I’m the office administrator of a large multi-disciplined dental office and am always looking for new staff meeting ideas. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Barbara

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Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your message. Ideas for staff meetings? Well, most staff meetings are centered around employees reporting on the results of their efforts put forth to the systems they are responsible for. But if you are looking for something REALLY SPECIAL beyond that … I have to recommend our Team Building Retreat. Click Here. You can either come here to my home office in La Jolla or I can send the trainer to your city.

Putting the team through team development exercises helps to build trust and rapport among the team members. Bringing in videos or speakers, etc. can sometimes backfire on you if they are not in alignment with the overall objective of the team. Call us at 877-777-6151, ask for Erin and she can give you more details.

Sally McKenzie
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Sally,

We have several patients that the RDH wants to see on a more frequent interval than 6 months. The scenario is that the patient will be cooperative with the interval change with the RDH and DR, then reject the increased frequency with the patient coordinator. Either at the front desk during dismissal – or when the patient is called to schedule after recall cards were mailed.

My idea is to send a cover letter to the patient signed by the RDH, acknowledging that they are rejecting treatment and have the patient sign a treatment rejection consent that acknowledges the risks they are assuming. When we’ve presented the treatment rejection consent in the office, 99% of the patients magically change their mind and become cooperative to more frequent recall intervals. With these patients, this is repetitive behavior. If you try to address it at the next recall – they pull the same passive aggressive behavior – consent to the RDH – reject at the scheduling call.

How are other practices handling this situation? Have you seen any “cover” letters that other offices have developed? I’m looking for a letter template that I could customize to our office without reinventing the wheel. OR I’m looking for other concepts to consider.

Appreciate your input…

Christine
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Hi Christine

Thanks for writing. Your solution to the problem does not surprise me as you thinking right along the lines of your ESTJ temperament type. That is…the patients are breaking the rules and need to have a letter of reprimand.

I disagree with this approach for ensuring the long term retention of the patient. I view the problem being that what is said or not said by the RDH, Dr. and Patient Coordinator. Perhaps they are not asking if they have any questions to find out why it is being rejected later. Perhaps the treatment risks that you say works in the letter is not being presented by the RDH and the Dr. because they are too busy trying to get the next patient back. It is evident that they don’t perceive the need for treatment. I believe the reprimanding letter will only turn them off.

I would suggest that you all sit down as a group and discuss what is being said and how it is being approached in the operatory. Look at yourselves in the mirror…..first.

Kind regards,

Sally

Dear Sally,

I am a young dentist who has recently opened a new practice. After a bad experience with hiring a front desk person who had difficulty getting used to the job I was forced to let her go and hire someone who, based on her resume, would work out perfectly. For the most part she has done well and she started out exceeding my expectations, but despite my repeated requests that she calculate and write down the patient’s estimated portion for their next visit on their walkout sheet, she doesn’t do it and when kindly asked to start doing so she will argue at first as to why she thinks it is a waste of time and then only concede by rolling her eyes and agreeing to do it and still never do it.

I know that I could lose my temper with her, but I don’t really want to direct my staff by confrontation or by threats of losing their jobs unless it is absolutely necessary. She also tends to take a little bit of a disrespectful tone in passing which I am sure the other dentists she has worked for would never have allowed. Is there a tactful next step to handling this or should I simply state that if she cannot do the job as it is laid out then I will need to find someone who will?

Thank you.

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Dear Young Doctor,

This employee is exhibiting insubordination and the only/main reason she’s doing that is she doesn’t respect you. If she has more years of experience in dentistry than you (I am a young dentist) then that is probably the problem. You don’t mention what type of computer system you have but the patient’s insurance information should be in the system so when the “treatment plan” for the next visit is printed out (separate from the walk out statement), the amount the insurance company would pay and their portion would be on there. That still does not solve the fact that she is treating you with disrespect. As soon as you solve that issue, she will do it on something else.

