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Step One:
Nice is not Enough
Step Two:
Don’t settle for less than the best
Step Three:
Growing Winners
Step Four:
Motivating the Exceptional Team
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Secrets of a Successful Team
A former employer of mine once had a sign in his office that read, “You may be smarter than me, but you are not smarter than my whole team.” How true this is in dental offices.
A doctor with little “chair side manner” who has a highly motivated, energetic team can practice very successfully. On the other hand, a talented doctor with a negative or uncommitted staff soon finds it a chore to come to work each day.
How do you find the right mix of experience, skill and personality when you are looking for a new team member? Once you find and train that special person, how do you motivate them to stay?
Building a team and then motivating them to excel are some of the biggest challenges facing dental practices today. You can best overcome these challenges by implementing a few key steps and techniques.
Step One: Nice is not Enough
The first step in hiring a new team member is to develop a job analysis checklist. By having a list of specific job related traits, skills and characteristics you will be able to pinpoint the criteria an applicant must meet in order to succeed in your office. Most everyone you interview will be nice. Yet, NICE IS NOT ENOUGH! You must look for the person who best meets your specific needs. Before hiring sit down with your team and describe your criteria for:
- Interpersonal skills (ex: friendly, tactful, candid, etc.)
- Personality skills (ex: high energy, poised under pressure, self starter, etc.)
- Motivations (ex: achievement oriented, desire to help people, etc.)
- Management and leadership traits (ex: planning or organizing skills, motivates others, etc.)
- Thinking techniques (ex: detail focused, whole picture thinking, intuitive, etc.)
- Technical knowledge and skills (knowledge of ________,
- Skill in doing _________)
Sometimes the “right” person applies, and they match most of your criteria except that they have no dental experience. Can this work? You bet. Although it may require more training upfront, the person who best matches your desired profile will pick up the dental aspects of their job quickly. Hiring someone with all of the technical skills you require but few, if any of the interpersonal or personality traits, generally makes it difficult for the team to function smoothly.
Step 2: Don’t settle for less than the best
There are four steps in the hiring process. Therefore, be prepared to spend two to four weeks minimally to find the right person. Be persistent. If your first attempts don’t uncover the right person, try again. Don’t settle for less than the best. The four steps include:
1. Read all resumes, looking for the best matches to your job analysis checklist. Sort the resumes into three piles: Yes, Maybe and No. Invite all the “yes” and “maybe” applicants to come to the office to fill out an application form. You will find that only a percentage of applicants will actually show up. Thus, your first round of eliminations occurs naturally. Present the applicants with a comprehensive application form that requires them to write several paragraphs. Observe how the application is filled out – quickly with little attention to detail and leaving blanks or slowly and with difficulty. This may be a clue as to how they will perform their duties.
Never write on the application once it has been signed as that is considered altering a legal document. Do record your initial impressions on a separate piece of paper. Such things as professional attire, verbal skills and behavior are things you should note. Set up interviews as appropriate.
2. During the interview, the person who should do most of the talking is the applicant, not the doctor/office manager. To ensure that this occurs, prepare a list of questions in advance. Be sure to ask open-ended questions that allow the applicant to express thoughts, opinions and experience. Instead of asking “Did you like your last job?” (closed question), say “Tell me about your last job”. Instead of “Do you have experience making financial arrangements?” say, “Describe how you discussed treatment fees”. During the interview evaluate things like body posture, eye contact, pace and appearance. Does the person give you focused answers or do they wander off topic and tell you more than you needed to know?
3. Checking references is a key step. However, sometimes the only information you might be able to get is the date of hire and job title. Many times you can learn what you need to know by talking to a co-worker of the applicant. If a reference source is willing to provide information, ask job related questions such as:
- Give me an example of her competence; shortcomings; team effort
- What did the applicant do to help your business grow?
- Are their any other significant points?
- Would you rehire them?
4. Once you have narrowed the applicants down to a few (2 – 3), it is time to get the whole team involved. The team’s commitment to the new person will be high if they share in the responsibility of choosing them.
Have the applicants spend three to four hours in the office on a “regular” day. During this time you have an opportunity to test their skills and observe how they interact with patients.
If possible, have the team take the applicant out to lunch. A lot can be learned about this person in a less formal setting. During the lunch all staff should have a list of questions to ask the applicant. Then as a group discuss the applicants and chose the one that is best suited to the job.
Step Three: Growing Winners
When it comes to training a new employee who has the time, energy or desire? Training a new employee falls under the “pay now, or pay later” rule. You can “pay now” by blocking out time in your busy schedule to help the new team member quickly develop confidence and competence. If you only do on-the-job training, without a structured training plan in place, you and the employee become flustered and frustrated. Their skills take a long time to develop and that distraction from patient care is a huge price for the practice to pay. For best results, have all team members share in the training of their new teammate.
Step Four: Motivating the Exceptional Team
Developing teamwork is a process that requires persistence. Everyone on the team must be willing to assume a leadership role. The Doctor’s responsibility is to communicate clearly his/her vision of the practice.
The vision sets the standards that are acceptable and to which everyone is accountable. On a regular basis the Doctor should direct the team by giving specific examples as to how their actions and behaviors either supported the vision or violated the vision.
Be particularly aware that all team members (including the doctor) need to be inspired. Team members lose their commitment to do a good job when they realize that good performance goes unrecognized. They become discouraged and performance slips if “bad” behavior is
ignored and allowed to continue. Dealing with the “problem employee”, no matter how long they have been in the office, speaks volumes to the team about upholding the vision.
People don’t come with a guarantee attached. However, you will be better able to build a successful and harmonious team if you invest the necessary time in hiring, training and applying leadership skills.
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