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Speech Pathology Profession

Retain your speech pathologists with better professional development systems

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Retaining talented speech pathologists is both a top priority and challenge for most private practices. 

Practice owners can increase staff retention in several ways, e.g. with money, clear career paths and promotion opportunities, and by offering flexible work schedules, e.g. part-time and remote working options. 

An often-overlooked retention strategy is on-the-job professional development. It doesn’t have to be expensive and gives speech pathologists something they really want.

Studies in other industries show that:

  • 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development;
  • bored employees are twice as likely to leave;
  • employees who get professional development are 15% more engaged, and have 34% higher retention; and 
  • organisations with a strong learning culture are 92% more likely to develop new services and processes; 52% more productive; and 17% more profitable than their peers.  

To improve professional development in your practice without ‘breaking the bank’, private practices can:

  • build professional development into their onboarding and induction processes, with training on practice strategy, employee motivation, teamwork and key technical skills;
  • set aside time every month for employees to explore an area of professional interest unrelated to their current caseload;
  • create training rituals, e.g. by scheduling “Drop Everything and Learn” (DEAL) sessions, where everyone stops what they are doing and takes an online course, or by hosting regular journal club meetings led by team members; and
  • offer one-to-one coaching sessions beyond day-to-day supervision, with access to experienced clinicians.

By focusing on professional development, private practices can reduce turnover, improve their reputations as employers, and make their workplaces better for everyone (including clients). 

Key source: Keswin, E. (2022). 3 Ways to Boost Retention Through Professional Development. Harvard Business Review, April, 2022.

Retain your speech pathologists with better professional development systems

This infographic also appears in a recent issue of Banter Booster, our weekly round up of the best speech pathology ideas and practice tips for busy speech pathologists and speech pathology students.

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9 questions speech pathology practice owners and supervisors should ask employees in one-to-one supervision sessions

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9 questions speech pathology practice owners and supervisors should ask employees in one-to-one supervision sessions:

  1. If we could improve in any way, how would we do it?
  2. What’s the number one problem with our practice? Why?
  3. What’s not fun about working here?
  4. Who’s doing a great job? Whom do you admire?
  5. If you were me, what changes would you make?
  6. What don’t you like about our services for clients?
  7. What’s the biggest opportunity we’re missing out on?
  8. What are we not doing that we should be doing?
  9. Are you happy working here?

Source: Horowitz, B. (2014). The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Harper Collins, NY, NY. 

9 questions speech pathology practice owners and supervisors should ask employees in supervision sessions

For more on supervision, check out our book “How to supervise speech pathologists properly in private practice“.

This infographic also appears in a recent issue of Banter Booster, our weekly round up of the best speech pathology ideas and practice tips for busy speech pathologists and speech pathology students.

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9 ideas to increase engagement and reduce burn out by designing work your team will love

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If less than 20% of your work consists of things you love to do, you are far more likely to burn out. Practice owners should design work with love in mind:

  1. Encourage staff to set goals, both for their career and personal life.
  2. Invest in each employee’s ongoing education, either directly through training or by giving employees time to pursue their own projects.
  3. Stay connected with your alumni.
  4. Don’t over-rely on standardised competence tools: there is more than one way to be a great speech pathologist.
  5. Organise around teams: workers who feel part of a team are 2.7 times as likely to be engaged, 3 times as likely to be highly resilient, and twice as likely to report a strong sense of belonging.
  6. Hire interesting speech pathologists: each person’s “loves and loathings” can be combined with others to make the team greater than the sum of its parts. Assign projects based on each individual’s strengths and interests.
  7. Discard rituals that erode team trust, like staff rankings based on output-based KPIs.
  8. Pay individual attention to each speech pathologist. Supervisors who check in 1:1 every week drive their team member’s engagement up 77% and reduce turnover by 67%.
  9. Schedule once-a-week 1:1 supervision check-ins. Ask four key questions:
    • What did you love about last week?
    • What did you loathe?
    • What are your priorities for the next week?
    • How can I help?

