Rhonda R. Savage, DDS

“I haven’t had a raise in two years!”  Have you heard this from your team members?

“I hate doing performance reviews!”  We’ve heard this from many dentists!

Do you avoid performance reviews because you’re worried:  “I wonder how much she’ll want?” and at the same time, your team member is thinking, “I wonder how much he’ll give me?”  Dentists often would rather run miles around their building than do performance reviews!  Your team members, however, really need them.

What are some strategies to pay raises and performance reviews?  What if your practice is flat or declining? What if the overhead is high and you cannot see any room for increases?

Begin by acknowledging that these are tough times and tough times call for tough strategies.

• The first strategy is to schedule performance reviews in the anniversary month of the team members hiring date.

Prior to the review, ask your team member to identify their goal(s) that will be tackled during the next 90 days. When you talk, come to a mutual agreement regarding the goal.  Is it in the best interest of the practice?  Is it a reasonable 90 day goal?

A well done performance review should be motivational. Do a written assessment and have the team member do a personal assessment.  For a copy of our personnel assessment form, e-mail me directly at Rhonda@milesglobal.net.   This review time is not when you should talk about something your team member has done two months ago.  Performance reviews should have a focus on the team member’s goals.  Are they happy?  Are they challenged?  Ask them this question:  “What skills, ability or training can I give you that will better enable you to do your job?

• The second strategy is to have a merit review session that is held separate from the performance review. Based upon accomplishment of their personal goal, the team member may be due for a merit increase.  The next goal is discussed during this review.  The team member then knows why they received the raise and how to earn the next one.  That’s motivational!  Merit increase should be based upon three things:

1. Attitude
2. Contributions to the practice
3. The Health of the practice

If the practice is flat or declining, you may need to have a freeze on salary increases until the practice is doing better.

Let everyone know that this is the time to dig deep into the practice!  Tough people survive tough times! Focus on customer service as well as recall and reactivation.  There’s always behinds the scenes work to do; make the most of down time by “digging deep” into development of systems.  Tiger Woods said:  “No matter how good we get, there’s always room to be better!  And that’s the exciting part about it!” Tough times call for tough strategies….and tough times don’t last but tough PEOPLE do!

Author: Rhonda R. Savage, DDS, CEO Miles Global

Throughout my years as a dentist involved with leadership and practice management, I’ve conducted an informal survey of my colleagues, including acquaintances, clients and friends.  When asked what their three most common frustrations are in the practice of dentistry, many dentists respond: “staff, staff and staff”!!!

In speaking with staff, however, I would most often get a different answer. When asked the three main frustrations for staff, the response overwhelmingly has been:

1. Lack of communication,
2. Lack of training and
3. Lack of appreciation

Office turmoil typically results when any sort of change happens; this is true of group dynamics at all levels, whether the group is the size of two or the size of thirty. But turmoil can also result from inadequate training or a lack of effective systems in your practice, as well as an inability on the part of the doctor to evaluate and measure performance of staff.

Training your staff will not only educate them; training improves communication and shows your appreciation.

In fact, a needs assessment survey in over one thousand offices defined the four main motivating factors of staff to be:

1. Appreciation and recognition
2. A close knit team
3. Responsibility
4. Wages and benefits

What’s the most effective way to meet these needs? Take your team away to a major dental meeting!  One goal you can accomplish is that you personally can meet almost all your Continuing Education requirements at a major meeting.  Why spend the money and take your staff?  The bottom line, in my opinion, is that continuing education trips are truly an experience for your team. Major meetings have outstanding clinical experts for the dentists, hygienists, front office and assistants!  The most strategic “intrinsic” part of this meeting is the communication, teamwork and appreciation that magically happen during these meetings!

How can you get the most out of your staff continuing education/retreat?

First, if you haven’t done this already, sit down and figure out:  what do you want the next 5 years in dentistry to look like for you? 10 years? What do you want to be known for in your community? When do you want to retire?  The best way to begin is with the end in mind. Now write it down.  Make it the best “whatever” it is you want.  Then, set your vision for your ideal practice, share your vision with your staff and finally, invest in your staff.

