Category: The Office

5 tips
The Office

I Hate My Practice

Lisa Fucci
I hate my practice

Many jobs can be frustrating, and it’s common to get burnout every once in a while. How can you refocus on your goals and push forward? You might hate your practice right now, but consider a step back before making other big decisions. Is this something that the people around you are feeling, as well? These are some questions to consider as you move through your feelings.

In this case, you might own a dental practice and might be frustrated with how it is operating. Perhaps some business moves have not panned out the way you hoped. You also may be an employee at a dental practice and feel like they don’t have the right plans or vision for the practice. Here are some tips that could potentially change your perspective.

Emphasize the Positive

Many things might be frustrating about your job, but it’s also essential to remember the good parts of a dental practice. There’s a good chance that you have helped many children, families, adults, and seniors with their dental care and overall health.

It might be hard to balance work life and home life, but always remember that your work does help patients and keeps them healthy. A positive attitude about your impact might be the change you need to enjoy your job again!

New Traditions

Let’s say that a dental practice is getting more tense thanks to personal feuds or a pattern of miscommunication. It might be time to consider a new tradition such as a virtual happy hour to help employees blow off steam and get to know each other outside of the practice.

Small traditions can help a lot when it comes to communication, bonding, and overall employee morale. It doesn’t matter if it’s a soccer game or a monthly meal – start a new tradition that gets others excited!

Keep it Professional

You might hate your dental practice because of a particular person you work with, but this is not a reason to jeopardize your career. Many people let their temper get the best of them and end up facing consequences when they could’ve managed their emotions better.

It might be tempting to complain about your job on social media or start yelling at co-workers. Please resist the urge to do so; your future self will thank you for it.

Use Humor

You can work hard and still have fun at a dental practice. One of the easiest things to do is to consider injecting a bit of humor throughout the day, whether it involves telling some jokes, sharing a funny news story, or just dressing up with a funny accessory every once in a while.

You can’t hate a dental practice where you are having fun, and humor helps drive that point home.

Humor

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The Office

Differing Opinions and How to Talk About It

Lisa Fucci
Opinions

Everyone Has an Opinion

There are all sorts of issues that polarize human beings. For example, you may have different opinions regarding religion or politics than your neighbors. Still, there is an expectation that these differing opinions don’t necessarily lead to any hostility or confrontation. Technology has also changed how we talk to each other since social media allows us to have conversations with people that we never actually met in real life.

Hundreds of millions of people use social media every day, and they all might have very different opinions and perspectives. Some people might not truly understand how to discuss and talk through these different opinions in a civil manner. Abortion, for example, is a polarizing topic that could lead to a hostile discussion. Here are some tips on how to disagree with other people while remaining calm and rational.

Think About Timing

There are some situations where it just isn’t time to discuss a controversial topic. For example, let’s say that you disagree with your friend about politics. You may have wanted to plan a conversation with them regarding different opinions on a specific topic and plan to bring it up.

Of course, if it is that person’s birthday and they are celebrating at a bar with other friends, this would be a terrible time to bring up politics at all. People should make sure that they talk through differing opinions in a more comfortable atmosphere of some kind. If you are alone at your house and invite your friend over, it might make more sense to speak more freely about different opinions in that setting.

Look for Agreements

It is very unlikely that you will run into someone that simply disagrees with everything that you think. One of the best ways to talk about differing opinions is to find common ground and start the conversation from there. This could potentially change the entire tone of the interaction, as your conversation partner might be able to see things from your perspective easier.

Think about points that you might be willing to concede or reconsider and speak about how they might be right about certain parts of an issue. No one wants to feel like they are being tricked or persuaded into a debate, because that can be quite uncomfortable. However, they might be more willing to talk if they understand that you don’t disagree with them on everything. For example, phrases like, “Can we agree that people deserve safety?” or “Can we agree that someone’s healthcare is their private business?” are helpful in finding common ground.

Listen More

Let’s say that you want to speak with an old friend about a topic that you know that you feel strongly about. You might bring up the topic and make it clear that you want to speak about it. At this point, they might agree that it is an excellent time to speak about the topic. What if you just rambled on for the next five minutes about how that friend is wrong for their opinion? That wouldn’t be conducive to a conversation.

