

As a marketing effort that targets a highly specific group, micromarketing can also be more costly than other marketing strategies, such as mass marketing. In effect, micromarketing is best suited for target audiences where the rewards outweigh the potentially costly effort to reach them.

Get market ready

To help you hit a bullseye on your next business undertaking, you might consider obtaining a professional certificate in Social Media Marketing offered by Meta. The University of Illinois, meanwhile, offers a specialization in Digital Marketing that provides insight into the data collection and analysis methods used by marketing professionals.

Whatever you decide, though, just remember that thoroughly identifying your target market can help you hit your marketing targets.

You don’t need to do everything on your own. Perform Practice Solutions can help you with marketing strategies to help you achieve your clients. Give us a call today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more Perform Physical Therapy solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://www.coursera.org/articles/target-market]

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Does your small business give employees bonuses? If it doesn’t, here’s a thing to consider. As a small-business owner, you know employees are your greatest asset. Showing your appreciation helps keep your best and brightest on the payroll. Employee bonuses serve the dual purpose of motivating employees to do their best while rewarding them for their contributions. Learn how you can start doing it below.

Does your small business give employees bonuses? Almost three-fourths of companies do, according to PayScale’s 2018 Compensation Best Practices Report. Giving bonuses (also called “variable pay”) allows companies to reward top performers without increasing their fixed costs for salaries. Top-performing businesses are more likely to offer bonuses than the average business (79% vs. 70%), PayScale reports. According to a 2018 WorldAtWork survey, bonuses are becoming more popular, especially among small and midsized companies.

Employee Bonus Programs

Here’s a closer look at the most popular types of employee bonus plans and how to make them work for your business.

Annual Individual or Team Incentive Bonuses

Annual incentive bonuses are given to individuals or teams that achieve goals set at the beginning of a performance cycle. More than two-thirds of companies in PayScale’s report use individual incentive bonuses and 23% use team incentive bonuses. Team incentive programs are best used when group effort is required to lead to a measurable result and individual efforts are difficult to quantify.

To Create a Motivating Annual Incentive Bonus Program:

• Set clear, consistent and measurable goals that are tied to the individual or team’s roles.
• Employees should understand how their actions relate to the overall goals. Team incentives can cause problems when “moocher” employees who don’t work as hard as their teammates benefit from the group effort. To avoid this, make sure that achieving the goal you set requires the efforts of the entire team.

Spot Bonuses

PayScale says 39% of companies use spot bonuses, which, as the name suggests, are given on the spot to reward desirable behavior. For example, you might give a spot bonus for going above and beyond, or for providing exceptional customer service.

At big companies, spot bonuses can be several thousand dollars. But for small businesses, you’ll want to keep them reasonable — $25 and up will work.

To Create a Motivating Spot Bonus Program:

• Create different levels of spot bonuses. You might give out very small rewards, like a $25 gift card, for being the most energetic person in the company trade show booth, on up to $500 or more for a truly above-and-beyond action.
• Set a budget. Giving out spot bonuses could quickly eat up capital if you don’t set a limit. Create an annual budget for spot bonuses and don’t feel like you have to use it all if you don’t see deserving employees.
• Make it count. Give spot bonuses for truly exceptional behavior, not just for doing the job.
• Make it a surprise. If spot bonuses become rote — employees know every week two employees get one — they lose their power to motivate. Keep employees guessing and give spot bonuses irregularly.
• Publicize it. Part of the reward of a spot bonus is getting singled out in front of your teammates for your work, so make sure you award spot bonuses in front of the rest of the staff. You can also publicize it by sending out a company-wide email or making an announcement.

Referral Bonuses

Referral bonuses are used by 39% of companies, PayScale says. They’re offered to employees who refer job candidates who get hired and complete a probationary period with your company. The theory is that birds of a feather flock together and, if someone is referred by a good employee, there’s a strong chance they’re likely to be a good worker themselves.

