Do you dream of having a busy dental practice that includes a fully booked schedule? If so, would your team be able to handle a full schedule? Practice efficiency is always important, but for a busy practice, it is imperative.
Whether your practice is already busy, or you are hoping it will become busy, making efficiency a priority will help things run smoothly and improve the patient experience. It will also increase job satisfaction for your team members.
My name is Jennifer Pearce. I am the owner, founder, and lead prosperity coach of Prosperity Dental Solutions. During my 25+ years of working in dentistry, I have seen it all. My passion is to help dental practices “think prosperity,” so they can be prosperous.
But to be prosperous, your team must be efficient. Today, I am going to share 3 tips about how to make your front office team more efficient.
Improving front office practice efficiency includes:
- Delegation
- Increasing Employee Morale
- Incorporating a Bonus System
Practice Efficiency Tip #1: Delegation
While a busy schedule improves your profits, it can also mean a hectic work environment that can potentially cause you to lose patients or team members.
Your front office team must find time to take care of all the administrative work while also answering phones and welcoming patients. When they are stretched thin or asked to do tasks they don’t enjoy, it can cause job dissatisfaction. Unhappy team members may not feel like interacting with your patients positively. They may also start to wonder if all the stress is worth it.
Improve each team member’s attitude by learning their interests and strengths. Delegate tasks based on what they do well and enjoy doing. Ask yourself—or a senior staff member—who shines when it comes to communicating with patients? Which team member is best at project management? Is there someone really good at “paperwork” but not so great with patients?
If one team member loves interacting with patients, put her in charge of follow-ups, appointment reminder calls, welcoming patients, and answering the phone. This frees up the team member who dislikes answering the phones but enjoys paperwork to get all the billing done.
Review all the “must-do” tasks and create a strategy for assigning these tasks to your team. Then, add one or two “less critical” tasks to each team member.
If you really want to boost morale, ask each team member what their favorite part of their job is. When team members do what they love doing, it reduces stress and makes them happy. And when they are less stressed and happy, they are much more productive and friendly.
Practice Efficiency Tip #2: Increase Employee Morale
Consider what things will increase the morale and happiness of your team members and implement those strategies.
Remember, happy team members build an awesome, productive, and prosperous dental practice!
Some ideas to do this include:
- Conduct team member satisfaction surveys
- Hold regular team meetings
- Hear and consider the suggestions your team members make
- Make necessary changes as soon as possible
- Solve problems in the practice immediately
- Initiate team-building activities
- Bring in a consultant!
If you don’t know the best ways to increase happiness and morale with your team, our consultants at Prosperity Dental Solutions do! We have countless ideas and can customize our suggestions based on your unique needs and desires.
Practice Efficiency Tip #3: Incorporate a Bonus System
Did you know implementing a bonus system can increase productivity and profitability?
When your team members know their efforts matter and are appreciated, they work harder and get more done. They are also more likely to communicate ideas that will improve efficiency.
If you wonder where to start, look at your needs first. What are the most significant issues affecting productivity? If it involves team members showing up late or calling in sick, consider a bonus that rewards no sick days or punctuality.
Maybe you want to improve patient numbers? How about a bonus for hitting goals?
Ask your team for their input here as well. This not only makes them feel more important, but it also increases their awareness and attentiveness to reaching the bonus level. When team members have a say in bonus structures, they are more likely to become involved and productive.
Once you put a bonus system into effect, be sure to share the results regularly. This encourages other team members to become involved.
Are you ready for increased productivity and profitability in your dental practice?
If you want to increase patient numbers, don’t let inefficiency in your practice get in the way. At Prosperity Dental Solutions, we can help improve your systems and help you improve practice efficiency in the front and back office.
If you want to improve the patient experience while boosting productivity and reducing stress and frustration in your practice, call (817) 975-4576 today. We can schedule your complimentary “get acquainted” call that allows us to see how we can help you!
