Management Trends
Most problems in the dental industry center on office management, leading in to staff retention and profit margin. Your staff is the singular, most important aspect of running your business. We can’t have our eyes and ears everywhere, we need support from trusted employees.
Retention is based on many factors that we might not initially see in the moment, as we’re busy with ourselves and our work. Yet it’s exactly this that can cause your employees to have low morale and high stress. As dental practitioners, it is our job to understand and empathize with our staff when the going gets rough. Working together as a team takes not only practice, but recognition and motivation to do better.
Encouragement
Even small victories deserve big rewards. Appreciating the small bits of progress as they occur encourages your employees to continue working smarter and harder for your practice. Host a morning coffee hang out, or order a surprise lunch for the front office.
Encourage your staff’s cumulative successes as a team, as well as singular employees who showcase exceptional work ethic. Be specific with your gratitude. Instead of “thanks for that” or “I greatly appreciate it,” try “Thank you so much for getting those mailers out before lunch, Sandra.” Connect your “thank you”s to the people that make them happen.
Communication
It might seem obvious and redundant, but talk to your staff! Sometimes we’re so preoccupied with life and work that all we can muster is a “hi” or “good morning” and “see you tomorrow”. Ask your staff how their family is doing, how their holidays went, or if there’s something you can do to help.
Better yet, ensure that your staff knows that they can come to you or other employees with any concerns. You can communicate this in meetings with “I know the new dental management software isn’t the most user friendly, but ____ knows it very well. I’m sure they would take some time to get us up to speed when they’re available.”
Reaching Out
No matter where we’re at in our careers, we can always learn from one another. Dental management courses and online consulting offer unique takes on retaining and maintaining an efficient office staff. Whether you need training on how to do your training, or you want to get your employees on the same page, you’ll find a great number of tools at your disposal when you take the time to research.
Finally, when we take the time to recognize where our businesses are lacking structure or integrity, we take steps towards resolving those issues before they become so overwhelming that we can’t keep up. Needing help means reaching out, whether that’s to a peer or outside consulting source.
0 Comments