Your professional organizations

Networking is the organizations that you are a part of. It maybe a dental organization or you may spend time in a community group that supports the hungry. Whichever group you choose to be a part of work to grow your standing in the organization.

Not only does being a part of an organization help build your image in the community it also helps to build your own education and learning in your field. It is easy to become stagnate when you do the same thing day in and day out. However, being a part of a professional network allows you to share new ideas with others, and it allows you to learn from other professionals in the field.

Change is a strong part of organizations and in the Book, “Leadership Every Day,” it states that the relationships within an organization are so complex that it changes the dynamics of the organization. Therefore, choose your organizations carefully.  You want to be a part of an organization that is good for society, or is elite in your field. 

Everyone in the office should be a part of a community organization. No matter whether you are the front office or a registered dental assistant you should still continue your learning process by being a part of a professional group.  Everyone needs support to work through problems, come up with innovative strategies to help support patients or create effective procedures. Networking can help you work through these difficult situations.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

A simple thank-you goes along way!

Individuals enjoy being recognized for doing a job well done. However, if you did a survey of your office staff and your patients do you think they would tell you they are overly appreciated? Most individuals do not feel that they’re bosses tell them that they appreciate them enough. Bosses go about business, patients come in and they leave. But most people never exchange pleasantries that show genuine appreciation for a job well done.

It is important for individuals to say thank-you to the people around them. It is recommended by some that you say, “Thank you,” at least three times a day. If you are conducting the morning huddle, ask individuals to share something that went well the week before. You may consider instituting a recognition badge for someone who does something exceptional.

Your thank you should be genuine. Just stating a generic appreciative remark does not bread a sense of strong relationships and trust. However, deep genuine appreciation, for the individuals that work with you will help build stronger relationships.  Hundreds of staff leave positions everyday because they feel that they are undervalued for the hard work that they do.

Individuals at your office may feel they are replaceable at a drop of a hat. If you treat them this way however, many of your employees will find another place to work. An attitude of irreplaceable will help your employees feel valued. When employees feel important they will put in the extra effort, they will follow through with your mission and they will continue to help build onto the culture of appreciation by thanking other employees.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

Take your practice to the next level

 Team Strategies,
       The Dental Practice Companion
by Debra Quarles

Based on lessons taught and learned over a quarter-century of dental practice management consulting, Team Strategies, The Dental Practice Companion is a comprehensive and easy-to-follow game plan for staying competitive in today's market. As a brief taste of what it's like to work with SaltDPM, Team Strategies is good reading for any forward thinking dental practice. (revised 2013 edition.)




Don't miss your opportunity today to own the book that will change your office forever.

Patient Centered Practice

The heart of your business is your customer’s. When they are not happy you can be assured that they will share that with everyone. When they’re happy they will be quick to also let others know.  And when something has happened and they know they are not the center of our practice they will be sharing their unhappiness with the neighbors, friends and strangers at the grocery store. In order to provide the best experience to your customers it is important to know who they are and what they care about.

Your patients might value great care, easy billing practices, or relationships. You may have clients that only care about the overall cleanliness of the office. And what patients find important today may change as they have a family, gat a divorce or switch jobs. It is important to know this because in order to provide superior care to a variety of patients you have to first know what it is that matters to them.

Reflect on what they want and what they value most. After you do that make sure every part of your office meets those same needs of your patients. If you are missing something adjust quickly and implement new strategies that will let your customers know you are thinking of them.

Once you have accessed the primary needs of patients you and your staff should agree upon a method to continue to evaluate how your patients feel about your office. You can utilize different methods such as asking patients when they leave how their experience was or you can utilize social media in order to gather reviews. The method you use doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re aware and you constantly adjust accordingly. 

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

Share new knowledge

The dental field is always changing. It is important to continue to support patients and your office by creating away for yourself and team members to share new information on dental instruments, techniques and technology that is impacting the dental field. 

As a leader of the office you should find and establish a system for your team to bring new information to the office. Maybe a new social media format or an updated software that will save money as just been released. Whatever new idea, there should be an established format where the team can come together and share information and ideas in a safe way. 

In one of your team huddles you may decide to have the team read about a new technique and discuss whether it would benefit the office. Or you might have them try the x-ray machine and report on how well it works for patients. 

Another important way to keep up-to-date on information and share it with your team is conventions and other trainings. In the past you may not have seen a purpose for your teams to attend these events however, new research and new information can become invaluable to your office. The more your team is out and about and has access to new information the better off your patients will be. Find the way to help build your team’s knowledge on new and innovative practices.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

Data allows for action

Data is all around your office and it is constantly changing. In order for you and your team to keep your office moving forward it is important for your team to analyze the data. By taking a look at the numbers it will allow you and your team to know where they are headed and what they need to do in order to make positive financial decisions for the office. It will also help the team determine if they need to complete more re-care calls, or focus on new patients.

For example, you might decide at the beginning of every month you need to work twenty days. While, your hygienist will need to work twenty-three days.  Your front office will need to collect eighty percent or more of the patient portion and you will need to seat at least four crowns, and fifteen root canals. This amount will allow you to pay your bills plus put some aside in case of a bad month. Now, you and your team have a goal to reach. Each of your team members knows what must be done in order to meet the monthly goal. 




You should have your team meet often in order to figure out where your numbers are at and to problem solve when your office is not close to meeting the goal and celebrate when your team is on track. No team should head down a dark path. You cannot hit a goal or a target if you do not know what the goal is. 

Do not wait till the last minute to find out you did not bring in the intended monthly amount. By then it is too late for the team to do anything. You want to give time to course correct if it is needed. The end of the month should be the time in which you and your team celebrate your success not bask in failure.

  

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

Be knowledgeable in your field

Monday we spoke about the importance of having procedures in place that improve your office. Today, we are going to take that one step forward and discuss the importance of being knowledgeable in your field. Your procedures will change based on the new x-ray machine or the improved way to accept insurance. However, in order for you to improve on these items you have to constantly improve your own knowledge and your team's knowledge in the field. 


Things change, new technologies improve the way you complete something in your office. The more research you do and the more your staff stays up-to-date the better off your entire office will run. Once individuals are hired in a position it is easy to become complacent. However, you want to make sure your team is given opportunities to improve on their skills and their knowledge.


For example, allow and encourage your staff to attend conferences, events and other opportunities with other dental offices. The more they can reach out in the dental community, the more diversified knowledge your dental office will have.


Take the time to let your team know that continued learning is an important part of your office. Value new information that is shared with you, even if the idea doesn’t fit the direction you are currently going. Learning should never stop because forward progress should never cease.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

The leaders before you-Maintaining order

Dentist offices are only as strong as the procedures they have in place. In order for your office to thrive in today's society it is important for you and your team to have procedures in place that help your office run more efficiently. 

It isn't necessary to create procedures from scratch on how the front office handles a new patient phone call or how your assistant sets up for a root canal. These are procedures that have been done for years that either you already have a great way that works or you can complete a little research to find out a new way if your way is not working.



However, no matter where you are at in the process it is important to make sure that there are procedures that help keep your office organized and moving forward. For example, if your front office does not run efficient this will impact your schedule, insurance, patient interactions. If your back office does not have effective procedures then your patients will wait longer, or items could be lost.

In order to begin working on this analyze each procedure you have in place from the front all the way to the back. Find out where procedures are breaking down or where they are not working well. Ask staff what they want to improve on and start there.

Which ever route you go, make sure that there are strong procedures in place that help make your office run efficiently.  

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.