If you put yourself in their shoes, it’s easy to see how you might feel as though you are being attacked. One of the best ways to speak through differing opinions is to listen more. Individuals should clarify that they actively want to know what your conversation partner is thinking and that their perspective is valued. To continue listening, try paraphrasing back their ideas or asking something like, “By saying [X], are you meaning [Y]?” and you can learn more about where they’re coming from.

Don’t Say “But”

You might be very passionate about your opinion, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, you shouldn’t be interrupting the other person in the conversation because you are burning to counter their point. If you find that you keep telling that person, “But–”, it might be a sign that you are listening only to talk, rather than actively listening to your conversation partner.

If you are not even giving the other person room to speak, they might feel as though it is useless to elaborate on their position. You will probably find that if you let the other person in the conversation speak, they might feel like it’s easier to talk to you.

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The Office

Effective Dental Practice Huddles

Lisa Fucci
Dental Huddles

Effective Dental Practice Huddles

Many business owners and entrepreneurs acknowledge that they may be holding more meetings than they should. Believe it or not, some of the most well-known entrepreneurs actively avoid meetings. Many organizations believe that “huddles” are more necessary, requiring less time than usual meetings. For those who are unaware, huddles are short meetings where employees where team members update each other on their schedules, priorities, and any potential issues.

It can be quite challenging to run a dental practice, and there are many different factors to consider. You might be running a dental practice in a city where there is a tremendous amount of competition, or you may be having issues when it comes to patient attrition. You may find that dental practice huddles can help when it comes to communication, transparency, and efficiency. Here are some aspects of your dental practice huddles that can help you understand their importance.

Huddle Rules

Huddles aren’t a place to discuss office drama or issues of any kind. They should also be capped at 10 or 15 minutes, and shouldn’t be a time where staff members bring up concerns. Encourage staff to reach out individually for those conversations.

Try to give at least every person involved in the huddle one minute each to speak, and make sure that staff members are actively discussing where they are stuck. Huddles are a great way to understand the pulse of an organization.

Some rules should be understood when it comes to your dental practice huddle. First of all, the huddle should never be run by the practice owner. They should be present, but it should be run by the office manager and other staff members throughout the week. If the practice owner isn’t present, note that it could set a bad example and affect employee morale.

Secondly, you should conduct your huddles first thing in the morning. This helps to get everyone situated for the day and understand what needs to be done. The huddle should also include any relevant information required, including schedules, charts, and other relevant data. An assistant or hygienist should also bring relevant patient information, pending treatment, and other pertinent medical data.

Dental Huddle

Examine Progress

Huddles should happen daily, but there should also be monthly huddles to make sure that the dental practice remains on track. Daily huddles are vital because you can add and subtract daily goals. The daily huddle should focus on immediate priorities, while the monthly huddles should concentrate on long-term metrics and an overall vision for the dental practice.

You can also examine the statistics of the day before in the morning huddle. However, it’s also important to remember that the daily huddle shouldn’t mention the day’s issues or goals before setting them and that broader conversations can be reserved for a weekly or monthly huddle. There’s also nothing wrong with being ambitious (but realistic) regarding monthly goals. Specifically, your dental practice should aim for 5% to 10% over averages.

Why Huddles Work

One of the great things about huddles is that they make it more apparent that communication is always open, rather than employees being worried about a long-winded meeting where nothing truly gets accomplished. It’s also a great and short way to discuss new opportunities, specific concerns in business strategy, or potential long-term obstacles. The right huddles can help employees remain inspired and motivated about both short-term and long-term goals.

The issues that continue to emerge from daily huddles can then be discussed in weekly huddles. Of course, the issues that come up in weekly huddles might then come up in monthly huddles. Overall, dental practice huddles are an incredible way to encourage communication and improve strategy. Your employees can also explain specific ways in which they are stuck, and the practice can work together to make sure that those bottlenecks are eliminated.

