Dental Practice Staff Management -- Turning a Difficult Employee into a Star

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Copyright © 2009 Peter Gopal, Ph.D.


It takes both courage and management skill to deal with a difficult employee in your dental practice. It is never easy to confront an employee with regard to performance issues.

Yet, by developing this vital management skill, you can potentially add upwards of $40,000 to the gross receipts of your practice. That's for a solo practitioner with 3-6 employees. If you have a larger practice, the gains could be even more significant. And you can do this without spending money on expensive equipment (more debt) or marketing (which is risky) and without increasing your overhead - simply by turning around one or more poorly performing staff members.

Warning Signs of Sub-Standard Employee Performance

Here are ten common warning signs of poor or unacceptable staff performance.

1. Too many absences or tardy arrivals.

2. Does not follow through without reminders.

3. Unprofessional behavior, such as rudeness, use of cell phone at work or excessive gossip.

4. Personal problems interfering with work duties.

5. Sloppy or incomplete work.

6. Complaints from patients or co-workers.

7. Undermining behavior at staff meetings, such as sarcastic comments or rolling eyes.

8. A negative, it-will-never-work attitude.

9. Disrespect to co-workers or management.

10. Little or no initiative.

How to Intervene When an Employee Performs Poorly

Avoidance is not an option. As an owner/manager, the longer you wait to address a performance problem, the harder it is to deal with constructively, and the worse the problem becomes. When most employers contemplate confronting an employee about poor performance, they are apprehensive about how to proceed.

You have to start out assuming that most people want to do a good job. Most employees desire and intend to do a good job, and would like to improve when they are not performing well. However, limitations of personality, knowledge, experience, or other barriers, may interfere with the employee's ability to be productive. Your task is to remove these barriers.

Identify a time when speaking to the employee will bring the best results. When the employee is greatly stressed, it is difficult to have a meaningful conversation. Then proceed with the following five steps.

1. Identify and define the performance problem. Be specific. Provide supporting evidence. Use "I" messages such as "I have noticed" or "I have observed" to give constructive feedback.

2. Explain the impact of the performance problem on patients, other employees, productivity, and customer service.

3. Work with the employee to figure out the reasons for the performance problem. Sometimes what gets in the way is they don't know how to do a good job, or there are obstacles beyond their control.

4. Explore ideas for a solution. Have ideas of your own about what the employee can do to improve, but be sure to involve the staff member in coming up with solutions.

5. Write a plan for improvement. You should write this plan describing the area needing correction, the plan for corrective action, a date to check progress and the consequences for lack of improvement. You should have the employee read it and sign it.

Work toward building a staff-driven practice where the staff share responsibility for running your practice and serving your patients. When implemented correctly, a good system for performance feedback and early management intervention raises the caliber of your staff and the profitability of your practice.




About the Author:
Peter Gopal, PhD, together with his wife, Hema Gopal, M.B.A. and D.M.D., consults with dentists who are intent on building a more profitable practice. Whether you are leaving money on the table due to broken patient appointments, improper scheduling, poor case acceptance, low hygienist productivity, excessive overhead, or unnecessary reliance on PPOs, they can pinpoint your weaknesses and prescribe remedies. Receive a free, realistic assessment of the earning potential of your dental practice by going to: http://www.visionary-management.com/assessment.php


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