Why it matters
Front-desk onboarding is often shadowing plus hope. Turnover in the role is high and expensive, and a large share of it happens in the first month, when the new person is drowning and nobody notices.
People
Front Desk New Hire Onboarding
The first two weeks, in an order that builds competence.
The first two weeks, in an order that builds competence.
Front-desk onboarding is often shadowing plus hope. Turnover in the role is high and expensive, and a large share of it happens in the first month, when the new person is drowning and nobody notices.
The checklist
Written to be used and adapted. Take it, change the parts that do not fit your practice, and put a name against each line.
- Week 1: phones, greeting, verification, escalation paths
- Week 1: the schedule — visit types, providers, constraints
- Week 2: insurance basics and the verification checklist
- Week 2: referrals, records, and who owns what
- Shadow, then reverse-shadow with someone listening
- A named person to ask, and permission to ask
What is worth automating
The scripted, repetitive parts are exactly what automation absorbs — which makes the role more learnable, not less.
Rollout checklist
- Assign an owner to each line.
- Decide where this document lives so it is findable.
- Review it on a set cadence rather than after a failure.
- Train new staff against it rather than by shadowing alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can we adapt this?
Yes — it is written to be edited. The value is having one version everyone follows, not this exact wording.
Which parts should we automate?
The scripted, repetitive parts are exactly what automation absorbs — which makes the role more learnable, not less.
Keep going on MedReception.ai
MedFrontDesk.ai is the playbook library. MedReception.ai is the platform that runs it.