Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

September 3-9, 201228 Practice Management United Kingdom Edition A s a practice manage- ment consultant I have a range of daily rates depending on what I’m asked to do – consulting, training, mentoring, an audit, patient coordination and so on. Com- pared to some others in this business, my rates are mod- est and clients have even told me this. This allows more practices to be able to afford me, which broadens my expe- rience, and means I’m quite often asked to stand in for an absent team member or members. Not clinical staff but practice managers, business development manag- ers and patient coordinators, for example. In doing this, I sometimes ‘hold the fort’ at reception while somebody is on lunch break or has a hospital appointment etc. Fresh eyes I enjoy doing so and in this article I shall explain why you should facilitate and take part in job swaps within your practice as well as occasion- ally bringing in outsiders to look at roles with a ‘fresh pair of eyes’. We’ve moved on from the days of ‘time and motion’ studies but similar principles still apply – somebody new to a task can often suggest more efficient ways to do it. There are other good reasons why you should take a turn on the reception desk, why your practice manager should sit in (with the patient’s agree- ment) on a treatment and why your nurses should see how some of the monthly manage- ment reports are run off and analysed. I can’t recall their names just now but some bosses of large retail companies are well known for rarely be- ing in their offices. Instead, they are constantly touring their shops, often turning up unannounced. They moni- tor activity, talk to shop- pers, meet their staff and generally keep abreast of what’s happening. Such an approach is impossible within dental practices. For maximal turnover dentists and hygien- ists need to be ensconced in their treatment rooms from dawn until dusk and only let out at weekends if they’re lucky! The practice manager is rarely seen as they bat- tle continuously with new compliance requirements and the front of house (FoH) staff can barely cope with the phones ringing ‘off the hook’. I exaggerate for effect, of course. Opportunity However, patients do fail to arrive and there are some- times gaps in appointment schedules. Practice managers and patient coordinators do get 20 minutes ‘to spare’ every so often. These are the oppor- tunities to man the reception desk, answer the telephones or assist one of the team to do a stock check. Similar oppor- tunities may arise for mana- gerial or administration staff to find out what goes on in the treatment rooms. Let me give you examples of what you may learn – based on my recent experience of ‘covering’ reception in a small but busy practice. First, even though it was a business in which I’ve consulted quite frequently and know well, I gained an even better under- standing of the dynamics of the practice – the hectic and less hectic periods, the fre- quency of telephone calls and the movements and changing priorities of the staff. I now understand better why FoH staff can sometimes struggle to interpret correctly and act speedily upon messag- es that come from team mem- bers in the treatment rooms. A hastily scribbled note or brief telephone message can have a perfectly clear meaning to a dentist or nurse totally in- volved with a complex treat- ment but seems out of context to a receptionist dealing with a patient asking about the dental plan, a courier unload- ing deliveries and a member of the public wanting direc- tions to the post office! Ambience Sat at a reception desk with- in sight and earshot of the patients’ lounge, as I was, I learned that you don’t have to actively eavesdrop to get a feel for the (constantly chang- ing) collective mood and am- bience. Silence ‘says’ a lot as, on the other hand, does animated conversation and laughter. Sometimes, I col- lected valuable feedback from patients either without ask- ing or just by posing a simple enquiry such as: “Is there any- thing that would have made your visit more pleasant?” I’ve written previously about how FoH staff can gather use- ful patient feedback and mar- ket your practice (you can view my articles on www. dental-tribune.com/epaper or my LinkedIn profile http:// uk.linkedin.com/in/jacquig- oss). My session on the recep- tion desk reinforced just how worthwhile this can be. From my spell on recep- tion the learning points for the practice I was in were: to be available at the front of house at two or three partic- ular times of the day to cope with increased telephone and in-person patient activity. A common language of key words needs to be agreed be- tween FoH and clinical staff for messages together with a priority rating system (such as one to five or ‘hi/med/lo’) instead of everything being classed ‘ASAP’. and easy way of noting com- ments and feedback from pa- tients so that they can subse- quently be discussed at team meetings. We’re looking at having sheets of smiley face symbols so that staff can sim- ply tick eg happy face, sur- prised face, angry face and so on – including some we’ll make up (such as a ‘would welcome SMS appointment re- minders’ face and a ‘liked the new website’ face). You, of course, will have different experiences when you job swap and discover dif- ferent learning points to be solved. However, if you take a turn on reception, as I did, I’m sure you’ll be reminded what a difficult and demanding role it is. Oh, and that you need a strong bladder, because ‘com- fort breaks’ can be few and far between! DT Jacqui Goss says: don’t forget to stop and smell the roses Why improving your practice is a mystery – part 11 About the author A proven manager of change and driver of dramatic business growth, Jacqui Goss is the managing partner of Yes!RESULTS. By using Yes!RESULTS den- tal practices see an increase in treatment plan take- up, improved patient satisfaction and more appointments resulting from general enquiries. Yes!RESULTS turns good practices into great practices. Jacqui Goss Managing Partner, Yes!RESULTS Honeydale Barn Wall under Heywood Shropshire SY6 7DU Tel: 08456 448066 Mob: 07795 562617 Email: jacqui@yesresults.co.uk Website: www.yesresults.co.uk Twitter: @Yesresults www.facebook.com/Yesresults http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacquigoss ‘We’re looking at having sheets of smiley face symbols so that staff can simply tick eg happy face, surprised face, angry face and so on ’ Taking time to ‘smell the roses’ can be an eye opening experience for practice managers