Hopefully you are realizing that this article is a continuation of at least one previous one, and while true, there are more. If you are just joining us, or just happened to start here, there are several other articles all dealing with rules to run a successful practice. Each one is a tried and true, can’t miss, don’t violate it, statement that has far reaching affects on your success and stress in running a successful dental practice. I have jokingly tagged each article as Michaelisms. A moniker created by one of our coaching clients, who, on retiring, gave me a framed copy of things I repeatedly told him during the years of coaching preceding his practice sale and retirement. I hope you enjoy and embrace their importance in moving your practice to a Super General Dental Practice.
- Never keep an employee that makes your life miserable. I am guilty, for sure. If you have someone that is always pushing your buttons, a pot stirrer, and a passive aggressive thorn in your side, then you are guilty too. For me, I was desperate for someone to fill a vacancy. Magically, they showed up. She was a self-starter and pretty good assistant. Fit right in, until the first full moon. About thirty days later I started sensing something was off. It was just a little bit off, but it was like the weather was about to change. The rest of the ladies were a bit on edge. Little things became big things. Normally cool, calm, and collected team members became a little hot tempered. But the new hire seemed fine. This continued until one day I had to find out what happened to my well-oiled machine. Behind the scenes, out of sight, without my knowledge, this new hire was sowing seeds of dissent. It wasn’t until I questioned several of my team on the “why”, “when”, and “what” of the situation that I finally found out that it was the new hire who never seemed to be in the fray.
Admit it. Every one of you has a name and a face that precisely fits this description. Sadly, most of you still have that employee and tolerate her or his “less than ideal” effect on the rest of the team – and on you. Tough call, but it is time to free up their future and move on down the road. It’s a bit like buying a large cruising boat. The day you bought it and the day you sold it were awesome. If you can see this person, or any person on your team that fits these descriptors, act today. Don’t wait! Act and change the future of your practice. You will thank me when you do.
- Never hire someone for the length of time they have been in dentistry or just on the beauty of their resume. Some of the worst hires I have made were people with 10 years of experience in dentistry. I soon learned it was ten years of doing things differently and, in most cases, doing things wrong. You will find these people interview well. They know what you want to hear. They seem nice. They know what you want to see. They will also be excited about putting their ten years of experience to work in your practice. Awesome. Not so fast Scooter. In our offices, experience usually meant “set in their ways”. They always felt like the old doctor they used to work for was doing everything right, even though they were actually below an average dental practice, never saw kids, referred out their oral surgery, implants, endo, pedo, prosthodontics, and mainly did amalgam fillings and a single crown or two.
That, my friend, is not the type of experience I want from a new employee. I will always need to retrain every candidate and those with tons of experience tend to take longer, and never seem to make the change. If they get stressed, they go back to doing what a 1990’s practice would do when she worked for Dr. Goodfella back in the day. Consider what experience can mean and make sure that is what you want to invest in.
- Never hire employees; Hire partners. To quote from my book, The Super General Dental Practice, every system, protocol, and business system was built on being “Purpose Driven, Doctor Led, and Staff Owned. (You can get your free digital copy at www.supergeneralpractice.com ). The staff owned component is essential. It means literally partnering with each team member to ensure the commitment to your culture and vision for a successful dental practice. If you can make that shift and think about each hire as a commitment to partnering with this individual within the framework of your team, your choices and how you go about finding that right person will dramatically change. Selecting each person becomes a process of finding someone with awesome people skills, self-motivation, and the desire to begin their career rather than just have a job. The bar is raised, the search is more extensive, and when it comes time for both parties to say yes, you will smile. You will have made the right choice and collaborated with your existing team so they too are committed to making sure this new hire will be successful.
- Always share the numbers and the profits with your team. The only people that can change your results are the people you work with every day. If we want a committed team, they deserve to learn the business of dentistry. The only way for them to proactively participate in a “staff ownership” culture is to see the numbers. Secondly, I’m not sure most doctors know what numbers to follow or track, so I have attached a template for what I tracked in my offices. This will take a bit of homework on your part: Read chapters 16 and 17 in The Super General Dental Practice. Go over your Profit and Loss Statements and redo their format to create a document that readily helps you see where you are and what changes and actions you need to take. Sharing and talking about these specific numbers will ensure that each team member understands the business of dentistry. It will also likely be an education for you, the doctor.
INCOME & EXPENSE SUMMARY
MONTH: ________________
MONTHLY: PRODUCTION __________ COLLECTIONS ____________
YEAR TO DATE: PRODUCTION ___________ COLLECTIONS ____________
Month Year IDEAL GOAL
EMPLOYEE COSTS: ________ _________ 27%-28%
FACILITY COSTS: ________ _________ 7%-9%
DENTAL SUPPLIES: ________ _________ 5%-6%
MARKETING: ________ _________ 3%-5%
LAB: ________ _________ 8%-10%
OFFICE SUPPLIES: _________ _________ LESS THAN 2%
TOTAL EXPENSES: _________ _________ 52%-60%
COLLECTION %: _______ _________ 100%+
PRODUCTION/EMP./MONTH: _______ _________ $20,000-$25,000
PRODUCTION/OP/MONTH: _______ _________ $25,000-$30,00
NEW PATIENTS: _______ _________ 40-60 NP/DOCTOR
DIRECT REFERRALS: _______ _________ 50%+
HYGIENE % /MONTH: _______ _________ 33%+
COLLECTIONS/NEW PATIENT: _______ _________ $2,500 PLUS
What is 1% of a year’s collections in your practice: _____
I have one more article on Staffing Michaelisms before we move on. Take the time to analyze and decide what you are willing to do in order to get the practice you always thought you would have.
Michael Abernathy DDS
[email protected]
972.523.4660 cell