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today Pacific Dental Conference Mar. 07, 2014

AD 14,2014 By Roxanne Moulden Founder and Executive Director, DOMACAN  In today’s world, dentists have to be savvy businesspeople as well as excel- lent clinicians. Organizing a successful dental practice has become more time consuminganddefinitelymorecomplex aseachyearpasses. Thelistseemsendless:ever-changing humanresourceissues,complexgovern- ment/provincial/dental regulations, the  There is a new organization to help you train and continually guide your future COO: The Dental Office Managers and Administra- tors of Canada (DOMACAN), created to bridge the gap between the clinical and business sides of dent- istry. (Photo/Provided by DOMACAN) NeedaCOO?Successful practices have a chief operations officer.Does yours? needtotrainnewteammembers,promo- ting the practice in a highly competitive marketplace, meeting patient needs and expectations, mastering new technol- ogy—allwhilekeepingtheschedulefull. Thisisjustasamplingofwhata21stcen- tury office manager (or, as the position is now called, “practice administrator”) dealswithonaweeklybasis. Why the name change from “office manager” to “practice administrator”? It’s because most people do not like to be “managed,” which is something we learned a long time ago. The question is: Should you have an “office manager” or hire a “chief oper- ations officer”? By definition, a COO is responsible for the corporation’s oper- ations. This individual looks after issues related to marketing, sales, production andpersonnel. Morehands-onthantheCEO,theCOO looks after day-to-day activities while providing feedback to the CEO (the den- tist/owner). Doesn’t this sound like what everymoderndentalofficeneedstoday? ‘Ijustwanttododentistry’ I hear over and over again from dentists across the country: “I just want to do dentistry and let someone else handle therest.”Easiersaidthandone! A dentist in the 21st century office is working harder than ever before trying to balance office hours and family life. Heorsheisoftenworkingeveninghours and Saturdays, bringing charts home to treatmentplan—andstayingoncall24/7 foremergencies—toprovideexceptional caretopatientsandremaincompetitive. A COO may be just what your office needs to relieve you of the many tasks thatcouldbedelegatedtosomeoneelse. Most effective practice administra- tors or COOs are not born that way. You may have a very skilled team member with many years of experience, but that person most likely doesn’t possess the necessary leadership skills and abilities tobeyourCOO. WhatmakesagoodCOO? Let’s examine the qualities of a good COO.AneffectiveCOOmust: •Possessanattitudeofgratitude. •HaveahighdentalIQandbeemotion- allyintelligent. • Demonstrate strong communication skills. •Excelatmotivatingandleading. •Leadbyexamplesootherswillfollow. • Take initiative and think “outside of thebox.” •Thinkquicklyandsolveproblems. •Understandallsoftwarereports. •Bethemostpositivepersonyouknow. • Be the liaison between the office and accountant,bank,salesreps,market- ingcompanies,etc. •Shareyourpracticevision. Inanutshell:YourCOOmustbeevery- thing you are not! If you already have this person on your team, remember to thank them daily. If you need someone like this to join your team, where do you starttolook? Whether you promote someone from within your office or hire someone from outside,thekeytosuccessisinthetrain- ingofthisindividual. Did you know there is a new organ- ization to help you train and continually 8 see COO, page 11 practice matters10 Pacific Dental Conference — March 7, 2014

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