Maintaining Positive Energy in Your Dental Practice
What Is Dental Team Morale and Why Is It So Important
There’s a reason why armed forces have focused on morale throughout human history. When troops are in good spirits, they fight better. The same concept is visible in sporting events when one team has the home-court advantage; the crowd’s energy stirs up even more focus to win. And in your own life, it’s obvious that attitude and mood affect the outcome of your relationships and work.
As the leader of your dental practice, you’re responsible for morale. Like a leader addressing an army or a coach prepping a team before a game, you provide inspiration every day and set the tone. Anyone who’s witnessed how leaders can influence an organization understands just how much one person can impact morale. Positive, enthusiastic leaders can motivate people to overcome overwhelming odds, and poor, ineffective leaders can take thriving teams and dash them to pieces.
In order for your dental practice to grow, you need to bring positive energy and direction every day. This leadership will inspire confidence and strengthen staff trust, which, in turn, improves the office climate and prompts higher and higher levels of patient care. Ultimately, all of your digital marketing efforts hinge on the weakest link of your team. It takes more than one person to consistently grow a practice, and if your team isn’t committed to winning, you’ll lose patients to the practice that is.
Leadership by Example
The most effective way to strengthen dental team morale is by modeling expected behavior. Leading by example always works best because it’s built on respect. Leaders who bark orders about discipline and details and then show up late and do sloppy work aren’t respected by the staff. Over time, this lack of leadership and respect will result in high turnover and stagnant growth.
Do you want your staff to wear clean uniforms? Make sure yours is spotless and wrinkle-free. Would you like to work with people who bring solutions to meetings, not complaints? Be a problem solver. Are you looking for a team that goes above and beyond for patients? Demonstrate what exceptional patient care looks like. Do you want your staff to understand the importance of personal ethics as the bedrock of your entire organization? If so, avoid any breach of ethics.
Staff Recognition and Appreciation
Whenever surveys are done about work environment, respondents make it clear that recognition is important. In fact, most people would accept less pay to be respected and appreciated at work. The good thing is that recognition is free, and if you don’t suffer from a swollen ego, it’s enjoyable to give. Maybe someone on your team built a special bond with a patient, which resulted in several referrals. Be sure to recognize this effort publically (at a staff meeting). Did someone do something impressive clinically? Be sure to note that after the appointment, to reinforce excellence.
Sadly, our natural inclination isn’t toward compliments. Without consistent effort, we gravitate toward criticism and negativity. We have to work every day to focus on positive developments.
Revisit Your Compensation Model
Monetary compensation is also a significant part of dental team morale. Your staff members have bills too, so a fair and timely payment schedule is paramount. A good rule of thumb: Find good people and pay them well. Effective employees aren’t driven by money; they find joy in personal excellence. By compensating these individuals well, you’re recognizing and appreciating their efforts, and this will inspire them even more.
Consider instituting a bonus program. This way, your staff has “skin in the game” and feels connected to practice growth. There are many different ways to do this, but the best ones factor in hourly compensation and hours worked. So after figuring out the percentage of growth, an equation would determine what percentage of this growth should go to each team member. Those who have more responsibility and who work longer hours would, of course, receive more of this practice growth in the form of a monthly bonus—but everyone on the team receives something, even the part-time high school student who is filing paperwork and cleaning.
Build Camaraderie with Staff Outings
Everyone on your staff struggles to handle their responsibilities, and most have very busy personal lives. That said, you are working to build a cohesive team, so it’s important to invest time in team building. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through staff outings. Sure, they are an expense, but in the long run, they reduce conflict, improve patient care, and lower turnover/new employee training. These activities make excellent social media posts because they demonstrate camaraderie and team spirit. Explore more social media post ideas.
Some of the best types of team-building outings:
- breakfast, lunch, or dinner
- holiday parties
- birthday lunch celebrations with cake
- escape rooms
- local events and volunteering
- 5K runs for charity
- bowling
- cooking class
- museum visit
- laser tag
- art class
- candle making
Remove Bad Apples
Even with the best working environment, negative people, “bad apples,” and energy vampires will make their way through the hiring process and end up on your team. Most of the time, their initial veneer dissolves rapidly, and they begin spreading negative energy around like a contagion on your dental team morale. You’ll probably feel something is off at first and then notice tangible concerns. Suddenly, personal conflicts will be on the rise. Maybe a patient leaves a negative review. Systems are being ignored, and there’s a noticeable decline in organization, time management, and overall tone.
When you identify people on your team actively working against your goals, they must be let go. People rarely change fundamental characteristics, so any effort to reform them is futile. Instead, cut your losses, and find someone who aligns with your practice goals. You’ll notice immediately, like a lifted weight, that the entire organization comes back online with this person gone. Often it’s only after negative people leave that we can measure the full scope of their destruction on staff attitudes.
