One of the greatest challenges you will face as you attempt to maximize the profitability of your dental practice is maximizing efficiency, for both yourself and your team. The need for efficiency is obvious—you and your staff have a finite number of hours to commit to your practice each week, and the more work that can be accomplished, the more income you can generate.
Many dentists seeking to grow their practice attempt to do so by hiring additional employees. While growing your team is a great step to take, it’s important that your current team is operating at peak efficiency beforehand.
Below are three steps to ensure that your staff operates at maximum efficiency:
1) Require that your staff “check their distractions at the door.” The reality is that most employees are happy to embrace every distraction that comes their way. It’s human nature—they simply don’t have the same incentive as you do when it comes to work. Your income depends on attracting and retaining patients—your employees need only to avoid being fired. Therefore, it’s important that you take steps to eliminate distractions. Have internet filters installed to block non work-related sites, and consider requiring employees to store their cell phone in a locker.
2) Provide specific work assignments—and follow up. Give your employees a reason to work hard by setting specific parameters and timetables for their tasks. Check up on their progress regularly, and if an employee isn’t meeting expectations, consider replacing him or her. The most effective way to keep most employees working hard is by clearly defining your expectations—and letting them know that you will hold them accountable.
3) Set time aside regularly for performance reviews. Traditionally, many corporations and businesses provide performance reviews to each employee once per year. But to develop an efficient staff, these reviews need to occur much more often. I recommend sitting down with each team member every three months, at least. It doesn’t have to be thorough—simply provide feedback on their recent performance, identify areas of improvement, and evaluate progress based on previous areas of improvement.
The efficiency of your staff is one of the most significant determining factors of the ultimate success or failure of your practice. If you are able to implement these steps, I guarantee that you’ll see an improvement. To learn more, contact me today—I’d be glad to help you create a more profitable practice.