
How would you describe your team?
Are they productive, focused and efficient? Or do you struggle keep them on track and work together towards the clinic goals.
Regardless of the size of the clinic there are certain standards that need to be established that all the team members need to follow.
1) PLANNING – Productivity begins with planning. Start the day right, each and every day with a morning huddle. This way all are clear of their role and what is expected of them.
Ensure that there is a list of the patients visiting and time allotted to each so the receptionist and dentist can sail through the day without unpleasant surprises.
2) ORGANIZATION – Training your dental assistants to take the right steps to ensure that everything is prepared prior to starting a procedure by sterilizing the equipment, setting the trays so that they can be relaxed and reassuring at the time of the appointment.
3) MANAGING THEIR TIME – Scheduling their back end work in windows between appointments. Assistants must optimize their time well in coordination with the dentist and front office so they are not compromising on important duties like infection control and patient entries. Ever so often we see assistants wanting to run home at the end of their work day there by affecting the maintenance protocols and sterilization of the practice. If these time blocks are slotted like appointments in their work day they will be able to provide a better standard of service.
4) EFFECTIVE REPORTING – in order to ensure that a staff is going to work well and efficiently it’s important that we communicate clearly so that the entire team is well informed and one can address issues if any. Staff must follow checklists to communicate their work quality and efficiency. End of the day reporting with these checklists is a great practice to follow to measure productivity.
We must understand our satisfaction stems from a well run organization and our team forms a big part of that!!