3. Be thoughtful and 4. Small celebrations

3. Remember to be thoughtful

Throughout her 30-year career as a medical practice manager and coder, Marge McQuade, CMSCS, CMM, now director of education at the Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists in Florida, made a habit out of arriving to the office early on days such as Halloween, Valentine's Day, and birthdays to leave a little something on each of her employees' desks.

McQuade mostly worked with small staffs of 10 of fewer. These special touches, such as a knick-knack or card, helped show employees that they were valued.

In addition, McQuade made the gesture of providing her employees with a small uniform allowance, even after most other offices stopped doing so. "We didn't give them a full five days' worth, but we tried to help them out once a year."

4. Celebrate even in small ways

The way you approach celebrating special days will vary depending on the size of your practice, but managers and administrators that FiercePracticeManagement interviewed agree that it is both possible and worthwhile to foster a sense of fun in the office.

During her time as administrator of Gastroenterology Associates of York in Pennsylvania, now-consultant Tina Smith was sure to celebrate employees' milestones. "When somebody got to five, or especially 10 or 15 years with the practice--because that's almost unheard of these days--we would always get a cake and have a little celebration in the lounge," Smith says.

At PRA Behavioral LLC, an Illinois psychiatric practice with 40 clinicians and 18 employees spread across three offices, everyone receives a personalized card signed by all of their colleagues on their birthday, says Paula Comm, the group's administrator. To make this happen, the practice's office manager places cards for everyone who has a birthday the following month in a central location, so that every physician and staff member will have a chance to sign. It can take about a month to get birthday cards done, Comm says.

And while it may make "some practices cringe," Comm says she welcomes small decorations in people's offices on their birthday, even if that person sits at the front desk. "If they're at the front desk, I put balloons and goofy stuff on their desk and a little crown that says 'Happy birthday'," she says. Because of the size of her staff, Comm says she avoids buying lunches or big extravagances on birthdays, but the person being celebrated does get to pick a dessert to be left in the kitchen for everyone to share. "It's a fun acknowledgement for them to look forward to working on their birthday," she says.