The quick way to boost revenues.
Acknowledge Success
It is very easy to get caught up in focusing on problem areas and what is not working in the day to day delivery of treatment, service and care to patients. For practices that want to achieve high levels of success, it is critically important that you find the time to notice and regularly acknowledge one another for the things that are working in your practice. Make an effort to notice and report the positives that are going on all around you:
- Great examples of treatment, service and care.
- Patient compliments – how patient responded to treatment, service or care.
- How well a problem situation was handled.
- Extra effort or support provided by team members to one another.
- Great process or system follow through.
- Job well done.
- Completion or finalization of an important project or accomplishment.
This can be done in team meetings, at the end of your day or at any time an opportunity presents itself. A little positive reinforcement can go a long way.
Follow Through
Following through with what you say you are going to do builds competence, trust and confidence - in yourself and in your team. Chronic follow through problems erodes trust and leads to high levels of frustration, upset and resignation.
If you say you are going to do something and you don’t – do not make excuses. Simply acknowledge any problems that may have occurred and take responsibility for dropping the ball without making yourself wrong.
At that point, either;
- Recommit to doing what you originally committed to.
- Negotiate an alternative agreement.
- Revoke your original commitment.
Constructive Feedback
In order to support team members to succeed in their jobs and grow professionally, it is necessary to:
Ensure that responsibilities and expectations related to job performance are clearly defined.
Provide team members with regular and constructive feedback related to job performance.
In order to provide constructive feedback, your practice must develop a criteria which defines the necessary knowledge, skill and self management requirements that enable both staff members and teams to succeed in the dental workplace.
The criteria, which you might define as 'Standards of Performance' applies equally to all staff members and is used as the basis for evaluating job performance. The Standards of Performance provide working definitions of the necessary knowledge, skills and self management requirements to provide for excellence in the treatment, service and care of patients, as well as provide for a healthy and productive work environment.
In addition to supporting the practice to provide excellence in the treatment, service and care of patients, the standards are intended to provide staff with a framework for self development. Properly utilized by staff and management, the practices’ Standards of Performance can provide a framework for a structured approach towards realizing personal and professional growth.
Presence vs Time
Providing outstanding service and creating valuable relationships with patients does not need to take a lot of time - it requires providing patients with undivided attention when they are in your practice. Being present to patients in the short time you may be with them.
Service research demonstrates that the smallest of things can make the biggest difference when it comes to patient service satisfaction:
- Patients receiving undivided attention.
- Patients feeling appreciated that they are patients of your practice.
- Patients feeling they are being listened to.
- Staff anticipating and supporting patients to deal with problems or concerns that may occur.
Patients know when there is stress in a practice and if they are not being paid attention to. They may not be able to voice it but they know when it is occurring. Patients also know when the opposite is occurring - when your team is paying attention to them and they are wowed by it.
Patients are wowed when they are paid attention to by any team member on a visit. When patients are paid attention to by each and every team member they come into contact with on a visit - they typically cannot stop talking about your practice for a day or two because of their experience of service excellence.
Systems play an important role in delivering service excellence to patients from two perspectives. Well defined operating systems keep staff out of stress and better able to pay attention to patients on a day to day basis. Well defined service systems also ensure your staff are paying attention to the things that matter most to your patients during their visits.
Personal Satisfaction and Practice Success
We believe personal satisfaction in a dental practice is dependent upon your individual and collective ability to consistently deliver high standards of treatment, service and care to your patients. Doing so also leads to long term and lasting success.
Providing high standards of quality and service is rewarded by patient loyalty and the satisfaction of knowing that one is part of a team that can work together effectively towards a common goal. Payoffs associated to adopting this type of approach include:
- High patient retention.
- Increased patient referrals and new patient flow.
- Growing patient demand for comprehensive dental services.
- Sustained practice performance over time.
- Insulation against recessionary factors and 3rd party intervention.
There is no question that adopting a quantity and service approach to practcie management secures your practices market position and provides competitive advantage. The future is bright and holds ample opportunity for all dental practices that are able to consistently deliver high standards of treatment, service and care to their patients.
In committing yourselves to achieving quality and service excellence, you are not competing against a practice down the street, you are competing against the standards you set for yourselves.
“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten”
Gucci Family Slogan
Ongoing Learning
Achieving excellence requires staff members’ individual commitment to ongoing learning, development and growth which is aspired to for its own intrinsic value.
Ongoing learning includes acquiring the knowledge and skills that are necessary to provide high standards of treatment, service and care to patients as well as contribute leadership and value to the workplace.
Many of the skills, attitudes and behaviors that enable us to be more effective as individuals in the workplace apply to other aspects of our lives. Ongoing learning results in increased confidence and capabilities that enable us to become more satisfied and effective in all facets of our lives.
“It's what you learn after you know it all - that counts.”
John Wooden
Continuous Improvement
In order to provide patients with excellence in treatment, service and care and realize high levels of productivity, it is necessary for each and every staff member to adopt an attitude of continuous improvement.
This means adopting an attitude that no matter how well you feel you may be doing, you can always improve your standards without diminishing the value of what you have achieved in the past.
