Ah, the season of pumpkin spice everything is upon us (a.k.a, fall). While from a consumer standpoint we still have a little while until we need to worry about the holiday season that will be rushing towards us at galactic speed, as a business owner the time for planning and preparation is here. Everything from office parties, to determining holiday bonuses, rounding up business before everyone is in full-fledge “I’ll schedule after the holidays” mode, patient gifts, all the way to deciding how you want to recognize your employees this holiday season for all their hard work all year long. It may seem exasperating to even acknowledge that these tasks need to be on our radar already, but early preparation is the key to a smooth and low-stress holiday season (I’d say no stress, but let’s be real...it’s the holidays). Plus, once your consumer mode kicks in for the holiday season, you will hug the you now for planning ahead business wise, and averting your brain from the inevitable---too frazzled to enjoy the holidays effect.

How to plan ahead

1-Book your holiday party venue asap!

If you don’t intend to utilize your office space for any variety of reasons (providing a dinner, spouses invited, not enough space) then you need to book now if you haven’t already. Party venues book months in advance for the holiday season. Ensuring you have your space planned ahead of time is a big check off your list. Plus, when places start to run out of available dates during the holidays, supply and demand kicks in----meaning you will be paying a premium price for the same space that the person who booked months ahead of time got for much less. And that’s if there is even any space left available to begin with.

2- Book patients ahead of time

Once your patients go into holiday mode, it is much more difficult to get them to commit to any appointments until the holiday monsoon has passed. If you are an office that sees their patients a few times a year or more, be sure to get patients to book prior to leaving their last appointment. You may even want to get them to book out for their next several appointments so they have an appointment calendar they can book around as the holidays approach.

If you have a tickle file that requires you to send out postcard reminders ahead of time, consider sending reminders for November and December appointments by October. This way they still have space on their calendars to fit in an appointment at your office, or can opt to schedule ahead of time if they know they won’t make it in when they are due to come to your office.

3-Employee gifts

We all want to show appreciation for our employees, but it can be hard to determine what is an appropriate work gift that everyone will like and get use out of. Being a medical or dental office, consider offering a pair of custom fit scrubs for each employee. By planning ahead of time you will have time to get their measurements, place your order, and have them in time for your holiday party to give away.

This is the perfect gift because it benefits everyone. Providing an awesome pair of scrubs that are designed to fit your employee perfectly is a fantastic way to let them know you get their daily struggles of work with ill-fitting scrubs. Custom scrubs handle any issues of scrubs being too long, too short, too boxy, sliding down when they squat to reach that bottom cabinet, etc. Check out what our customers have to say about our custom scrubs.

Added bonus? Not only will your staff feel understood and appreciated, but it is the gift that will give back to your business. Having an entire staff decked out in custom fit scrubs adds a level of professionalism and class to your office. Not having scrubs that are worn out, dragging under their heels, or exposing areas that should not be exposed in the workplace is a definite win for your practice!

Whatever holiday gifts for staff you decide to go with, be sure to order ahead of time! Companies often become bombarded with orders right before the holidays, and cannot guarantee delivery prior to the holiday.

4-Don’t forget patient gifts!

One thing you don’t want to put off for sure is picking out patient gifts. It is absolutely time to get those ordered to ensure you have them to give to patients for whenever their last appointment is before the holidays. Some practices purchase small tokens of appreciation such as koozies, notepads, keychains, and other things of that nature, but they neglect to order ahead of time.

This results in only patients who come in in a short 1 or 2 week window actually receiving anything. It’s important as business owners to remember we are in business because of our patients or clients. Even if you were handing out holiday appreciation gifts to patients at Halloween because it was their last visit prior to the holiday, I assure you they will appreciate that you thought of them ahead of time, and knew they wouldn’t be back to see you before the holiday.

If you’re looking for some unique gifts to give to patients, or perhaps have a few you would like to do a little something extra for, consider shopping a privately owned gift shop! Privately owned gift shops are business owners just like you and me, and your purchases make a difference!

We get not wanting to rush the year away, but we also understand the stress the end of the year can bring to medical and dental practices. Hopefully our 4 tips help you get prepared ahead of time, so you can enjoy more of your holidays this year!

If you have any questions on how the process works to order scrubs for your staff, check out our “How it Works” page, or call us at 314-691-7441.