What happens to our clients if something happens to us? It’s a proposition that we don’t want to consider but should.
I began to take this possibility much more seriously when I needed to have back surgery in the month of October. This meant that I could not meet with students for several weeks during what is typically a very busy time in college advising, and I was dealing with the effects of chronic pain for months leading up to the surgery.
I was lucky. I had a writing specialist who was also training to be an associate consultant. I also had a very understanding client group that year, and almost all of my students buckled down to complete their work before my October 20th surgery date. My associate took over the essay and application process for those who were left and ran interference for anything else that came up. However, I did lose opportunities for follow-up with inquiring clients, and my junior class never reached capacity that following year.
This ultimately was only a short interruption in my practice, but it gave me pause. I now keep a simple spreadsheet of my active clients with a quick reference to the pieces of my process that they have completed. If they have received their first research list, that qualifies for 40% of my fee. I then have milestone completions at 70% and 100%. I ask for my fee in advance of services, so this provides a record to use for providing refunds if necessary, which for me would be the worst-case scenario.
Should something happen to me, the best scenario for my clients is to have a member of my team take over my caseload. Before I had a team, I entered into a formal, mutually-beneficial arrangement with several colleagues to cover a portion of each others’ client loads should we be unable to do so. The choice, of course, would fall to the client, and in my case, a refund would be offered as the alternative. I have never stated my contingency plans in my contract, nor have I mentioned it to inquiring families unless I am asked (I’ve only been asked twice), but I like having a plan at the ready should the topic come up, and I have always felt good about having alternate resources lined up for my students.
If you are not working in a group practice, evaluate how you can leave plans or instructions for whoever will be there to manage your affairs. As you meet IECs who share your philosophy and perhaps have a process that is similar to yours, you may consider building your own contingency network. Hopefully, this network will also be one that provides on-going collaboration or professional feedback, so that if the time comes for anyone to deal with a tragic event, there is a genuine understanding and cooperative foundation already laid.
Planning, after all, is what an IEC is supposed to be good at.
