Dentaltown January 2017 - 75

the day go by faster. Dress up for Halloween;
throw an ugly sweater contest during the
holidays and have your patients vote; or just
sing along to the radio. There are countless
ways to make your office a fun and enjoyable
atmosphere that people want to be a part of.

6. Communal meals
Buy the staff lunch on a hard day.
Celebrate an achievement or milestone.
Do something "just because." That patient
was a real pain in the you-know-what?
Starbucks for everyone! It's like the workplace equivalent of buying a round at
the bar. Take your newest team member
out to lunch and really get to know each
other. Enjoying food together as a team
strengthens your bond in a way similar to
families eating dinner together.

7. Continued education
CE courses shouldn't be just for doctors.
Whether it's taking your staff to a local dental
meeting or an out-of-town conference, or
sponsoring a continuing education program
right in your own office, "The dental team
that takes CE together stays together." Benefits
include team building and bonding, as well
as developing communication, collaboration
and knowledge skills. Just like we can often
feel pumped up after an awesome lecture or
a seminar on a new procedure, our staff also

gets excited about new ideas and techniques
they've learned, and feel motivated to apply
them back at the office. Why sit alone in
a practice management lecture when you
could have your office manager by your side
to hear the speaker's pearls of wisdom for
herself? Offering CE allows you to empower
your staff to contribute to the practice in a
meaningful, productive manner.

8. A discussion about quality
Pick at least two times a year that
your office is historically slow, and block
out a long lunch to have a staff meeting.
(We refer to ours as a "Quality Circle.")
For our pediatric practice, September is a
perfect time because the kids are back in
school. This is a chance for the entire team
to touch base on all of the happenings in the
office. Discuss what you're doing well and
what you could be doing better. Give your
staff the opportunity to speak up and offer
input on marketing ideas, new products they
might like to try, or any perceived issues or
challenges.

9. A morning huddle
Every office should take the time to
meet for about 10 minutes to touch base
before you start with patients. This is a
great opportunity to find out important
information about patients on the schedule,

and allows you to take on the day as a team.
For our huddle, the hygienist prepares a
list with the number of cleanings we have,
pointing out any special needs or other
issues, and how many new patients and
emergency cases we'll see, including a brief
rundown of what they entail. This is also a
great opportunity for the staff to share any
issues they might be having. Although we
ask them to leave personal issues at the door,
it's helpful to know if someone has a sick
baby at home or perhaps is suffering from a
migraine, so we can be understanding and
better help each other out.

10. Delegate
I admit it: As a control freak, I struggle
with this at times, but we have to surround
ourselves with good people and then let
them do their jobs. Get to know your
staff's strengths and weaknesses; figure out
which positions best suit their individual
personalities and skills. You may have a
really chatty gal who'd be perfect for a
receptionist position, while the introvert
may be better handling insurance.
Create an environment for everyone
to succeed through CE, annual reviews,
morning huddles and quality circles. Then
let them do their jobs and delegate new and
different assignments to them as needed. ■

Why do kids have
so much decay?
Dr. Jeanette MacLean discusses
tooth decay in children,
prevention and more on Episode
223 of the podcast Dentistry
Uncensored with Howard Farran.
Listen to the hourlong conversation or read the transcript at
dentaltown.com.

Andrea opening a birthday gift from the staff,
circa 1999.

Cheri rocking some sweet glasses back in 1997.

dentaltown.com \\ JANUARY 2017

75
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown January 2017
