’Tis the season for getting things done in your dental practice
It's time for some spring cleaning in your dental practice. Stay focused and don't let time get away from you. Achieve your spring goals and spend the summer knowing what you've accomplished.
This article first appeared in the Principles of Practice Management e-newsletter. Click here to subscribe.
Spring is finally here! Yippee! But don’t celebrate too long because it’ll be gone in a flash. As soon as the weather gets warmer, time just seems to accelerate. People are doing more and going out more, and boom! before you know it, it’s the middle of summer and all those items on your spring to-do list are still waiting to be done.
Don’t let the time slip away. Stay focused on getting things done and making progress on your big projects. Here are three critical activities that should be on your practice’s spring calendar:
1. Spring clean the office
This is something many practices talk about, but never actually do. This year, commit to making spring cleaning happen. Go through every closet, cabinet, and drawer. Purge the outdated items and keep the good stuff. You might just be surprised at what you find . . . valuable supplies you didn’t even know you had, and now you won’t have to order them again for a while.
2. Measure Quarter 1 performance and make adjustments
As the CEO, you need to carve out a chunk of time and review your practice’s performance for the first three months of the year. Examine key performance indicators (KPIs) and compare them against the previous quarter as well as the same period as last year. Identify positive and negative trends. If performance is lagging in certain areas, brainstorm solutions with your team and then implement corrective measures as quickly as you can.
3. Hold a quarterly team meeting
This is another activity that always seems to get put on the back burner in many practices. The quarterly meeting should be a forum for focusing on the big issues, such as:
• Fixing customer service breakdowns
• Establishing better collaboration between the clinical and administrative teams
• Improving employee morale
• Working on new scripts
• Keeping hygiene patients active and re-engaging inactive patients
• Brainstorming solutions for performance issues (see number 2)
As the CEO of your practice, you need to maximize the talents, knowledge, and skills of your staff members. A quarterly meeting is an excellent way to achieve that and move the practice forward at the same time.
Conclusion
By the time this article appears, there will only be two months left in spring. What have you accomplished so far? What remains to be done? Use the next two months to check off several more items on your practice’s to-do list.
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Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the founder and CEO of Levin Group Inc., a leading dental consulting firm. A nationally recognized speaker, Dr. Levin presents practice management seminars throughout the country.
Author’s note: CE for GPs:Attend Dr. Levin’s “Building the Ultimate Practice”seminarthis year and receive six CE credits.To see his full seminar schedule, visit levingroup.com/gpseminars.
