How proud I am of my daughter, Amy, and her friend Beca who completed a triathalon yesterday! Like everything else we all want in life, it took committment, perseverance and courage!
Using this philosophy in dental practice makes all your dreams come true . Whether you are the dentist or an employee, success does not come easily. Decide what you want and GO FOR IT!
In my opinion the dentist just did not see the BIG picture. Nothing matters more than good patient care. The hygienists were already very productive and doing a great job with hygiene services and even educating patients about their needed treatment.
My advice to him was to empower the hygienists to decide at each hygiene visit how much time is needed for their next hygiene visit to provide a good service for the patient and still continue being productive financially.
Once empowered the attitude of the hygienists changed completely. The atmosphere in the office improved and so did the productivity of the office!
Dental hygienists need to be treated like the licensed dental professionals that they are. When empowered, there is no limit to what they can do for the dental practice!
Meet one-to-one with your employees
So many of my dentist/clients are so fearful about telling employees the truth about their job performance. It amazes me how such intelligent highly-educated individuals could think that employees could read their minds! Perhaps the dentists can’t deal with the idea that the employee could cry from hearing the truth.
I consulted with a group practice that every six months did an evaluation of each employee. Many aspects of their job performance were rated on a scale from 1-10. The evaluations were all tallied and the employees were put in order with the highest number of points at the top of the list. Raises were given based on the order of these employees. Some employees even had special notes written about how they could improve. Great system!
The problem was that the dentists were all super nice, non-confrontive individuals and except for the employee seeing the raise in their paycheck, they never saw or heard anything about the evaluation! Not even the notes. How the dentists thought the employees would figure this all out and change their behavior is a big question to me!
The answer to staff management, in my opinion, is to be direct and honest with your employees. Meet with them regularly, especially the ones you want to improve. If there are tears, have tissues ready. They really do want to learn to be stellar employees. Help them to grow in their jobs!
Have regular one-to-one reviews with your employees and watch your team grow to be your Dream Team!
"Don't I look like a big boy now?"
Yes,it is one of those true things about living that doing things the first time is usually uncomfortable. But what is also true is that doing new things is also exciting and brings about real growth. Here is little Ryan after his first real haircut at Little Locks in San Diego. So proud of himself about how cute he looks! But he was frightened at first!
Whether you change the way you ask a patient to pay at the time of service, alter the way you do confirmation calls, talk to patients about treating their periodontal disease instead of continuing your “supervised neglect” by continuing with just a prophylaxis, or treatment plan crowns instead of redoing large fillings, it is bound to be a little scary. After you try the new communication technique and you see how well it was received, you will be amazed how easy it will become to do it again! You will smile all day!
Social Media is one of the best ways to market your practice today. I just love Facebook Ads – you can set the budget (even $1 per day) -you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. When the person clicks on your ad you can set it to go to your Facebook page or to your website. You select the demographics of who you want to see your ad, and what you want to “sell”. Pick a photo you want and a title. You can set up several ads at the same time to see which works best -all included in the same budget. You can change the ads every day if you wish as you see how many clicks you get on each ad. Doesn’t get much better than this! It only takes a few minutes and it is lots of fun! But first you need to join Facebook -yes, join! Go ahead and do it! Please leave me a comment and let me know your experience with this!
Everyone on your staff should add to the energy and productivity of the office. The team needs to work together positively to make patients feel like they had the best treatment possible in your office. Coach staff members who drag others down to have them improve their attitude.
You can create a recession mentality in your practice by listening to the news or talking with others who complain constantly about their slow business. Refuse to participate!! Dentistry is not optional! Dentistry improves the life of your patients! Sincerely explain to your patients the treatment they need, what it will do for their life and then assist them in working out the finances so it fits their budget. Then watch your office get busier than ever!
I just spoke to a dentist who only charged out an exam once a year. How foolish! Dental insurance carriers pay for two examinations per year because it is cost effective for them! Small lesions diagnosed early mean smaller payouts for them. It is the same for your insured and non-insured patients. Patients should have an examinations twice a year!!
I wish dentists would realize how much staff members crave appreciation. It needs to be personal, directed to an individual, specific to something she/did and sincerely spoken. You will not believe how hard your employees will work for you if you just do that simple thing often!!
The best pearl I read recently for growing your dental practice came from Fred Joyal, of 1-800-DENTIST. In his book, “Everything Is Marketing” he recommends the dentist call new patients before their first visit to welcome them into your family of patients, and make sure their questions have been answered. What an amazing way to show that you care! Even if you reach their voice mail, they will love it.
