According to a recent Gallup Workplace survey, 51% of US employees are actively seeking a new job. This statistic is especially worrisome in the dental industry due to an existing shortage of dental personnel. Learn the primary reasons dental employees depart and ways you can prevent it from happening. 

As with the human body, monitoring and benchmarking your dental practice's vital signs can alert you to weakened operating systems, work culture dysfunctions, threatening trends, and money leaks. 

“Doctor, I need to talk with you briefly.” Your stomach drops to your feet. Great, just great. She’s quitting, you think, and that is exactly what she does. She says it is for money, but you know there is more to it. Your brain races. Implement 10 systems to manage your practice and retain your most important asset: your dental employees.

So much of what is happening, or in some cases, not happening in your dental practice is invisible to you as the Dentist, leader, and owner. You are simply too deep in the trees to see the forest. A practice evaluation by an outside practice management business expert can be incredibly valuable to you, your team, and your practice and set your practice on the path to long-term success.

This month, we’re playing baseball, specifically, leadership baseball. You, the dentist, are the owner of this team, which we will call, “Team D” (for dental). You purchased Team D with a boat-load of money, time, and sweat by graduating dental school and purchasing or buying into a dental practice. Those decisions are what launched you into this game of leadership baseball.

“IT’S JUST NOT FAIR!” How often do we hear this phrase from toddlers and elders, alike? In fact, studies suggest humans are born with an innate sense of justice and fairness! So, when something happens that challenges our primal sense of justice, there’s no telling the consequences. We see such consequences play out every day in areas such as healthcare, income, human rights, and even your dental practice.

You can spot disengaged dental employees a mile away. Research giant Gallup has found that globally, 85% of employees are disengaged in the workplace, and they under perform as a result. The dental industry is not immune! Your practice is not immune!

Scheduling is one of the most important elements of your practice. It is intimately tied to your profits, stress level, and patient satisfaction, yet I see practice after practice allowing their schedule to reduce their income, create work chaos, and drive patients away.

Want to maximize your retirement savings? Need funds for new equipment, technology, or an office renovation? Want to get those debt burdens off your back? Having a hard time making ends meet?

Professional burnout is an epidemic! In a study, just this year, of over a thousand Human Resource managers 98% indicated burnout was actually “sabotaging” their businesses. Many managers indicated professional burnout accounted for 50% of their employee turnover!

Your Dental Practice Income Statement, sometimes called your Profit and Loss Statement, or your P&L Statement, can be a foundational management tool for your practice if it is purposely designed. Unfortunately, many dentists have no idea their Practice Income Statement can be arranged to meet their specific needs.

When working with practices, often I see significant savings, increased efficiency, and higher patient satisfaction when outsourcing specific tasks and duties. Creating a modern office with progressive technology and effective operating systems makes the difference between a thriving practice and a struggling practice.

“The garbage can or the to-read tub?” This was a regular question I asked my dentist-husband about his proliferating dental journals, articles, and newsletters. Of course, he always had the best intention of reading them all, so 9 out of 10 went to the “TO-READ” PILE. Many times our bedroom was lined layers high with multicolored plastic tubs full of the “to-read” pile. Not to mention the piles at his practice.

It’s Monday morning and your team is gathered for the Morning Huddle. Each goes through their reports and all agree that the schedule looks perfect! There are no openings in the schedule and everyone is ready to roll. But what happens? The infamous NO-SHOW BOMBS start dropping. It hits hygiene first…second…third!!! The final bomb takes out your most productive appointment of the day!

“Sandy, I need help! My front desk person had to leave suddenly due to a personal situation, and may not return. We are all struggling without her! I have deposits hitting my bank and have no idea to whom they belong. I can’t access my own practice’s website, email, or Facebook account. We can’t even attach x-rays to our e-claims! Can you help me?” This type of call happens more often then you would think.

In business school, the mantra they pounded into my head was, “exceed your customers’ (patients’) expectations every single time.” It seems obvious and a no-brainer, but it is much easier said than done. Why? Today’s dental patients are very different from patients even five or ten years ago. There are three core trends that are changing expectations of the dental patient.

Most dental practices know it is critical to have HIPAA dental team training meetings on a yearly basis. Although, many practices don’t talk about it much beyond that. Ongoing reminders throughout the year at team meetings can help keep HIPAA regulations on top of mind for everyone, which can help prevent compliance situations.

Many small business owners, including dentists, make business decisions on instinct. They have so much on their plate they don’t always slow down to document their decisions and processes. This appears to work on a day-by-day basis, but long-term it can cause a multitude of problems. Systemization can release you from management responsibilities and allow you to focus on your patients.