Next, decide what you want from your team if you take them to a major meeting.  Set your standards for dress code, attendance and participation, then hold your staff accountable to these standards. Besides the clinical courses, visit the exhibit hall and review the new products and equipment.  Send your staff out to research and bring back new ideas for your office.

Following the CE meeting, I also hope you have reserved a half day for a staff meeting to discuss these ideas and their implementation into your practice. Write down the ideas and select 2-3 goals from the list. Take each goal separately. List the steps necessary and ask for volunteers to complete each step, writing down a completion date with each step.  Create expectations and accountability and then follow through!  As you complete a goal and cross it off, celebrate!  Only focus on 2-3 goals at a time; remembering, “Too much change is worse than no change at all”.

There are many ways to finance a continuing education trip for your staff.  For information on our “Trip Kitty” fund, please contact us at Rhonda@MilesGlobal.net  We do team retreats that allow you to develop and pursue your vision, improve communication, develop your team and very directly show your staff the appreciation they deserve!

Stand Out As a Great Dental Practice Thru Effective Scheduling

By:  Rhonda R. Savage, DDS

It’s impossible to be 1000 times better than other dental offices!  You can, however, be better in a 1000 small ways.

What is true in a dental practice is true for clients in any business.  Statistics show that whether it’s you as the customer, or your patient, you want three things:

1. Friendliness

2. Reasonable wait times

3. Good atmosphere

How does your office rank in these areas?  Let’s look at five ways to increase your customer satisfaction:

1.    The number one frustration of patients is waiting.  People are busy today…more so than in any years past.  Our technological world has enabled us to do so much more in less time.  We’re more impatient and stressed also because of the economy. People do count up the faults of those who keep them waiting.  Focus on appropriate scheduling by realizing that the doctor can only be in one place at one time.  Get to your hygiene patient on time.  Ask the hygiene staff to bring you a note or buzz you after x-rays and initial assessment are completed. Mentally plan your examinations during times that your staff can step in restoratively and help you, thereby not keeping the existing restorative patient waiting.

2.   Schedule for effectiveness and productivity.  If you schedule appropriately, you will not be stressed out.  Running around like a chicken with its head cut off does not facilitate a friendly and caring atmosphere!

3.   Get done on time.  Take a lunch, if you schedule for lunch.  Constantly running late will decrease morale and affect your atmosphere! If your office is continually running late, it’s a scheduling problem and is not respectful to the team.

4.   Schedule for success by planning and protecting time for effective and productive team meetings. Teams need the ability to communicate not only what’s right, but what’s wrong.  If you have a resistant team, consider whether or not you’re involving them in the process.

5.   Have an effective morning huddle!  You can schedule time to focus on patients who have had a change in their life:  a birth, death, birthday, vacation etc. Then communicate with the patient, pleasantly surprising them!  Also, review, the day prior, patients that owe money, are past due for recall, need treatment that was diagnosed but not completed.

How do you increase customer satisfaction?  By focusing on what people want!  Team training is crucial to your success.  What do patients want?  They want a continual series of unexpected surprises.  One of the surprises is an on-time practice that schedules well not only for patient care, but also for team development!

Does your office have a Strong Periodontal Program?

By:   Rhonda R. Savage, DDS

The biggest lawsuits in dentistry come from supervised neglect.  Not having a perio program in the modern day practice borders on malpractice.   Periodontal guidelines have significantly changed in the last decade.  Many practices throughout the U.S. do not follow the new recommended guidelines.

Many offices do not probe.  Therefore, there is no foundation to warn us of a change in the patient’s condition.  Some hygienists are not performing the scaling and root planing that a patient needs and deserves.  If a patient goes to another city or another dentist who is involved with early diagnosis and has a perio program presented to them at the moderate stage, the first thing the office hears is, “I have been going to the dentist every six months for years.  Why didn’t my other office tell me this?”  If there is a lawsuit, the first step is checking your treatment by procedures print-out to see how many initial therapy patients you have treated in the past year.

At times, hygienists and doctors are providing some periodontal treatment, but they send it to insurance as a 1110 code.  They do this for two reasons:

1. They don’t have a perio protocol of when to refer, when to recommend quad scales and when to have patients on a three or four month interval.
2. They want their patients to like them and are reluctant to give them bad news.

How do we establish a periodontal program?

