Coaching
is Time Well Spent!
By
Roger P. Levin, DDS
Introduction
Hiring a competent
dental staff is the number one issue facing dentistry. Competency can be defined
in many different ways, but often relates to the skills, interpersonal traits,
professionalism, appearance and potential of a new employee. In the dental
practice management seminars I present each year, more and more doctors are
approaching me privately to talk about the severe shortage of dental staff.
Employment
Realities
In fact, the real
issue is not a shortage of people available in the work force but rather a
shortage of people who want to work in dental practices. The tide is turning
and fewer qualified people are considering the dental practice a viable career
option.
How did this come
about? For many, working in a dental office is no longer considered an attractive
and lucrative career. Prospective candidates see no upward mobility or chance
of promotion, and there is a perception that dental practices have lower salaries
and benefits than many other businesses.
A
Case Study
To put the staffing
issue into prospective, it may be helpful to look at the experiences of a
recent Levin Group orthodontic client. Although his systems were being put
into place successfully and his profit had increased, he was still having
significant problems with management of his team. The conversation focused
on one key team member who was a high performer, but erratic.
This team member,
although not a true office manager, was in charge of all front desk and administrative
activities in the office. She kept the office operating with relatively good
efficiency, but was often very inconsistent in her performance. Four to six
weeks would pass with excellent performance and then several weeks would happen
when she would not get things done, miss deadlines, run behind, and forget
to send things out.
Many of you are
probably aware of this syndrome. As the orthodontist explained, each time
she was in her good mode he would actually believe that this was permanent
and she would now be consistently excellent. When she was in her bad mode,
he would ignore the poor performance, assuming it would get better like it
always eventually did. On the other hand, it was becoming increasingly frustrating
and damaging to the practice to have erratic performance.
The first question
needing to be asked was if he wished to make things work with this employee
or if he was considering termination. The doctor replied that she was a talented
person, very good with child patients and worthwhile to the practice. He also
stated that she was worth maintaining in the light of the difficulty in hiring.
Based on that answer, Levin Group informed the orthodontist that the problem
was not one of management systems (which had been put very carefully in place),
but rather one of leadership.
If this team member
had the potential to be a high performer, as she often demonstrated, then
the only way to gain consistent high performance was to properly coach and
lead her. Offering this individual more money would not correct the problem.
She was already very well paid and did not understand that her performance
was inconsistent and becoming an irritant to the doctor and the practice.
His Levin Group
consultant made the following recommendations:
Have a very positive
preliminary meeting with this individual to layout out all expectations regarding
duties and responsibilities in her written job description. (This was accomplished
during the systems documentation part of the consulting program.)
After letting this
individual know how valuable she is to the office, explain that consistent
performance is one of the most important prerequisites for career growth.
Be sure this individual
understands every aspect of her position, what activities are to take place
on which days and what the expectations are of each activity.
Set up a weekly
tracking list that is presented to the doctor by this individual showing what
has been accomplished and what has not been accomplished each week. Knowing
they will have to report their weekly performance usually motivates people
to get everything necessary done so they do not have to confess failure at
necessary task completion or activities.
Meet with this
individual 10 minutes per week to review the checklist and progress for the
week. Explain to her that this is not an activity to simply monitor her performance
on a weekly basis, but rather to keep the doctor in touch with the overall
performance and direction of the practice. Make these sessions extremely positive
and work on continuous improvement. And remember,
don’t try to completely change the individual overnight.
Summary
The above steps
often help a team member with excellent potential to excel. Clearly, this
individual had demonstrated the skill to do the job, but had trouble with
consistent performance. By setting the expectations and a standard of leadership
along with weekly coaching, the orthodontist has an excellent chance this
person will become very consistent and do an excellent job for the practice.
At first glance,
it may seem easier to replace a staff member of this nature. However, when
you change personnel, you frequently are trading one problem for another.
Everybody brings some aspect to the job that may not be ideal from the doctor’s
viewpoint. The doctor must be pro-active in correcting the situation. After
all, it is often far better to coach someone who is a known entity than to
take your chances on a person who may not even come close to the first’s performance.
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Roger P. Levin, DDS, is founder and CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental practice management consulting firm that is dedicated to improving the lives of dentists through a diverse portfolio of lifetime services and solutions. Since the company's inception in 1985, Dr. Levin has worked to bring the business world to dentistry. A popular lecturer, Dr. Levin addresses thousands of dentists and staff worldwide each year in 100-plus seminars and at the dental industry's most prestigious meetings. |