How I Transformed My Quarterly Meetings from Feel-Good Check-Ins to Real Coaching Conversations

And why it's one of the most under-leveraged tools for improving retention and revenue in your group practice

I was on a Zoom call recently with a dozen or so group practice owners, and the topic of quarterly meetings came up (to be more precise, I brought it up). 

How many of you do them, I asked. I think I saw someone yawn.

Most admitted that they don’t have the time. A few practice owners were eager to share that they do quarterlies. How do you structure them? I asked. One leader told me that she focuses on wins, and that she wants to hear about what they need more of from the leadership team. That’s awesome, I said. And…what else? Well, I make sure to leave room for some lightness, she added. You know, like vacations, pets, television shows. Our work is so heavy.

What about performance, I asked. Do you talk about their client retention, how many sessions they’re seeing in a week, their cancellation rates?

I could swear that a hush fell over that Zoom grid. And nobody was muted.

One person offered, I just think it makes therapists feel unsafe, to be measured and monitored in that way.

I really wanted to get into it, then and there. But…I also understood where she was coming from. 

What the quarterly meetings in my group practice were missing

There was a time when my quarterly meetings were like gentle parenting. If there was feedback to be given, it was wrapped in gratitude and validation. Kind of like giving someone a pill embedded in a marshmallow. 

I'd go in wanting them to feel good about being part of my group practice.  We had a great conversation. Everyone would leave feeling connected. The result was that my therapists walked away feeling supported and held…but without owning their accountability 

That changed when I started tracking client retention.

Once I had data in front of me, the numbers took up serious real estate in my mind. Some of what I saw frustrated me. Some left me with burning questions. And I realized I didn't want to sit alone with those reactions. I wanted to find out more information. Was there context that I was missing? Was there an internal or external barrier, real or perceived, that was impacting their clients’ consistency in therapy?

And just like that, my quarterly meetings had something to anchor to.

Structuring Quarterly Meetings in Your Group Practice Around Data

I decided to use my quarterly meetings to get curious about the patterns I was seeing in the data, to ask better questions. And yes, to help my therapists improve.

Because while I don't believe good leadership is about power or coercion, I do believe it's about inspiring and influencing. And data gave me a way to do that in a highly specific and tailored way. After all, if they want toothless feedback, they can get it from AI. 

But I don’t believe that’s what they’re looking for. Therapists really want to do well, for their own benefit, and also for their clients. It’s disheartening to them when clients attend therapy inconsistently, or when a client they were eager to help didn’t return after their second session. Naming the patterns we’re seeing isn’t intended to shame them, but it is necessary in order to point out the risks associated with low retention, and to help them make adjustments that will benefit their clients, their practice, and your clinic.

Before You Meet: Set the Stage

A couple of weeks before each quarterly, I send my therapists a Google Form. The questions are simple but meaningful: What's working? What's not working? What do you want more of?

This gives them a chance to put words to things that might have been sitting under the surface — frustrations, wishes, observations — before we're face to face. By the time we meet, they've already done some reflecting.

I also send each therapist a link to their most recent dashboard. In my clinic, we currently get these metrics by running reports through JaneApp and turning them into fancy-pants dashboards. Whether you're collecting data monthly, quarterly, or biannually, your therapists deserve to see their own metrics, and discuss what the data is telling us about their patterns.

During the Meeting: Look at It Together

We open by reviewing the dashboard together. We review objective and detailed infographics and summaries of patterns we were noticing on their appointment data. I'm gauging their reactions, asking questions, and looking for the one or two areas where there's real coaching potential.

Maybe I'm noticing that the interval between sessions is longer than it should be. Maybe there's a pattern of clients dropping off around session four. Whatever it is, I get specific. I pick one or two coachable moments rather than trying to address everything at once.

And because my team has access to my Client Retention System, I can link these takeaways to a resource.

"It seems like a lot of your clients drop off after session 4. Go get supervision on that."

is now:

"Since a lot of your clients seem to fade away after session 4, I think it would be a good idea to go through Module 6 of the Client Retention System, where we dive into premature dropout from therapy and how to prevent it."

Rather than asking them to review the whole program, I'll point them to one or two specific modules that are relevant to what we're working on. That might look like:

• Reviewing the module on consultation calls to help them with a low conversion rate

• Re-watching the module on mindset for the therapist who feels uncomfortable being too direct about booking with clients

• Referring them to the exercises on treatment planning and case conceptualization so that they can motivate their clients to be more consistent 

Data is neutral. Your quarterly meeting helps make it make sense.

A lot of group practice owners worry about how therapists will feel receiving metrics and stats. Here’s the thing: data is just a numerical expression of a group of repeated events. In this case – sessions. numbers tell part of the story, but not the entire story. We need therapists’ perspectives to add the context that makes the story more meaningful. 

And, that said: the data enables us to run our business with clarity. And in a mental health clinic, client retention data contains valuable insights into the client journey, and how likely it is that clients are getting the help they need. This is the lens through which all of these numbers are shared. 

Throughout the conversation, I’m attuned to how therapists are digesting this. Not so that I can back off, but so that I can calibrate how I’m sharing the information. Some therapists appreciate a more direct approach, whereas others need more validation, curiosity, and space so that therapists feel safe enough to take it in. But I never back away from sharing the patterns I’m seeing in the analytics. 

Before You Wrap Up: Plant the Seed

The last thing I do in every quarterly is name what we're going to be looking at next time.

If we've been focused on tightening up the average interval between sessions, I'll close with something like: "Now that this is in your awareness, and now that you've got some tools, I think next time we look at this it's going to look different. I'm excited to see where it goes." 

There's accountability in that, but it doesn't feel like a warning. I'm telling them I believe they're capable of shifting, and that we'll be watching for it together. "I'm going to be keeping my eye on this" lands very differently than "let's keep our eye on this.”

And that distinction is what creates a company culture that brings out the best in each therapist while prioritizing effective, quality care for clients.

When therapists are seeing clients consistently, your clinic runs more predictably. Client retention has a direct impact on your revenue (and if your therapists are paid on commission, on their income). Quarterly meetings that address the patterns in your data are one of the most underleveraged tools a practice owner has for improving both retention and revenue.

Quarterly meetings, client retention data, and the leadership conversations that actually move the needle are exactly what we dig into inside The High Performing Practice— my new membership group for group practice owners focused on performance. 

Founding spots open this fall for group practice owners who have purchased the Client Retention System. If you want to be first in line, fill out this short interest form and I'll be in touch shortly 🙂

And if you don’t have access to the Client Retention System, well, that’s where all the team transformation happens. The clinic-wide version is on sale from now until September 1 using the code CRS10.