Archive for Dental Office Staff Management
Tips on How to Increase Team Accountability
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Remember that increasing levels of accountability within your dental practice is essential if you are to grow and prosper. Below are my top tips on how to do so:
- Develop an “IDP”- Individual Development Plan. Schedule time to meet with each team member and outline a plan for continuing professional learning. Set times on the calendar for future meetings – quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly so that team members are fully invested in their professional growth. Calling this practice an IDP lets the employee know that you are committed to their professional development.
- Document all conversations with date and initials. Note any behavioral issues with full descriptions. Remember to evaluate observable behaviors against the IDP.
- Begin with positive communication. The best tip I can give is to engage vs. alienate. Start off the conversation with something commendable. For example: “I feel you are an important member of our team.” Make your comment sincere and honest. People see through a façade.
- Offer incentives. Offer incentives to develop the behaviors you need and want. If your team has not been asking for referrals, create a simple game where the individual who asks for the most referrals during the month wins a full tank of gas, an iTunes gift card or 4 movie tickets next month.
“If you don’t set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in life, you’ll find it’s easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that’s far below what you deserve.” ~ Anthony Robbins
How to Deliver Feedback to Your Dental Team
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Read on for my four special tips on how to deliver feedback to your dental team so that positive, immediate behavioral change happens!
- Give frequent and informal feedback. A once-a-year performance review just won’t cut it. Team members need to hear feedback weekly, perhaps even daily. Good feedback motivates and problems get fixed sooner rather than later. Fix problems as they happen.
- Ask team members for self-feedback. Give team members an opportunity to comment on their own behavior or productivity. This works well as people are usually tougher on themselves than you are on them. They will also work harder to improve areas they target. Give your opinion after they have had an opportunity to express themselves.
- Write, crumble, write. As THE DENTAL COACH©, I work with many dentists who are frustrated at their teams. This coaching tip has been particularly popular with the dentist who is angry at a behavior and wants to critique NOW. Take the time to write out your critique….let your anger flow through your pen. Then crumple up your paper now that the anger is gone and rewrite your critique more calmly. Better results are guaranteed when emotions are removed.
- Critique the behavior, not the person. Rather than direct comments at the individual who becomes defensive and argumentative, direct it at what they did. Example: “I am unhappy with your behavior in the presence of our last patient. I sensed she was irritated when you raised your voice to her.” The ego remains intact and the team member will be able to “hear” your observations.
“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli
To Grow Talent: Provide One Part of Frequent Feedback
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I know that dentists have best intensions when they offer “constructive criticism.” They hope that a team member will appreciate the information and make positive changes. My, how frequently that is not the case!
Every dentist has had the uncomfortable task of disciplining, correcting or modifying the behavior of a team member. How the communication is delivered determines if it is a positive or negative experience.
When the dentist starts with “Let me give you some constructive criticism”, a barrier is instantly created. The team member immediately goes on the defense and can often feel embarrassed. No chances of the behavioral change happening here.
By approaching a team member with, “May I provide some feedback to you?” or “I have some feedback to offer when you are ready” will open the doors to more effective communication. These simple “re-structuring” points create a positive environment and overcome resistance.
Hold The Team Accountable: Raise Your Standards
Posted by: | CommentsIn my last post, I talked about developing standards in your dental practice so that they come naturally.
Here are some actions steps to make sure that happens:
- Review standards for common areas and individual roles. Survey each team member and update or delete out-of-date standards. Ask team members to write standards as they might expect them to be five years in the future.
Hint: Consider levels of knowledge and technology changes. Think about what social media and smart phones have already done for/to your dental practice.
- Survey patients. Determine levels of service satisfaction and set standards for improved or new services. Patients will not be bothered, rather, they will be impressed that you care.
- Evaluate some current standards of practice operation: i.e. start times for Morning Huddles, office hours, sterilization procedures, and new patient intake. Standards must be posted and presented to team members so that everyone enjoys a common expectation of behavior. Better yet, have each team member sign off on the standards.
- Review your “short notice” cancellation and “no show” policy with your team on a quarterly basis. Be certain that all team members know, with total clarity, the scheduling boundaries by discussing the policy regularly. Ask individual team members to explain the policy succinctly, clearly, and correctly to the entire team during a staff meeting. This will immediately raise your scheduling standards.
“Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.” ~ Wendy Wasserstein
Set S.M.A.R.T Goals For Performance Growth
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For many of us, it is the START that STOPS us from moving forward and achieving our objectives. When we look at a big project, we immediately feel intimidated. This “bigness” or “I don’t know where to begin” leads us to procrastinate taking action to make our goals a reality. I see this happening with many dentists in my work as THE DENTAL COACH©.
Raising the overall performance of your practice begins with developing the skills of the individuals. Set goals that address improvements in knowledge, skills, or behavior. The best goals are S.M.A.R.T. ones.
Below, are my definitions of a S.M.A.R.T goal.
- Specific – Define what needs to happen or how behavior should change.
- Measurable – How will you recognize success? Is it about task completion (i.e. cleaning up filing backlog), results (i.e. 10% increase in…) or behavior (observable change)?
- Action-oriented – The best goals challenge people and require that they do something new, at higher level, or in a new way.