First, go online and print out the American Academy of Periodontology guidelines.  Then, ask for your staff’s help.  Sit down together and determine your protocol.  Put it in writing.

Secondly, shift your new patient examination to the doctor’s second chair.  The new patient examination and x-rays are best completed in the doctor’s chair, with the doctor setting the stage for periodontal disease.  The doctor can spot probe and make a estimated diagnosis for the length of cleaning time (try to overestimate).  An estimate can be given to the patient for the fees involved. Case acceptance will be higher if the recommendation first comes from the doctor. Be brief in the discussion.  Most patients do not need or want a lot of detail.

Third, schedule flexible time into your hygienist schedule. You’ll need flexible time to see your new patients quickly, and for quadrant scaling and root planing.

Fourth, ask your hygiene department to look at every patient with a fresh set of eyes.  Are they improving periodontally or is there still disease present?

Focus on placing your patient’s health first by developing a strong periodontal program. If you have a strong periodontal program, approximately 30% of your hygiene services will be in the 4000 codes with scaling and root planing or periodontal maintenance. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, where does your practice rank?

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

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!

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)

CLICK HERE

Rhonda R. Savage, DDS

Have you ever noticed the individual who can connect with everyone, it seems, every time he or she is out and about?  This same person can make you feel special each time you meet them!  How is she different than you?  What is the ‘magic’ that he or she works?

I think the same thought is true with teams:  Why do some teams seem to function outstandingly… absolutely wonderfully, yet others struggle?  Have you seen those dental teams who do so well that they never seem to struggle?  Does it seem that their success happens with little or no effort?

This article is NOT for the faint of heart.  Set this aside and read it ONLY if you are interested in a challenge!

The good news is, I’m quite certain there’s a formula for team success and it goes like this:

1. Remember your role:

It doesn’t matter what needs to be done…no one should be ‘too good’ for any job in the dental practice.  What is your role?  For anyone in dentistry: The first priority is patient care.

Dental Assistants:

1. Your number one priority:  Patient care.  Whatever it takes to seat the patient and dismiss the patient.
2. Whatever it takes to make the patient care possible…stocking your room and instrument sterilization are two examples.
3. Helping the hygiene team…what ever it takes to keep the patient on time.
4. Supply and laboratory case management.
5. Number five:  Go up front and say, “I have 20 minutes; how can I help?”

(Front desk:  be prepared with 20-30 minute ways your clinical team can help)

Dental Hygienists:

1. Number one priority:  patient care.  Whatever it takes to seat and dismiss the patient.
2. Whatever it takes to make patient care possible:  Instrument sterilization and stocking your room.
3. Helping the dentist/assistant stay on time.
4. Instrument sterilization
5. Number 5:  Going up front and saying, “how can I help?”  I have 30 minutes.  Especially:  The hygiene team should help with recare and reactivation.

Front Desk:

1. Whatever it takes to help the patient schedule, pay and reappoint.

Everyone up front should have defined duties (80% of their job), but they bend over backwards for each other (20%).  The front desk can be cross trained to seat and dismiss patients and take x-rays, but keep in mind…if you’re continually pulling from the front to help the back, with few exceptions….you are short staffed at the front desk.

A typical two staff front office has these duties:

Scheduling coordinator: Greets patients, answers the two primary incoming lines and does the majority of the scheduling.  She engineers the day.  She’s responsible for recare/reactivation and follow-up calls with patients who say, “I need to think about it.  She has a warm, enthusiastic manner, yet is organized.

The Financial coordinator: A more direct person who is used to leading the patient to accept treatment, yet still is friendly and warm to the patients.  She checks patients out, processes the insurance, collects the payment and also is responsible for follow up on past due insurance and past due accounts.

Proper staffing up front is critical to your success:  I can’t say if you’re under or overstaffed without crunching numbers and evaluating key information to know about your style of practice.  For a PDF on staffing responsibilities, email me at Rhonda@MilesGlobal.net

The newer style of the front desk is to be ‘front desk-less.’  A word of caution:  Be certain ALL team members are trained to the same level of ability AND have the personalities that facilitate case acceptance, a challenge to be sure.