Source: Buckingham, M. (2022). Designing Work That People Love. Harvard Business Review, June 2022.  

This infographic also appears in a recent issue of Banter Booster, our weekly round up of the best speech pathology ideas and practice tips for busy speech pathologists and speech pathology students.

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12 early career tips for Australian speech pathologists and students considering a career in private practice

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About a quarter of current Australian speech language pathologists (SLPs) joined the profession after May 2019; and about half of all SLPs work in private practice. 

If you are an early career SLP in private practice – or if you are an SLP student considering private practice as a graduate – here are some early career tips: 

  1. You’ve made a great decision: We have a clear purpose. Demand is rising. Our practice scope is widening. Our evidence-base is growing. Technological innovations are accelerating. We’re striving to become more diverse; and to reflect the communities we service. But we’re short on numbers, with mushrooming waitlists. We need you! 
  1. Big questions: Who do you want to serve and how? Who do you admire, and why? What’s your timeline? How are you learning and growing? What seeds do you need to plant now? What relationships do you need to build? (Hiatt, 2021)
  1. Long-term relationships and meaningful work > money: You need to be paid properly. But, on our deathbeds, few will care about money or business influence as much as we think we do. Meaningful relationships and useful work matter more. (Coleman, 2022) 
  1. Constant change: SLP work is complex, the profession is evolving, and general economic and health system volatility and uncertainty continue to increase. Stay open to possibilities, and keep your options open – don’t deskill. Stay curious. Read widely across many disciplines. Keep learning. Be flexible so you can adapt to change.
  1. What employers want to know: What will it be like to work with you? How will you affect existing team dynamics? Can you learn? Do you take initiative and contribute? Do you take feedback constructively and act on it? Do you ask good questions? (Gallo, 2022) 
  1. Criteria to evaluate job offers: Do the practice’s vision, purpose, and strategy intersect with your goals? Do salary and incentives support team and individual growth? What is the job content and caseload? Workload. Respect. Supervision. Training. Safety and compliance. Quality control. Systems and resources. Clear career path. Turnover and burnout rates. Flexibility.  
  1. Getting up to speed: Figure out the ‘informal org chart’. Find leaders (supervisors, mentors, colleagues) who help to get things done. Make people around you feel valued, with good listening and engagement. Look for gaps and help fill them. (Cross, 2021) 
  1. Professional learning curve: Aggressively expand your ‘Circle of Competence’. Invest and track new technical, communication/advocacy, and leadership skills. Get educated on business: strategies, people management, systems, cost structures, break even,  and cashflows. Learn, then share new knowledge. Apply new skills as soon as you can. Contribute new ideas!
  1. Hanging in there! “Patience is annoying…But the truth is, in almost all cases, our most meaningful goals require effort and perseverance – and time…You might have to keep making the effort, even when it seems pointless, boring or hard. There will be dark moments when it’s unclear whether you’re making any progress at all” (Clark, 2021). Don’t give up too early! Professional growth is not always linear and is often a result of conflicting variables.
  1. Don’t job hop for the sake of it: Consider moves only if they’ll increase your skills and opportunities. Fast leaps may not lead to long-term success and contribute to burn out. Don’t be distracted by titles – focus on substance. Think about whether the move will help or hinder your ability to achieve your long-term goals. (Hamori, 2010)
  1. Don’t ‘specialise’ too soon: In the long-term, specialists often prosper. But, if you are unsure, stay general and focus on learning transferable skills. If you decide to focus on one practice area, choose one that’s growing quickly. Retaining intellectual breadth is important. (Gulati, 2012) 
  1. You only get one reputation: Relationships matter more than jobs and transactions. Think long-term. Respect your colleagues. Don’t burn bridges. Stay ethical. When you run into conflict – and you will – take the high road and stay professional.

For more, free private practice tips, check out our ‘12 Days of Tips for SLPs in Private Practice‘ series.