- Realistic – Make sure the goal is achievable. Attending a seminar, or having a discussion, or reading about a new technique is realistic.
- Time-bound – Goals should have an element of time – frequency (do this daily/weekly), or deadline (do by 4-1).
Example: “Complete a minimum of ten past-due patient follow-up calls by phone each day for the next quarter.“ This is simple, yet it is still a S.M.A.R.T goal. Why? It meets all of the requirements: It is specific (“past-due patient calls”), measurable (daily), action-oriented (requires a change in behavior), realistic (ten per day is attainable), and time-bound (“each day for the next quarter”).
Create A Lasting First Impression
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When a plant is moved to a new location, it is not enough to just stick it in the dirt and say “grow!” We water it carefully, fertilize it, watch closely for signs of transplant shock, and pay special attention for its first growing season, until it establishes new roots.
A new employee needs special attention, too, to become firmly rooted. How do you nurture a new employee relationship?
Typically, a new hire gets a one-day, five-step program: Paperwork, Tour, Meet-The-Team; Read This, Get To Work. I see this in so many dental offices. I have a better approach: Orient in smaller chunks, over a longer period of time.
- Break up all the “stuff” and cover a portion each day for a week versus the first hours. Increase the complexity of information as the new employee’s base of understanding grows. They absorb and learn better. This is more efficient for your dental practice as a whole.
- Plan to check-in with new employees several times in their first month. List these check-ins in your calendar. Create opportunities to ask those “dumb questions” about how you do things.
- Invest time to explain the history and logic behind what you do. Studies show that the learning curve on a new job is typically six to twelve months. During that time, a new employee is still “putting down roots” and can be affected more deeply by change or neglect than more established team members.
When you make it easier for new hires to take root, they contribute more and you retain them for a longer time. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the cost of hiring a new employee is much greater than retaining an old one.
The Biggest Asset That Should Be On Your Balance Sheet
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The most important resource in the dental office is the team. It makes sense to show them as an asset on the practice balance sheet. Unfortunately, quality talent is at a premium.
A study by a team from McKinsey & Co., The War For Talent states, “as the demand for talent goes up, the supply of it will be going down. The search for the best and the brightest will become a constant, costly battle.” We are fighting that battle not only with other dental offices down the block, but across all industries.
One of the ways to attract talent from today’s decreasing pool is to make the compensation package competitive. Remember that top performers command top wages — as they should.
Provide a package of benefits in addition to a base wage. With rising costs in healthcare premiums, I understand that it may not always be feasible to offer top benefits. In this case, think of what other benefits you can offer – a day off on their birthday, a $30/monthly reimbursement for a gym membership.
More on the Scramble to Find the “Right” Staff Person
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Continuing the discussion on the scramble to find the “right” staff person…
Evaluate your practice capacity. When do you have the greatest demand for your services? How well are you staffed to meet this demand? If your afternoons are a higher demand time for patient care, what staffing configurations are most profitable to your practice while supporting your patient service?
Do This Now!
- Develop a list of questions to ask yourself before beginning the hiring process. Start with, “Do I really need to fill this position?” This will enable you to know “if” and “when” you need to hire.
- Determine staffing needs based on your current level of productivity and factor in future growth you anticipate or desire.
- Call a team meeting and invite everyone’s input on what level of staffing is appropriate to maintain patient service, quality and practice productivity.
“Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Author Unknown
Staying The Course – A “Treatment Plan” for Your Dental Office
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Have you started the HR Handbook yet for your dental office? If so, pull it out. Your action step for today is to: Determine a system for feedback. Team members need to have a least one annual performance review. This is the time to review competencies, set new goals or standards and develop long-term objectives.
Do This Now!
- Write an individual list of tasks for each position. Ask team members to compile a list of tasks and responsibilities for their positions. Review and determine appropriate competencies, performance standards and standards of measuring.
- Write out in detail provisions for vacation, sick days, medical leave, employee benefits, continuing education benefits, life insurance, medical coverage, dental coverage, overtime, incentive plans and performance evaluations and raises. Make sure to write out a policy against drug and alcohol use, sexual harassment and internet/social media use.
“When you aim for perfection, you discover it’s a moving target.” ~ George Fisher
Determining The Course – “Treatment Plan” For Your Dental Office
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How many times in the past twelve months have you been faced with an issue related to a team member?
Whether you are setting up a first office or have had an active practice, one of the critical components of a well-run office is a plan for how to deal with office personnel issues. What would it be worth to you to have a “treatment plan” in place that describes in detail, for you and the team, how to handle a particular situation?
This “treatment plan” becomes your Policy Manual. It helps you to avoid misunderstandings and serves as a roadmap to settle employment issues.
In today’s sue-happy legal environment, you risk your business if you fail to have a treatment plan for your personnel policies around hiring, reviews, promotions and terminations. Having a customized policy manual that reflects your unique situation enables to work smarter and be more.
For 2012:
Develop a HR Handbook. List all positions in the practice. For each position, include a list of Competencies, Performance Standards, and Standards of Measuring. Distribute a copy to all team members. Sharing the expectations for every position generates a higher level of commitment from each team member. Ask team members for their input in setting objectives and actions.