Doctors:

Your job is patient care.  Stay on time with restorative procedures.  If you’re “Doctor Add-On” we should talk.  Stay on time with your hygiene exam.  Your time in the hygiene chair should NOT be more than 4-6 minutes.  If it takes longer, you’re talking too much or socializing too much.

Some doctors say, “I don’t want to give up this time with patient.  This is what connects me with the patient.”  I say, “OK…but you’ll never be as productive as if you were to ask your team to do more talking for you; that’s your decision.”

I can guarantee you:  If you train your team to talk and write for you, you can make $100,000 more annually and NOT increase your stress.  In fact, stress will decrease!

And, here’s the kicker:  Your relationship with the patient will actually improve!

Times have changed and will never be the same again.  Are you willing to change?  Don’t call me if you’re not willing to change.

What do you need to do?  Doctors:  Don’t hang at the front desk. It sends the wrong message.  Your attempts to be personal inhibit the front desk’s ability to schedule, collect money and process insurance.  You bother the patient who’s on the phone with the front desk person.

Also, Doctors:  only take personal calls if it’s absolutely urgent.  Stay away from your computer and your cell phone. Answer a specialist’s call during business hours only if they have your patient in the chair.

Why don’t some teams click?  Teams that “don’t click” have little organization.  “Everyone is responsible for everything!”  There is little accountability.  People are sensitive to any form of perceived criticism about their job.  Gossip exists.  Favoritism exists.

2. Focus on the work:

There is ALWAYS work to do in a busy dental office.  If you’re not busy…follow my recommendations and you WILL be busy!!

Closely examine your front desk effectiveness regarding the Accounts Receivables, the Past Due Insurance, the Recare effectiveness and their systematic way to follow up with patients.  However:  Do NOT micromanage.

Clinical team:  look at your space from top to bottom:  clean it quarterly in depth.  Stocking, laboratory work, sterilization, supply ordering and helping up front…the work is NEVER done.  There is no reason to be standing around, which leads to gossip.  Gossip is the number one detrimental thing that drives morale down.

Ok, Doctors:  Here’s where I put your feet to the fire.

The number one thing that detracts from your ability to produce effectively is your cell phone, your computer and “dinking.”  Dinking is a School of Dentistry term (so it’s quite official) (that’s sarcasm) that means:  “To tinker something to death until it no longer is as good as if you’d stopped 15 minutes ago”

Close your office door and do the dentistry!  Make your hands “be like butterflies” and fly with a focus on quality but also speed.  I’ve never heard a patient say, “Geez, Doc, I wish you would’ve taken longer!”

Here’s another quite painful, yet true thought:  Have you ever noticed that when you’re slow, you get slower?  Yet, your patients have their own time frame.  If you have 1.5 hours for a 1.15 minute time…do it in 1 hour, 15 minutes! Teams that get used to being slow then subsequently have difficulty readjusting to a faster pace.

Teams that don’t click run behind.  They reschedule patients to fit their own schedule.  They’re stressed.  Staff gets little time for the bathroom or to eat.  They get out late at the end of the day.  Morale is down.  Time is slow….or way too busy.

3. Share information:

No one likes to work in an information vacuum.  Focus on effective, dynamic, productive, fun team meetings.  Have a morning huddle, meetings by departments, and if you’re a large practice, a core team meeting.  Have performance reviews and coach daily for effectiveness.  Focus seriously on communication.  You need to coach daily.

Regardless of your perception is:  “Some teams are blessed or graced with an ease that you can never achieve” it is NOT true.  Communication is the key to your success in all that you and your team do!

Teams that don’t click don’t talk.  They don’t talk about the tough things that need to be discussed. There’s little trust at the team meeting.  They’ve been ‘shut down’ before; ridiculed or laughed at during the team meeting.  One or two people dominate the meeting.

Or, worse yet, they never have a team meeting.  The “doctor is non-confrontational.”  He or she doesn’t like performance reviews or team meetings.  Ouch!  Time to change, doctor!  The world has changed.  Are you willing to change?

4. Take your job seriously:

How passionate about dentistry are you?  Doctors and Associates, I’d ask you to draw a line in the sand:  On a scale of 1-10, (10 being the most) where do you put your mark regarding dentistry?  No one will be as enthusiastic or passionate as you are AND 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?” Have them to write down their answers and bring them to the team meeting.  Use this as a discussion to talk about how to improve your practice.