Continuous improvement requires an ongoing process of improving the systems, policies and processes of your practice. This means that in addition to working In your practice, you must also focus as a group towards working On your practice. This requires a commitment by every team member to take greater responsibility for continually enhancing your systems, policies and procedures.
"Quality is not something you install like a new carpet or a set of bookshelves, quality is something you work at. It is a learning process."
Dr. W. Edwards Deming
The Pursuit of Excellence
Perfection is not possible, however, achieving quality and excellence is.
Achieving quality and excellence is the outcome of the consistent application of knowledge, skills and effort over time – there are no short cuts, there are no quick fixes. The opposite of excellence is mediocrity and there is no middle ground - at any given time, you are headed in one direction or the other.
Pursing quality and excellence requires that every team member maintains high expectations of themselves and others related to the standards of treatment, service and care provided to patients. This demands developing an attitude of “relaxed intensity” among team members to ensure consistency of focus.
I consider the pursuit of quality and excellence a worthwhile endeavor that not only contributes to practice success, it also contributes to personal and professional growth. In pursuing quality and excellence, the journey is as important as the destination.
“A person who sees Quality and feels it as they work is a person who cares."
Robert M. Pirsig
“The costs of poor quality are tangible; poor quality will cost you customers and money, and ultimately affect the success of your business.”
Subir Chowdhury
Feedback, Coaching and Support
Achieving quality and excellence requires ongoing feedback, coaching and support from our peers.
This involves not only being prepared to provide one another with responsible feedback and coaching, it also requires being open to receiving feedback and coaching when provided.
Effective and satisfying coaching relationships require that each and very team member:
- Maintain high expectations of themselves and other team members related to the standards of treatment, service and care provided to patients.
- Bringing to the attention of your teammates (in a responsible and supportive manner) when the team is not performing as well as it could be in serving patients or following systems.
- Supporting other team members to comply with the systems and policies of your practice or proactively and constructively change them.
- Providing other team members with open, honest and responsible communication related to an issue or concern you may have.
- Not participating in gossiping or other communication and behavior that undermines the working environment of your practice and suggesting that other team members do the same.
Maximize Your Practice Potential
Maximizing the productivity, profitability and potential of your practice requires the balanced pursuit of several interdependent goals:
Clinical goals – goals that enable your practice to provide patients with high standards of treatment and care; enable staff to acquire satisfaction and meaning from their work.
Service goals – goals that enable your practice to provide patients with high standards of service; enable your practice to compete and secure its position in the market place.
Organizational / Workplace goals – goals that enable your practice to operate efficiently; enable staff members to work together effectively as a team; enable staff members to acquire satisfaction from the work environment.
Business / Financial goals – goals that enable your practice to do well and provide a financially stable work environment; enable your practice to keep up with advancements in dentistry and provide for future needs.
The balance pursuit of these goals are essential to fully maximizing the success of your practice and experiencing satisfaction as a group of people working together.
Essential Skills
Commitment, hard work and the desire to succeed (although important attributes), in and of themselves are insufficient to achieve quality or excellence in the provision of treatment, service and care to patients.
Team members must develop knowledge and skills in specific areas in order to achieve high standards and provide for a healthy and productive work environment. These include:
1. Job Skills Which Include Systems Management Skills
2. Patient Service & Consultation Skills
3. Leadership and Self Management Skills
4. Problem Solving Skills
5. Teamwork and Communication Skills
The acquisition of knowledge and skills in the areas enables staff members to work together more effectively as well as participate in the ongoing process of improving the systems of your practice.
Acquiring these skills represents learning and growth opportunities that allow team members to contribute value to the workplace and in the process of doing so, guarantee their employ-ability in addition to their employment.
“Learning patience takes a lot of patience!”
Tim Hansel
Essential Skills
Commitment, hard work and the desire to succeed (although important attributes), in and of themselves are insufficient to achieve quality or excellence in the provision of treatment, service and care to patients.
Team members must develop knowledge and skills in specific areas in order to achieve high standards and provide for a healthy and productive work environment. These include:
1. Job Skills Which Include Systems Management Skills
2. Patient Service & Consultation Skills
3. Leadership and Self Management Skills
4. Problem Solving Skills
5. Teamwork and Communication Skills
The acquisition of knowledge and skills in the areas enables staff members to work together more effectively as well as participate in the ongoing process of improving the systems of your practice.
Acquiring these skills represents learning and growth opportunities that allow team members to contribute value to the workplace and in the process of doing so, guarantee their employ-ability in addition to their employment.
“Learning patience takes a lot of patience!”
Tim Hansel
Supporting Patients to Make Informed Treatment Decisions
Supporting patients to make informed treatment decisions is one of the most important factors leading to the satisfaction of patients and optimal dental health.
Supporting patients to make informed treatment decisions involves effectively communicating findings and recommendations to patients, including comprehensive treatment options. This process enables patients to take more responsibility for their treatment decisions as well as their overall dental health.
Supporting patients to make informed treatment decisions also plays an important role in the success a dental practice and satisfaction as a dental team working together. Given choice and financial means, a significant portion of patients choose comprehensive over other treatment options. Supporting and educating patients in making informed treatment decisions is also emotionally rewarding for team members.