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Howard Speaks Howard Farran, DDS, MAGD, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine

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The Mack Truck Test
– by Howard Farran, DDS, MAGD, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine

Failsafes are the simple yet ingenious systems put in place to prevent complete and total failure. Like the brakes that automatically engage when the elevator you're in begins to descend a little faster than usual, or the GFI switch that trips so a circuit doesn't short out, or off-site software back-up servers that will allow software to run seamlessly in case the main servers are compromised. Can you imagine how things would be without them? When newer traffic lights lose power at an intersection, a backup battery allows the red light to start flashing, turning the intersection into a four-way-stop until the power returns. Without failsafes all of these situations could have catastrophic results.
Although practices often implement failsafes like software backup, they fall short when it comes to preparing for actual disaster. Would your practice survive the Mack Truck Test? If you or an integral person in your practice were run over by a Mack truck, would your practice survive? Chances are, if you operate a one-doc practice and your last vision on Earth is a Yosemite Sam mudflap, it's not only curtains for you, but for your practice as well. And, doctor, if you have no failsafes in place, I strongly urge you to look both ways before you cross the street.

I have about 50 employees between Dentaltown and my dental practice, Today's Dental, and have failsafes in place for every single employee if, dare I say it, one were run over by a Mack truck out of the blue. We have two associate dentists at Today's Dental. If one of them were to leave, we'd still be able to operate business as usual until we found another associate. If Sandy, our office manager, disappeared, Dawn, our patient services supervisor, could fill in in a heartbeat. At Dentaltown, even if I were to get hit by a Mack truck, everything would run just as it always has (in fact, some days I think my team would prefer it if I was hit by a Mack truck)!

What about your practice? What are the roles of everyone on your staff? Are employees cross-trained in different areas? If your front desk staff were to leave without notice, could you or your hygienists or assistants fill in? Or would you have to shut your doors until you sorted out the mess?

If you don't currently employ any failsafes for your team, the easiest place to begin is with job descriptions. A job description is one of the most fundamental foundations of managing a staff – and surprisingly the majority of practices do not have job descriptions for their employees. Most dentists figure hygienists and assistants know their roles in the office. And of course your dental hygienist knows her job; she was trained well in hygiene school, and you hired her because of her unique skill set. But does she know what you want her to do? If she's doing SRP, does she know how much time she has? Does she know what you want her to be looking for in all of your patients? Do your assistants just help you or do they also help your hygienists during cleanings? If you have more than one person working up front, who is handling the scheduling? Who handles the collections? Who answers the phones? And when they answer the phones, what are they supposed to say? These questions should all be answered in your practice's job descriptions.

You should keep a file of the job descriptions where everyone can view it and make alterations to it. Just think how valuable that document can be to a new hire who has to jump right into the thick of things and has to decipher who takes care of what. A list of job descriptions handed to a new hire takes a lot of the directional hand-holding off of your staff and eases transition. For example, if my president Lorie Xelowski were to get hit by a Mack truck tomorrow, Lorie's job description for the next president of the company is huge and it is filled with tons of details and names and contact information. The more information provided, the more seamless the transition.

Although the document is open for employees to view and edit throughout the year, it's important to personally review and update the job descriptions on an annual basis. Every year, Lorie and I read through and update all the job descriptions. Whose duties have shifted to another position? Who is undertaking a new project? If we are using the same printer, has the contact person changed? Are all the various lawyers we use still practicing?

Job descriptions also serve as a solid foundation when it comes time for reviews and merit increases. If a staff member is lacking in certain areas of his or her most basic duties outlined for a position, you've got an easy checklist to work from. Also, that person's duties listed in the job description serves as a reference in determining comparable salaries. If your hygienist is requesting more money, and she goes beyond her duties listed on her job description, perhaps she's deserving of a bump in pay – and an adjustment to her job description.

A long time ago, before I founded Dentaltown, I sold samples of my office's job descriptions and office manual in a book for $99. Soon after I published it, I realized that it was a terrible value for the end user because most dentists would buy the book, read it and then put it up on their shelves where it has likely accumulated 15 years worth of dust (and if that's the case, doctor, you really should hire a better cleaning service). Basically, because it was in a book, it's likely that nothing in it was ever implemented. Instead, what I've done is put all this information into Word documents which you can download from Dentaltown.com for free.

When you go to Dentaltown on the right-hand menu there is a section called Downloads. From here you can download my job descriptions, office manual, collections policy and associate contract, all for free (click here to access forms). What I like about giving it to you free in a Word document is that you can modify it for your office. You can change all of it or none of it (you at least have to change your name on the document, from Today's Dental to your practice name and address), and you can place it on your desktop for easy access and editing. This way everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to do, and where to look if they don't.

Install failsafes like job descriptions throughout your office. It's a good way for employees to know where they stand in the office, to hold your employees accountable to their responsibilities and to ensure seamless transitions for "newbies." But don't forget to look both ways before crossing the street, doc!

• To hear more of Howard's thoughts on this topic, go to Dentaltown.com and search: DTV Howard Speaks

Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, is an international speaker who has written dozens of published articles. To schedule Howard to speak to your next national, state or local dental meeting, e-mail colleen@farranmedia.com.

Dr. Farran's next speaking engagement is May 5, 2011, at the Townie Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, please call Colleen at 480-445-9712.
May 5 • Las Vegas, Nevada
Townie Meeting
info@towniemeeting.com



May 26 • Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Dental Congress
www.4thdds.org
fourthdistrictds@nycap.rr.com		 May 6 • Tunica, Mississippi
Tunica Extravaganza Dental Meeting
573-335-6709
jls8284@yahoo.com
www.tunica2011.com

August 20 • Greater Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee AGD
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