For more information about proper supervision of speech pathologists in private practice, download our “How to Supervise Speech Pathologists Properly in Private Practice” book, templates and video course on our Banter Speech & Language clinic website. ⁠

Australian speech pathologists: 13 things you should know about health care complaints and the Health Care Complaints Commission

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As healthcare workers, we share the responsibility to ensure we are delivering health services in a professional, safe, and ethical manner. This week, we attended a very practical workshop hosted by Tony Kofkin and his colleagues from the Health Care Complaints Commission NSW (the ‘Commission’) to better understand the role of the Commission and its complaints management process. 

Here are our 13 key takeaways for speech pathologists:

  1. Speech pathologists in Australia are “Unregistered Health Practitioners”, because we are not currently required to be registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. You can read more about this here.
  2. Speech pathologists in Australia are self-regulated. For example, members of Speech Pathology Australia are bound contractually by the Code of Ethics, and Certified Practising Speech Pathologists are also bound by professional self-regulation professional development and other obligations.
  3. Self-regulation doesn’t mean Australian speech pathologists are completely unregulated, however. Speech pathologists in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, are subject to “negative licensing” under statutory Codes of Conduct. In NSW, for example, speech pathologists must display and are bound by the Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Practitioners. This Code of Conduct is set out in Schedule 3 of the NSW Public Health Regulation 2012. A National Code – which is very similar to the NSW Code – has been implemented in South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria, and is being implemented across the other States. 
  4. Sometimes, clients, families or others may wish to make a compliant about a speech pathologist. Most of the time, this is best managed directly with the speech pathologist in question. Speech Pathology Australia has a complaints system, including an Ethics Board to investigate alleged breaches of the Code of Ethics. However, people can also make complaints about speech pathologists to the Health Care Complaints Commission (or its equivalents in other States). This is not very common, with the most serious complaints being lodged with Speech Pathology Australia and investigated by the Ethics Board.   
  5. The Commission is independent of Government (including the Minister for Health) and is obliged to investigate every written complaint it receives, although protecting public health and safety is its paramount consideration.
  6. The Code of Conduct outlines minimum standards for safe and ethical practice, and includes clauses about:
  • the need to have a clinical basis for treatment;
  • competence;
  • informed consent;
  • infection control;
  • improper relationships;
  • not making claims to cure serious illnesses;
  • working when impaired (e.g. by mental or physical illness or when under the effects of drugs and alcohol);
  • professional indemnity and other insurance requirements;
  • record keeping/progress notes; 
  • first aid;
  • privacy; and
  • displaying the Code.
The Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Practitioners on display at our clinic.

7. Common complaint issues include:

  • professional conduct, including elder abuse and theft;
  • treatment, including treatment advice that causes significant harm; and
  • communication issues, including abruptness and refusal to answer questions.

8. If a complaint is received, the Commission generally seeks records from the speech pathologist. The Commission has coercive powers if you do not respond.

9. Investigations follow a two stage test: (1) Is there a breach of the Code of Conduct? and (2) is there a risk to public health and safety? The Commission can seek expert advice if needed.

10. The Commission has the power to make interim and final prohibition orders, preventing the speech pathologist from providing health services or imposing conditions (e.g. training, supervision) on the provision of health services. Reciprocal arrangements are in place with Queensland and South Australia (but not Victoria) to ensure that prohibition orders made in one of these states apply to the others. In practical terms, this means, as an example, a speech pathologist won’t be able to provide health services in Queensland if a prohibition order has been issued in NSW (and vice versa).

11. The Commission can also make public statements about health practitioners, and/or make comments to the speech pathologist to help the speech pathologist improve her or his practice.

12. If a speech pathologist in NSW is unhappy with the outcome, she or he can seek a review by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

13. The Health Care Complaints Commission publishes a Register of Orders on its website. You can access it here.

To access an A3 poster of the Code of Conduct to display at your clinic or business, see the Health Care Complaints Commission’s website here.

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