Ask:  “What’s going well?  “Are there any patient complaints?”  “Is there anything we need to change?” The team (everyone should be expected to participate) needs to come with 1-2 positive suggestions for change.

Another question:   “How am I doing as a leader?”  “What do I do on a regular basis that wastes your time or the time of the patient?”

Teams that don’t click:  Team meetings are boring.  We say the same things and nothing ever happens.

It’s time to click-on your team!  Teams that click communicate well.  There is little staff turnover. They are excited and happy to come to work and enjoy their co-workers.  You know the person who’s coming to work because they’re consistently the same person.  They choose their attitude, are present in the moment and have fun at work!  They care deeply about each other, but do not hesitate to ‘call a spade a spade,’ and do so in a professional, caring way.  They know that “it’s all about the patient.”

A successful team puts the patient first, the practice as a healthy practice second.  They put their own personal needs, wants and desires third.

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 us at:

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.

Check out these definitions, (which are from Wikipedia, so you know they must be true):

Staff – A group of assistants to a manager; something that serves as a staple or a support.
Staffed – To provide with a staff of workers or assistants; a group of people employed by a company, individual, etc., for executive, clerical, or sales work.
Staff – Personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task; professional or clerical workers in an office. A group of people employed in running a business.

What do you think about the term “dental staff”? Some say not to call them a staff. They say it’s an insult and an infection. They want to be called a dental team. OK. What’s the definition of a team?

Team – A cooperative unit.
Team up – Join, unite, work together, cooperate, get together, band together, collaborate, join forces.
Team spirit – Willingness of each member of a team or group to work together with loyalty and enthusiasm.
Teamwork – Cooperation between those who are working together on a task, etc.

Here’s my point: The team includes the doctor, office administrator or manager, as well as every employee. And please don’t forget the most important person on your team: the patient!

What’s the acronym for team? Together Everyone Accomplishes More. “Team” includes everyone who is working together to accomplish a common goal. As a team, we need our staff. The staff is actually the most important asset of a dental office. They are most certainly not an infection! The practice exists because of the dentist, succeeds because of the staff, and thrives because of the team.

What happens, however, if we’ve got a bad apple … an infection … in the bunch? The bad apple can be the dentist, a team member, or the patient. This is where the definition of staph comes in — staph can cause a range of infections. The most common bacteria is Staphylococcus Aureus, often shortened to S. aureus. S. aureus can be a mild skin infection or life-threatening illnesses such as toxic shock syndrome, respiratory, bone, joint, endovascular, or wound infections.

S. aureus
can infect other tissues and spread by contact. Staph infection that is not antibiotic-resistant can be treated in about a month (depending upon the severity). Today, S. aureus has become resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. The spread of S. aureus is through human-to-human contact.

Here’s my rationale: Sometimes the staph isn’t the staff. The infection, or “bad apple,” can be any member of the team. This is the question to consider: If you put a bad apple in a barrel of good apples, do the good ones turn the bad apple good? probably not. But sometimes through encouragement, training, and coaching, you can take a difficult staff person, doctor, or patient and make a good apple.

In most dental offices, the question of good and bad is complex. There are many reasons why a problem can exist and why someone, whether patient, doctor, or team member, is like he is. In this short article, there’s not enough time to list all the situations I’ve witnessed, but I do have solutions. In 35 years of consulting, Miles and Associates helped positively resolve many infectious problems in dental offices.

There are two leadership questions you should apply when addressing a bad apple problem:

1. Is what is happening in the best interest of the patient?
2. Is what is happening in the best interest of the practice as a healthy practice?

If the answer to either is no, the problem needs to be resolved.

Doctors: If you have a situation and don’t resolve it, one of two things will happen. The rest of the team will begin acting like the “bad” person, or worse, you’ll lose the respect of the rest of the team. Problems need to be met head on and resolved. Begin by coaching your staff daily and let the troubled person know specifically what he or she needs to be doing. Coaching should be done with dignity and privacy. If you’re upset, I recommend that you calm down, collect your thoughts, and address the issue within 24 hours.

