Practice Management
Giving Recognition and Rewarding
February 1, 2012 | 
Author Rewards, Respect and Recognition
Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
Miles Global
As a guide for the doctors and team members, I believe we need to “dial up” the level of praise and appreciation in all dental offices. Praise and appreciation done well is:
- Specific
- Individualized
- Personal
- Timely
- Proportional
- Sincere
- And….it’s ok to have fun! J
Team members need to praise and appreciate their co-workers; doctors need to put the spotlight on what’s done well versus a microscope on what’s not done well. All staff needs to appreciate the doctor and most importantly, we all need to appreciate the patient. To praise and appreciate the patient, you should find one good thing, clinically, that your patient is doing, each time they are in your chair!
Goal setting and goal accomplishments are the mark of a progressive, motivated dental team. The list below serves as a suggestion list for celebrations as well as specific for an individual for a job well done. Feel free to add to this list and ask for your team for contributions:
Celebration Suggestion List:
Give affirmative feedback
Give Chocolate!
Recognize special accomplishments at your team meetings
Give comp time as a thank you
Invite them to lunch or dinner
Give them tickets to a movie/play/cultural event/sporting event.
Send them a bunch of flowers
Let them choose! Ask them to create a celebration list for small, medium and large celebrations.
Recognize them privately.
Write a letter to their spouse, family or significant other
Give special bookmarks
Give a pin that the person receiving gets to pass on in the future:
“SECOND to NONE!”
Give them a certificate to have their car washed and waxed.
Give impromptu cash presents in a handwritten thank you card
Bonus systems:
Bonuses are a great way to reward hard working team members.
Take them on our upcoming SunFun Cruise in March, 2012 to Cozumel, Mexico! For a complimentary copy of our Trip Kitty bonus system and information on our Staff Appreciation Cruise, email me at Rhonda@MilesandAssociates.net or visit our website at DentalManagementU.com
Bonus systems should be motivational, easy to understand and obtainable. Bonuses are considered “extra pay for extra effort” and can be fraught with problems if the office isn’t healthy. Bonus should be earned, not expected. Office bonus programs should also be fair to the practice as a healthy practice, fair to the staff and fair to the doctor.
If your office isn’t happy or productive, we should talk. The first call is complimentary: 877-343-0909 ext 1.
When morale goes up, production goes up. These are tough times, but if you can build team morale, you’ll see a difference in your practice. Effective team meetings, built on trust, goals, fun and enthusiasm, drive a practice forward. Are you slow right now? Just holding your own?
With an increase in praise and appreciation, the entire practice will go up!! With a focus on systems and productivity, morale will go up….gossip and negativity will go down. Your goal should be to keep the patients you’ve got and attract the ones you want: An excited, enthusiastic team can do this for you!
My “Hats Off” to you if you already have a celebration list, a system and a plan for increasing staff morale and you are implementing it! J
Believe in Yourself!
If You Don’t Believe In You, No One Else Can!
By Dr. Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
“When we choose a goal and invest ourselves in it to the limits of our concentration, whatever we do will be enjoyable. And once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our efforts to taste it again. This is the way the self grows”. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Describe a time when you took a risk. What was the result? In many practices that I’ve consulted in, the honest answer to the question was: “At this point in my life, I’m having stressful issues (family, work, personal). I don’t take risks. Getting myself out of bed in the morning, getting dressed, and getting myself to work is about all the risk I want to take, thank you very much! If you’ve felt like this, you are not alone. A full 50% of our dental population is more comfortable not taking risks.
Of all that influences us in our lives, I would daresay its “attitude”. With a great attitude, anything is possible! My outlook on life changed during those tough teenage years, but not so much that I believed I could actually accomplish great things. I was afraid to take risks. After all, I might “mess up!” I chose not to attend college after high school and instead landed a job in a dental office. That was so stressful! There was so much to learn, with all the instrument names and procedures it was like learning a foreign language. The first 6 months were the toughest. Everyday, I would march up the stairs to the dental office, with a nauseous pit in my stomach that hit the minute I would smell those dental smells! After six years in the practice, though, working at the chair and front desk, I wanted to do more. I loved working with patients and I wanted to become a dentist. It seemed an impossible dream…8 years of school and no money, but I chose the goal and was willing to take the risk!
