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Simply the Best by Sandy Pardue

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Categories: Practice Management, HR and Accounting;
Former Flight Surgeon Finds Home in Florida Practices
by Sandy Pardue

Management and team-building skills are critical for practice owners, because building a great dental team requires a keen understanding of human behavior. The most effective teams don’t just happen—leaders start with the right people, create a practice vision and guidelines, and establish goals that will get everyone there. Then they work to get their teams committed to achieving those goals, so that individuals don’t just follow their personal opinions and move in opposite directions.

The Steps to Greatness

Hire the right people
Your staff sets the tone of the practice. Employees have an effect on everything in the environment: patient retention, referrals, collections, other team members and even your happiness. The hiring process can be hard for many practice owners, so they do nothing—instead of replacing a person and moving forward, they put up with poor performance. Some clinicians are being held hostage in their own practices and many times are victims of practice sabotage, which adds stress to the entire team.

Have a practice vision
I’ve seen dental teams transform once they sit down together and create a statement about where they are as a team and where they’d like to see the practice in the near future. You might be surprised at the positive input your staff could have in an exercise like this! The vision, when written with your team, creates a unified direction for everyone. It will help change focus and habits, which allows you to change results. The practice vision is a clear statement of what you and your team would like the practice to become.

Create practice goals
After creating a vision, list the goals that will get you to the desired outcome. They need to be achievable, rather than “pie in the sky” dreams; creating unachievable goals only adds frustration and creates low morale. The goals that you should list are short-term goals. It’s important that you and your team review progress on a regular basis. The list will need to be updated as you add new goals to replace the ones you accomplish.

Provide job descriptions and procedure manuals
Job descriptions and procedure manuals help you hire the right team members and successfully manage the performance and development of those already on the job. The clarity that descriptions and manuals provide helps everyone stay on task, learn their jobs and perform better as a team. When the rules of the game are laid out, group members tend to get along and achieve better results. Most employee upsets come from a lack of organization and failure to assign duties to team members. Make sure there is complete clarity in the assignment of duties, so team members aren’t competing for control.

Communicate with the team
One of the most common complaints I receive from teams is that they feel there’s a lack of communication from the practice owner—they’re often unsure about what the practice owner wants from them. It’s important for every leader to be able to communicate and motivate. Be a good listener, encourage everyone and be available. As Dentaltown founder Howard Farran says, humans need daily motivation and daily inspiration.

For issues that rely on team consensus and commitment, try to involve the entire team in the decision-making. This helps them to feel as if they have some ownership in the decision, which in turn makes them more likely to be on board with changes.

Acknowledge staff members for jobs well done and let them know they’re appreciated. Talk about practice goals and how the practice can continue to improve. Make sure there are no blocked lines of communication! You’ll soon start to see office morale improve.

Your staff has an effect on everything in the practice environment: patient retention, referrals, collections, other team members and even your happiness.

Recognize and handle common problems with team members

Conflicts between team members
Team members should be encouraged to bring forward any unresolved conflicts in the practice. In any conflict, there’s more than one viewpoint, so the person handling the upset must nd the truth. To do this, first conduct individual interviews; if conflicting reports are given, it’s helpful to get the opposing parties together and get each one’s viewpoint in front of others. Remain neutral; don’t take sides, draw conclusions or discipline anyone until the full story and truth are known. Also, don’t discuss the issues with anyone who’s not involved. Conflict can be resolved with good results when exploring the issue in a professional and constructive fashion.

Personal problems
It would be great if employees left their personal problems outside the office door and picked them up on their way out at the end of the day, but I don’t believe this is possible for most people. Chances are, at some time you’ll have employees who are struggling with personal problems related to parents, children, or marital or financial difficulties.

If you notice a change in performance, meet with the employee and document the outcome. These actions can help alert the employee and make her aware that her problem is affecting her job performance. It will also provide a record. You want to help her get through the difficult time with minimum collateral damage.

If you hear that a team member is having problems or if you notice a change in performance or behavior, don’t come right out and ask him if he’s having personal problems; it’s a slippery slope when a practice owner takes on the role of therapist. If an employee comes to you with a personal problem, keep the discussion work-related. Offer a sympathetic ear but don’t try to solve the problem. Be compassionate and never repeat anything you’re told in confidence.

You may be able to help by adjusting the work schedule. Be fair, because other employees will expect the same treatment if they’re ever in the same situation.

Resisting Change
Most of us are creatures of habit and tend to dislike change: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This viewpoint can work against a practice that’s trying to set new protocols and prepare for expansion—especially one with long-term staff. I’ve heard dentists say things like, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

It’s a great advantage to approach needed change by knowing that your team may resist; you can be better prepared to handle their objections. And you can take actions that will help your team see the benefits and support the needed changes. The way the needed change is introduced to the team can have an effect on how they will respond.

  • Start by acknowledging the positive aspects of the practice and their personal contributions. Then communicate the ways that you believe things could be even better. You can help your staff get on board with change by securing their agreement to help you work on improving the practice. If they’re made to feel included in the process, they’re more likely to accept change.
  • Teams often feel like change will affect them negatively. Be prepared to hear that they think everything is ne, and there’s no way the practice can be better. They’ll feel more comfortable with leaving everything the way it is unless they learn the advantages to making changes.
  • Fear of the unknown may make them concerned over losing their status or even their jobs. This is especially true with established staff. Avoid being a member of the “Practice Management of the Month Club.” If you’re constantly changing things, staff will stop supporting new ideas. Once you discover successful protocols, stick with them. Don’t let your fear of how your team will react to change stop you from making improvements to the practice.

Toxic team members
No one deliberately hires toxic employees, but practice owners tend to keep them because they’re not sure how to handle or confront the situation. Toxic employees include bullies, gossips, pessimists and instigators. They are distracting, create negative energy and prevent the organization from progressing.

Have your team create a list of Core Values that each employee should embrace, work toward and master in order to excel as a team member. The Core Values should include non-negotiable ways the team has agreed to behave with each other and represent their commitment to patients.

Have the team include a list of behaviors that are positive, and also a list of behaviors that describe a “toxic” team member. [See Fig. 1.] They should discuss and include how they’ll alert fellow team members who violate the Core Values agreement and become “toxic.” For example, to keep each other in line, they could use a simple, agreed-upon statement such as:

  • “Oops!”
  • “Faux pas!”
  • “We all agreed we would stay positive.”
  • “Remember our Core Values.”

When staff members determine how they’ll treat each other and which actions should be taken if someone doesn’t follow the values, the results will positive. It’s beneficial to get your team on the same page ... and help them get along a lot better.

Toxic employees are poison to the practice. If it turns out they won’t correct course, termination may be necessary.

Former Flight Surgeon Finds Home in Florida Practices

Conclusion
Your team is one of your practice’s most valuable assets. To reach your potential, you will need to have everyone rowing in the same direction. Give them the tools and support necessary for success, and you’ll soon have your dream team.

Sandy PardueCheck out Sandy Pardue’s blog on Dentaltown
Want more insights from practice management consultant Sandy Pardue? Head to dentaltown.com/blogs to check out past posts, and subscribe to be notified whenever she adds a new one.

Sandy Pardue Sandy Pardue is an internationally recognized lecturer, author and practice management consultant. She has more than 25 years of experience in helping doctors with practice expansion and staff development. Pardue is known for her comprehensive and interesting approach to dental office systems, and offers a refreshing point of view on how to make a practice more efficient and productive.
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