Admin Training Day & Chick-Fil-A: Boosting Culture and Professional Development

42 administrative team members gathered together for an in-person training this past Friday for Chenal Family Therapy, PLC. While the day was dedicated to training, it was also filled with encouraging and culture-boosting activities as well! Here are the highlights:

• Gratitude:
• Ken Clark, CEO of CFT, started the day with a gratitude exercise. As prompted, team members pulled out their phones and sent a text expressing appreciation to someone important in their life (that wasn’t in the room).
• Ken went on to share his vision and purpose for the admin team in 10 statements broken down by a stop/start function: 
  • Grace, Healing, Boundaries, Hope, and Change start with the clients' interactions with our admin team.
  • Drama, Stigma, the Search, Aloneness stop when clients' reach out to start services through our admin team.

• Guest Speaker- Michel Harding, CFA Owner/Operator:
  • First Mile Service (standard service expectations- operations and logistics)
  • Second Mile Service (going above and beyond standard service)
  • How to Thrive in the Second Mile (even on bad days)

Are there any local businesses that have mastered customer service? Check and see if they offer speaking opportunities! 

• Training Session- Spring Hill, Chief of Operations
• Mission Statement: Game-Changing Access, Through Life-Changing Opportunity
  • Game-Changing Access: Vision/What
  • Life-Changing Opportunity: Purpose/Why
• Know the WHY: If we don’t understand or know the why, we’re going to fill in the gaps. That’s why it is important to reinforce your practice’s vision and purpose, your what and why.
• Newly Weds Game:
• Team members were divided into groups of 6-8 and competed against each other by answering departmental questions framed as “who does…who handles…which department…)
• This game fosters team development by addressing departmental/staff roles and responsibilities in a fun and engaging way! 

This training day was indeed an event requiring preparation and planning. Utilize your team members' feedback! We sent out a jotform prior to this training day to gain insight into what topics our team members would like to learn about, collect lunch orders, and nominate coworkers for awards. Here are some operational tips to keep in mind for any in-person events! 

• Operational Tips: 
  
  • Assigned Seating: 
    • Team members were arranged to sit next to members belonging to different departments to foster interdepartmental interactions.
    • Name places elevated the training experience and offered a professional yet personalized touch.
    • Organization! Easily note who attended, and who is missing. 
  • Name Tags:
    • Save your members the awkwardness of trying to remember everyone’s names with name tags!
    • Name tags were picked up at check-in and saved the hassle of a sign-in sheet, name tags not collected denoted absent team members.
  • Venue:
    • We used a meeting room of the Delta Hotel by Mariott- we our Marriott Rewards members and able to use a member discount to reserve and use the space.
    • The hotel also provided breakfast for us, saving the hassle of catering for one meal. 

From start to finish, this training day was structured to encourage cultural engagement and foster team connection.

• Cultural Touches:
• Certificate Nominations:
  • Prior to the training, an RSVP and Preferences survey was sent to all admin members requesting input for this training day. One section of the form was an optional certificate nomination where members could nominate team members for personality awards such as Most Likely to Date a Celebrity, Most Likely to Ask Follow-Up Questions, The Bubbles Award (for a bubbly personality). 
  • In addition to the personality awards, team members also selected the staff person that exhibited each of our cultural values:
  • Integrity
  • Choice
  • Openness
  • Connection
  • Kindness
  • Sustainability
  • Clinical Certificate Nominations:
  • Admin team members also selected clinicians that most embodied each cultural value as well, to encourage a positive admin/clinical relationship.
  • Cards were signed and featured a message of gratitude to be mailed out to the nominated clinicians.
• Support from Clinical Directors
  • As a delightful surprise, each admin member received a $7 gift card to 7brew, courtesy of the practice's Clinical Directors. This thoughtful gesture underscored the collective appreciation and support from the leadership team.
• Raffle Prizes!
  • To encourage engagement, raffle prizes were drawn throughout the day. If staff interacted by answering/asking questions, volunteering, or sharing encouragement. they were able to add their name into the drawing for each interaction. 

In retrospect, Admin Training Day & Chick-Fil-A at Chenal Family Therapy, PLC transcended the conventional bounds of a typical training session. It was a day replete with learning, camaraderie, and heartfelt appreciation, reaffirming the unwavering commitment of every team member to the practice's mission and values. 

Want some more resources on managing and encouraging your admin team? Join our Admin Support group that meets monthly: https://www.semiprivatepractice.com/offers/EwAxt78S/checkout