A well-run huddle is about strategy and transparency, but it should also be noted that it’s about providing superior customer service. A successful dental practice will have to make sure that customers leave completely satisfied, and every dental practice huddle should keep customer service as a focus and priority. Ultimately, huddles are a great way to establish a communication rhythm within your dental practice that keeps things running more smoothly at all times.

 

The Office

Word of Mouth and Your Practice

Lisa Fucci
Word of Mouth

Your Dental Practice

Are you interested in growing your dental practice without investing thousands of dollars in more advertising? The answer is as close as your specialty — it’s all about your clients’ mouths!

What your clients say about your practice has a significant impact on how fast you grow. Client referrals can bring in new, high-quality patients that fit your ideal customer profile.

How can you increase customer referrals to grow your business? Or if you have a referral program, how can you make it better? Here are the tips you need.

Create a Referral Program

A referral program is the easiest way to get your current patients to refer others to you. Don’t think your practice is too small to benefit from a referral program — word of mouth marketing can amplify your brand thousands of times over.

81% of consumers are influenced by social media posts from their friends and family. Every patient you have can impact hundreds of people and move them one step closer to choosing your dental clinic.

All you have to do is encourage your current customers to tell others about you. How do you set up a referral program? Here are some ideas.

Thank you

Make Sure You Keep Things Ethical

There are limits to what you can do to encourage referrals. Make sure you stay within the legal and ethical boundaries of the dental industry.

For instance, you can’t treat some patients better than others. You can’t offer a referral — or a referring patient — faster treatment, preferential service, or other care-related benefits. However, you can offer a reward as a thank you for a referral.

You’ll also want to make sure that someone is assigned to administering the referral program so that everyone gets the benefits they are due.

Starting a Dental Referral Program

The first step when creating a referral program is to decide on the rewards. The simplest thing to do is to offer new patients a discount on their first visit. You can create referral cards to make it easy for your customers to refer people they know.

However, don’t just stick with printed materials. Create an email list for your customers and, along with promotions and reminders, share useful information that they can forward to friends and family. Also, give them information and posts that they can share on social media.

Once you’ve decided on the referral discount, it’s time to think about your customers’ benefits. You can offer gift cards, deals on specific services, or even monthly drawings for a larger prize.

You might also consider having events for your referring patients. An appreciation event can help your customers feel even better about sending new patients your way.

Invite the Best Patients First

If you want to start small, especially if the cost is a concern, you can begin by just inviting your best patients. The ones who always have a kind word to say about your services and often thank you for your work.

Those customers are the most likely to be brand advocates, so they are a great place to start. Give them some materials that they can use to promote your office and ask them to begin referring their friends and family to your practice.

You can gauge your program’s results and get feedback from these customers before you roll it out to everyone you serve. Your best patients can help you refine the plan so it’s as effective as possible.

Make Your Program Part of the Patient Process

Paper dolls

What’s the best way to benefit from a referral program? Make sure you implement it consistently!

If you forget to ask for referrals, you aren’t likely to get one. However, most people looking for a new dentist will ask their friends and family for ideas. Tap into that opportunity by making your referral program a built-in part of your patient relationship

Just like you have a specific process for a first patient, create a post-visit process
where you encourage patients to refer others and let them know the benefits they can get.

Make sure customers are on your email list and keep your list active with regular messages.

When you consistently ask every patient for referrals every time, you’ll dramatically increase the growth of your practice.

Just like you have a specific process for a first patient, create a post-visit process where you encourage patients to refer others and let them know the benefits they can get.

Take Advantage of Referral Marketing

91% of Americans are willing to share an exclusive offer with friends and family, and patients that are referred by others are more loyal than other customers. There’s no reason not to use a referral program to grow your dental practice.

When you make a referral program a consistent part of your relationship with your customers, you’ll benefit from their network. Word of mouth marketing is powerful and much more cost-effective than other types of outreach.

There’s no reason not to start — or improve — your referral program today!

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Dental Office Manager

We would appreciate it greatly if you shared this article with your office and co-workers.

Let us know what kind of referral program, if any, that your practice uses below in the comments.