ABSTRACT
Personnel management' is the term used to describe the way we deal with staff during their employment, and sometimes after they have left. The best indicator of good personnel management is a positive 'atmosphere', impossible to quantify but immediately obvious if it is lacking. Good personnel management is a combination of common sense and trustworthy systems. The practice manager has a strong obligation to the team, and a sensible manager invests time and effort to strengthen the team at every opportunity. Building a team, and maintaining it, incorporates all the skills required of a good personnel manager. The budget is a finite figure and if a practice overspends it must be prepared to pay the excess from practice funds. A practice manager must maintain a sensible balance between maintaining her authority and being an approachable human being. Practice management is an evolving role and there is evidence of a career structure.