It’s easier to procrastinate than to embrace change. Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” How many of you believe this? I know this is true! Many of us wish our practices were different. How can you change this?
Start by recognizing the qualities of a leader:
- Has a great understanding of people
- Imaginative
- Accepts responsibility; doesn’t pass the buck
- Is not satisfied with status quo
- Is organized
- Stays calm in the face of a crisis
- Takes risks
- Is secure and not defensive; is open to criticism
- Stays flexible
- Has team spirit
- Accepts change
Think about the last time you took a risk. Do you need to stretch your limits again? What have you done recently that’s outside your comfort zone? Focus on leadership development, which is a lifelong practice. Read leadership books and listen to audio CD’s when you’re commuting. Most importantly, remember that if you don’t believe in you, no one else can!
Wanting to bring in new patients for the new year?
Low Cost ways to Increase New Patients Numbers
Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
Every dental practice can increase new patient numbers by connecting and staying connected with their patients.
How? You’ll need key staff, a systematic approach, a budget, a personable doctor(s) and consistency.
The method: Put your patients and the relationship ahead of your product (the dentistry). Deliver quality care in a warm environment, going above and beyond what the patient expected.
How many new patients do you need? It depends on your demographics, your type of practice and your practice philosophy. For a general practitioner, you need 10-20 new patients a month just to maintain your patient base. If you need to grow your practice, you’ll need, minimally, 25-40 new patients/month/doctor. A specialist or a general dentist that provides comprehensive care will have a higher need for new patients.
Internal Marketing:
Value the relationship: The number one determining factor is warmth. Maintaining a good relationship will set you apart and patients in your practice. A relationship means you need to “give them a little piece of you” at every appointment. As you talk with them, be sure to tell them something small that is about you personally. To the patient, the relationship is more important than your product, “the dentistry”.
When your patient receives great service in a warm, caring environment, you then have the ability to ask for a referral. Say: “If I can help you in any way, just let me know! And if you happen to know any friends or associates that could use my services, I’ll treat them just as I’ve treated you. This is how I do business.”
Here are some marketing ideas to implement in your practice. These ideas will help you develop “The Warmth Factor”:
1. Have a nicely decorated cork board in the reception area and the team puts up personal pictures. Pictures may be of travel, family, hobbies, pets, staff events or sports participation. This gives the patient something to break the ice and start things off on a comfortable personal level.
2. Deliver quality care in a warm environment: Warmth and connecting is very important throughout the practice and especially at the chair. I understand how hard it is to be the boss, deliver the dentistry and manage a business. Stresses can add up, coming out in frustration with your employee. You will anti-market the practice, however, if you let your frustrations boil over at the chair or come out with negative body language.
3. Listening skills: Good listening skills make your patient feel special. Great eye contact, smiling and taking the time your patient needs will increase your case acceptance and referrals from patients. Toast Masters International is a resource for becoming a better case presenter, increase your listening skills and learn to answer questions under pressure.
4. Be an on-time doctor: Patients today are more impatient than ever before!
If your patients are waiting on a regular basis, you’re actually anti-marketing your practice. If you do keep them waiting, give them a small token of appreciation for their time: A $5.00 Starbucks card, a gasoline card, movie tickets or ice cream coupons are some ideas.
Do not routinely move patients appointments to fit your own schedule.
5. Stay in touch (newsletters, recall/reactivation, calling recare patients and sending cards/gifts.)
Have a graduated system of staying in touch. Develop a budget and don’t be cheap! 80% of your referred patients will come from 20% of your patient base. Paying $60 for a gift when a patient spends thousands is nothing!
6. Send thank you cards, get well cards, birthday cards, Happy New Year cards, 4th of July and Thanksgiving cards. Use Plaxo.com to send cards by e-mail inexpensively. It’s a great opportunity to routinely collect email addresses from patients and increase your ability to contact them.
In today’s world, you cannot be 1000 times better than your competition, but you can be better in 1000 small ways. How is your practice different than the competitions.
Getting new patients is always a good thing, but what about maintaining the current patients within your practice?