An option (I do have a service to sell you) is to have us in the office to analyze the operations and present a business plan for increased growth. Because my consultant has more experience than she ever thought about and will prove why there needs to be change and the two of you are hearing this plan “together”, this process has a tendency to put you both “on the same playing field.” In other words, it’s not your rules or her rules but the “expert’s rules”. However, there is no guarantee that will work. The other alternative is to fire her but first I want you to sit her down with the situation typed out on paper ….on this date or numerous occasions I have asked you to do (action) and it was not done. I am officially giving you this warning that if it happens one more time that the patient is not given xyz, your position is terminated. Of course she will have an attitude. If it’s real bad, send her home for the day, with pay, tell her to think about her attitude and if she wants to work there then report to work the next day in a pleasant demeanor. She definitely needs to be confronted about the possibility of losing her job. That’s the problem. She has no fear of telling her boss, no, I’m not going to do it or…worse yet, blowing you off by giving your lip service and then turn around and not do it. You need to have us to develop your systems and teach you how to recruit, hire and train. You have a long career ahead of you and what we will teach you will be with you the rest of your career. You can call me anytime 877-777-6151.

Go get ‘em!!!

Sally

Hi Sally,

I work for a great pediatric office, we are so very busy and we work incredibly hard every day. My first issue is that the girls have started questioning and asking for bonuses. I have brought it up and so have they in staff meetings- BUT -the doctor is dead set against it. He has made comments like… “he does not want us working for the money” “he is afraid we will no longer give quality care but focus on the money”.
I do not see my girls doing this. Their comments though are getting pessimistic towards him – “he works for the money”- “He gets all the money”!
They are all really great workers and I think they deserve a little compensation for it. How can I approach this subject and let him see that they deserve bonuses! And yes, we do have the production to warrant it.

Concerned Office Manager

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Dear Concerned Office Manager,

My first concern is that with the title of “office manager” comes leadership skills that are necessary to manage the business and employees who are supposed to defer to you regarding policy, human resource issues, etc. of the practice. This is my understanding of a true office manager. Having said that, I am surprised that you would bring up and confront your employer about a “no – win” situation for him. Obviously if he says “no”…..he’s a SCROOGE. Please keep in mind that just because he has a dental degree and owns a dental practice does NOT mean that he knows anything and I mean anything about human resource issues, performance standards, performance measurements, performance reviews, how much payroll should be of his revenues or if he can even consider giving anybody a raise with this recession.

I say this based on 30 years of working my entire life with dentists. His comment of “working for the money and no longer giving quality care” is a knee-jerk reaction, in my opinion. It appears, from what little I know in this email, that he was confronted in a public forum instead of your discussing this sensitive issue with him in private. As a manager your job is to protect the boss not throw him under the bus. This reinforces my opinion when you say, “I do not see MY GIRLS doing this.” Whose side are you on? His or theirs? What do you say to the “girls”, in his defense, when they say to you “he works for the money- he gets all the money.” ? This is extremely important to ask yourself what your facial expression looks like and how you respond. If YOU believe this and you have lack of respect for him because you believe they are right, then you owe it to yourself and to him to have an open discussion with him about how you feel because you are helping to divide a wedge between the staff and the owner.

There is and has been a recession going on for a good 3 years now. We have taken notice that many dentists have not been able to afford to give raises let alone pay payroll of what they have. I do not know your level of education as a manager but if you have had professional training, then you of all people should know that % of revenue that is industry standard for payroll and % of revenue that is industry standard for payroll taxes and benefits. Production does not pay the bills. It has to be collected and in the bank. To make employees “stock holders” in the business (bonuses) SHOULD MEAN that they also take the LIABILITY of the business as well but that never happens…..and I mean never in a dental office. Employees always “win” because they get their base and then with the help of some convoluted formula, they get X $ if the practice does X. But when the business goes below X, which it does, guess what? The employee still gets their base pay because the employer is now dipping into his pocket to pay the base. How is that fair? It’s not.

Employees should be rewarded for performance that exceeds the level of performance measurements of their job descriptions. If I bring in 5 new patients next month, I should get a reward. HOWEVER, the reward does NOT have to be money. I might be more interested in some other type of reward. Employees based on our observations that are part of a bonus system, spend it before they get it and when they don’t get it there are attitudes personified. We find that most do not understand the formula of how they got it. Their performance stays the same. Perhaps the production/collections increases because the doctor went to courses to learn how to do molar root canals.

It’s a VERY VERY TOUCHY subject. As the manager, I would expect you to meet with the doctor PRIVATELY. I am happy to share in a conversation with the two of you. Don’t ever speak too highly of the “production to warrant it” if you don’t analyze the profit and loss (overhead) on a regular basis.
Hope this sheds some light.

Sally