To Create a Motivating Referral Bonus Program:

• Develop a policy. Do you want to offer referral bonuses for every job, or only for certain positions? Do you want to have an ongoing referral program, or just alert employees at specific times you’re looking to hire and ask for referrals then?
• Determine how you’ll handle payouts. Some companies pay out part of the referral when the employee is hired and the rest after they complete a probationary period of three months or six months. Others give the entire bonus at the completion of the probationary period. Either way, make sure your policy is in writing.
• Consider offering higher referral bonuses for:
  • Referring candidates who increase staff diversity.
  • Referring candidates who turn out to be high performers.
  • And referring candidates for hard-to-fill jobs or with unique skills.
  • Depending on the difficulty you’re having finding candidates, you could even offer a very small referral bonus (like $25) for referring people who are worth calling in to interview, but don’t get the job in the end.

Signing or Hiring Bonuses

Signing or hiring bonuses (given upon hiring) can attract and motivate new hires — 34% of companies in PayScale’s survey use them. Although they’re less likely to be used by small businesses, signing bonuses might be a good idea if:

• They are standard in your industry. For instance, signing bonuses are common with IT employees.
• You need to attract a candidate with hard-to-find skills.
• You need to motivate a desirable candidate to move from another state.

For small businesses on a budget, a signing bonus can enable you to land desirable employees at lower starting salaries. Of course, signing bonuses can also backfire if candidates use them to job-hop.

To prevent this, it’s a good idea to stagger your signing bonus. You might pay half of the bonus at signing, then one-quarter after the employee has worked for six months and the rest at the end of the year. Some companies also institute “clawback” provisions where employees who quit a job before a year is up must return a percentage of the signing bonus.

However, don’t expect to rely on signing bonuses as your sole attraction and retention tactic. You need a comprehensive plan of employee development to keep these desirable workers motivated and loyal beyond the first year.

Profit-Sharing Plans

Profit-sharing is more popular among small and midsized businesses than their larger counterparts — 22% of small companies in PayScale’s 2018 Variable Pay Playbook use it. These plans give employees a percentage of the company’s quarterly or annual profits. If you have a better-than-usual year, employees benefit. Profit-sharing plans can be tied into your company 401(k) plan, with the profits distributed as contributions to the retirement plan or can be on a cash basis.

To Create a Motivating Profit-Sharing Plan:

• Profit-sharing plans tend to be very motivating because they give employees a sense of ownership in the business. Make sure employees understand how the profit-sharing plan works.
• Set parameters for who can participate. Typically employees must have been with a business at least one year before taking part.

Profit-sharing plans, especially if tied to 401(k) plans, have specific regulatory requirements, such as keeping certain records, meeting reporting requirements and setting up a trust for the funds. Talk to your accountant or a third-party financial advisor to get assistance. Read the Department of Labor’s Guide to Profit Sharing Plans for Small Businesses for more information.

Bonus Structure Tips

• Know how much money you have available for the bonus plan. In the case of spot or discretionary bonuses, this might be a dollar figure (you set aside $5,000 a year). In the case of longer-term bonuses, such as incentives or profit-sharing, this could be a percentage of profits or earnings.
• Base the plan on quantifiable, measurable results. Specify what the goals are, how progress toward goals will be measured, and how often.
• Consider setting “tiered” goals so that employees can reach different bonus levels by achieving more difficult goals. For example, a worker might get $X amount for reaching the minimum goal, but $XX for reaching the maximum.
• Put your bonus plan in writing.
• Make sure employees understand what they have to do to get the bonus. Review the plan with the entire staff as well as with individuals (in the case of team or individual incentive bonuses).
• For long-term bonuses, setting milestones along the way and reviewing progress toward the end goal quarterly can help keep employees focused. You might even want to give small bonuses at these checkpoints.

You don’t need to do everything on your own. From billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification, Perform Practice Solutions can help. Give us a call today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more physical therapy billing solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://smallbiztrends.com/2019/05/employee-bonus-small-business.html]

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