You’ll be pleased to know that we’re about to share the final two questions which will allow you to complete your micro review! We hope you’re getting on well with the top tips we shared, which ones did you try out?
Just a quick recap, our business micro review offers a simple pain free process to encourage you to learn more about your business and will set you on the right path to move forward and grow.
If you missed our first newsletter and would like a copy, just let us know. You might find it useful to save our guidance so that you can regularly undertake a micro review whenever you feel your business needs a bit of a boost.
Am I compliant? What will auditors be looking for?
The pandemic forced many of us to quickly establish online working, so questions in the practitioner world around security and compliance are, understandably, incredibly common.
Compliance standards will vary given the nature of practice you run, but a good place to start is by exploring the following bodies:
- The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- National Counselling Society (NCS)
Auditors are predominantly going to be checking that policies and procedures have been followed. Some basic examples might include:
- obtaining, recording and managing online consent
- evidencing CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
- adhering to data retention schedules
Top tips:
- Create a document which lists out your relevant compliance requirements and make a note of how you are satisfying each condition. This way you’ll be able to identify any gaps you might have in a way that’s easy to talk about and understand.
- Record all CPD milestones in your online diary, use “CPD” as a keyword so you can search the dates if required. Store related files in one place, labelled with the relevant dates, so you can easily access them for evidence.
- Be aware of common causes of dissatisfaction or complaints in your specific area; you may find that there are topics trending on social media or online forums that you should be mindful of.
Am I missing opportunities?
We all worry about this, don’t we? The fear of missing out. It can be brutal out there, and to “keep up” practitioners may find that they must:
- provide clients with an excellent user experience when booking
- maintain a professional online appearance
- provide the convenience of immediate communication
- keep abreast of compliance regulations
- keep up with what competitors are offering
The above list can be a bit overwhelming, but our advice is to always see things from your client’s point of view. This will immediately get you in the right mindset and will help you to prioritise. Have a think about why a client should choose you over a competitor. Consider not just the support service you provide, but the client’s entire user experience from first impression to ease of booking.
Top tips:
- Consider using a compliant software programme which suits your needs and can help you address some of the points we’ve raised above.
- Explore how you can communicate with your clients in a consistent manner through a limited number of channels so that it’s easier for you to keep track of enquiries.
- Linked to the above point, try not to include your personal mobile number on your socials, this doesn’t give you any down time or the ability to separate your personal time from work time. It should come as no surprise that this will leave you stressed and frustrated!
You made it! You’ve now undertaken your first business micro review – here’s a well done from us!
Our guidance and top tips will have provided you with an opportunity to learn more your business as well as some food for thought on how to make sure your business reaches its full potential. We hoped you enjoyed this series, do keep a look out for more guidance and useful information which will be coming up in future newsletters.