To learn more be sure to register and attend our upcoming webinar “Total Recall“ which will be:
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 @ 1:00PM(Eastern)/12:00PM(Central)/11:00AM(Mountain)/10:00AM(Pacific)
Facebook in your Practice
Facebook participation can be an asset to the practice. How do we use this opportunity to promote the practice yet ask team members to be cautious in their postings? What should the doctor and office manager post? The guidelines listed below must apply to every member of the dental team, including the doctor. Because of the potential downsides, many dental offices shy away from any form of social media and internet visibility like a website. Lack of visibility on the web can be detrimental to your practice. One use of Facebook is to let the patients and potential patients know something about you personally. Patients come to you for a relationship. They assume that you know how to do the dentistry. A relationship means that we share something of ourselves. One way your Facebook can help connect you to people is with a link from your website. If you don’t have a website in this day and age, you’ve dated your practice. Patients will look for your presence on the web; a website says you’re current and up to date!
Facebook can be a tremendous networking tool. Business pages on Facebook can elevate your website status through Search Engine Optimization. In addition, if you have a Facebook Business page link on the opening page of your website, potential patients can feel that they know you and your office before coming in for their new patient experience. I know of dental practices that have gained new patients, referred in by not yet seen new patients, simply because of the Business Facebook page! Think of Facebook a bit like a cocktail party, where you circulate and share snippets of conversation.
Author: Rhonda R. Savage, DDS, CEO Miles Global
For any feedback, comments, or concerns contact me at:
Paul J. Lackner Miles Global (formerly Linda Miles and Associates) (877) 343-0909 x1 office (253) 857-0834 fax www.MilesGlobal.netStaff or staph: asset or infection?
Staff or staph: asset or infection?
By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
You have heard the old saying “Walk a mile in another person’s shoes before you criticize them.” Here’s a fun twist: “Walk a mile in another person’s shoes before you criticize them. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes!”
I’d better start walking now, because I plan to be critical. I’ve heard people say, “Don’t call them staff. That’s an infection.” I respectfully disagree. Walk with me and let me know what you think.
As a former dental assistant and front office person, I know how hard the dental staff works. I also know the challenges dentists face daily. As someone who’s been in nearly all levels of the profession, I personally don’t understand what’s wrong with the word “staff.” In fact, I believe the term staff should be a badge of honor and worn proudly. Patients trust staff opinion and follow their directions. Doctors cannot do what they do without the staff. Staff is a great word.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dental Practice – Developing a Preventive Periodontal Protocol
By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
Click here for Audio
Part 1
Do you place your dental patients’ best interest first? If you do, the money will follow! You’ll lower your risk of malpractice and increase your income! But most importantly, your patients will receive the care they deserve and expect!
Times have changed with regards to periodontal disease. Most people now agree that there is a connection of the mouth to the body! Hurray! While science isn’t exact, the majority of research agrees that periodontal disease is linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, low birth weight babies, hormonal changes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, smoking, nutritional deficiency and autoimmune diseases. Is your practice “up to snuff”? Patients are more knowledgeable today than ever before because of increased publicity surrounding periodontal disease.
How do you evaluate your periodontal protocol? Ask yourself these questions:
Dental Practice Management – Teams, Part 4
Why Some Dental Teams Click and Some Don’t
Click here for the audio: Teams Part 4 Dress for Success
Part 4 – Dress for success:
Image is critical: Dress for success! You’ve heard this a million times; what does it mean?
Project a positive, can do, confident image. Get the training you need and if necessary…fake it until you make it!
If you need to, get an expert to help you with your image. Image contains SO many variables.
One example: How do you shake hands? Is your handshake weak? This projects a lack of confidence. Is your handshake too strong? Do you hurt the other person’s fingers? Not good! Where is your thumb placed during the handshake? A thumb up during the handshake expresses dominance and confidence.
Or, another example, for male doctors: Are your eye glass frames current? Men seldom update their eyewear. The new eyewear, just like your new Cerec or E4D, says “I’m current with the times.”
Why Some Team Click – Part 3
Take your job seriously:
Click here for audio: Why Some Teams Click Part 3 Audio
How passionate about dentistry are you? Draw a line in the sand: From a scale of 1-10, where do you put your mark regarding dentistry? No one will be as enthusiastic or passionate as you are; you will not be influential unless you are passionate.
Ask your team: “If this was your practice, what would you do to increase production and decrease overhead?”
Ask them to write down their answers and bring them to the team meeting. Use this as a discussion, an open forum, to talk about improving your practice.