Begin by examining your intentions. Is your goal to humiliate and humble the other person? Or is it to motivate and change behavior? If you approach all problems with a clear heart and head and controlled emotions, you’ll be more successful with your communication and intent.

Remember that for people to learn and change, they may need to hear something six to 11 times. Repetition is the key to your success. As leaders, we feel we over-communicate, but studies have shown we actually under-communicate by a ratio of 1:10.

Doctors: Begin discussing staff attitude issues by discussing job performance. If you say, “You’re not a good team player,” someone can argue with you. If you say, “Sarah, you’ve been leaving early. You’ve also been picking and choosing the patients you will and won’t see, not helping with sterilization, and you’re on your cell phone during the day, which is against office policy.” Then talk about attitude and teamwork. By never sidestepping a problem, you can engender courage, enthusiasm, and teamwork in others.

Danny Meyer has a chapter in his book, “Setting the Table,” called “Constant Gentle Pressure.” He writes that the three hallmarks of effective leadership are to provide a clear vision for your business so that your staff and patients know where you’re taking them, to hold people accountable for consistent standards of excellence, and to communicate a well-defined set of cultural priorities and nonnegotiable values.

If you don’t get the needed response, then it’s time for a corrective review. For a copy of our corrective reviews and effective performance review forms, e-mail me at Rhonda@Milesglobal.net.

Team members: If the problem is a coworker, approach the person and use the “feel-felt-found” method. As an example, say you’re having a problem with Tami. You feel she’s not carrying her weight, she’s leaving early and not being a team member, and she’s not helping out 100% with instruments, stocking, or clean up. Before talking with the doctor(s), I recommend approaching Tami with a clear heart and kindness in your voice. Say, “Tami, I’d like to talk with you about the end-of-the-day duties. Is this a good time? If not, when is?”

Then say, “Tami, I have some concerns and I’ve hesitated approaching you because I was worried about how you’d take it. My intention is that you and I work well together because not only does that feel good, I know it’s in the best interest of our patients and the practice. I feel frustrated at the end of the day when you leave early. I’ve felt that if I can talk about it, we can probably work it out together rather than involving the doctor. I’ve found that often, when difficulties exist, working it out together can make us a stronger team.”

Patients: Doctors should always know that day if a patient has complained. As best as possible, the complaint should be resolved the same day. However, you cannot please all patients all the time. Approach the problem with your best intention in your heart. Be open, listen well, and be reasonable with your emotions. Apologize using the “feel, felt, found” method. You’re not admitting fault, you’re simply softening the person’s issues by recognizing how they feel. Address issues of lateness, no shows, or rude patients. Strive for a level of professionalism where the patient comes first, but you should also hold patients to reasonable guidelines and expectations.

Staff: What if the problem is the doctor? We all have difficult times in our lives. I personally had a time when my attitude affected my job performance. My team approached me as a group and said, “Dr. Savage, can we talk with you? Is this a good time?” I said, “Absolutely!” They said, “We think you’re a great person and terrific dentist, but you need to know that we feel your attitude is affecting the practice. Our intentions are that you have the very best practice, the most successful staff, and that your patients are happy. However, we feel your attitude is affecting the practice.”

Sometimes, as doctors, we need to hear that what we’re doing affects the practice. Here is the key: We need to be open to the staff and patients’ information and not become angry. We need to be approachable.

Can a bad apple become a good one? With people, the answer is yes. But it takes time, effort, training, and willingness. Are staff an infection? Absolutely not! They are the greatest asset of a dental practice. However, individual staff, doctor(s), or patients can be like staph, the consequences of which can be spread from human to human. I challenge you not to accept status quo. Work to resolve issues and be happy. You have the ability to choose your attitude and the people you surround yourself with; life is too short to be unhappy. I like the saying, “Are you going to whine or shine?”

Author bio
Rhonda Savage, DDS, has been in private practice for 16 years, and is the CEO for Linda L. Miles and Associates, an internationally known practice management and consulting business. Dr. Savage is a noted speaker who lectures on practice management, esthetic dentistry, women’s health issues, periodontal disease, communication and marketing, and zoo dentistry. You may reach Dr. Savage at Rhonda@milesglobal.net.
Source:
DentistryIQ