Archive for January, 2010
Dentists – Planning for a Breakthrough
Posted by: | Comments“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.” H. Stanley Judd
As a Coach, one of the key issues I hear from our clients is that “they don’t have enough time to do the work in the management program.”
One thing that I know for certain is that there is one area in which all men are truly created equal and that is in the area of time. God gave us all 24 hours each day to live our lives. The problem arises with how we each use that time. Do we allow the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years to just happen through our lives? Or do we plan our lives in a way that we maximize what has been given to us?
“We need a sense of the value of time—that is, of the best way to divide one’s time into one’s various activities.” Arnold Bennett
Many of us fail to plan because we are too busy doing instead of thinking. We feel we have to be doing and as a result we react to whatever is happening around us. How then do we take control? Planning is an attempt to leverage our activities against the passage of time. Keeping in mind that there are some things we can’t control. However, to fail to manage whatever time you can will minimize your effectiveness. Whether you control 8 hours or 1 hour of your day is irrelevant. What matters is that we manage whatever time we can, in order to spend as much time as possible on the important things.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an art but a habit” Aristotle
The daily planner (the to-do-list) is the most common plan used today. Daily planning is worthwhile but weekly planning is better. This gives us a longer range perspective and more options.
The best way to create a weekly plan is to ask six basic planning questions as suggested by the Carlson Learning Company.
- 1. What results do I intend to achieve?
- 2. What must I do to get those results?
- 3. What are the priorities?
- 4. How much time will each activity require?
- 5. When will I do each activity?
- 6. How much flexibility must I allow for the unexpected things I can’t control?
You must allow time for unexpected things. Flexibility will be the key to successful planning. Remember that you are attempting to eliminate reactive behavior. You will want to be slow to change your plan when the unexpected happens. A thoughtful response versus the usual reactive one is desired.
“A first-rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected.” Arnold Bennett
It is best to write out your plan for the upcoming week on Friday or whatever day is your last working day of the week. Ask others to do the same thing. You can review these plans at your weekly staff meeting in order to coordinate priorities and activities. Be sure to prioritize you activities and timelines. Set deadlines that are realistic and be sure not to ignore them. Preparing a weekly plan requires about 30 minutes but it will allow you to recover one hour per day for the week. An extra hour per day for important work (working on the practice) will produce remarkable results. Are you ready for your breakthrough? Plan it today.
“Plan your progress carefully; hour-by-hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.” Paul J. Meyer
Feel free to make your comments below by clicking on the word “comments.”
Chris Ellison, Practice Development Coach
Dental Benefits for the Team
Posted by: | CommentsThis is one of the most confusing systems in our profession. Many offices spell out vague guidelines for their team to use. Many stipulate that they can have dental coverage for “immediate” family members. The definition of “immediate” family needs to be spelled out so misunderstandings are limited.
Many offices provide dental care for the entire dental team. This system can cause problems within the team if one team member has had some significant neglect. A team member who is not at a very high level of oral health will receive a lot of care and a large benefit. While a team member who has taken great care of their mouth may only require minimal dental treatment and not use this benefit.
Consider providing the same amount of benefit for all of the employees. You can provide a consistent dollar amount each year to be used by your team. For example, you could stipulate that you will provide them with $2000.00 of dental treatment each year. They can use those dollars for their care or for their immediate family. Once they use up the thousand dollars, they will be responsible for paying the remaining portion in cash.
Part time employees are typically not entitled to any benefits. You will need to determine what you would like to provide for them, if anything.
Please know that we are not discouraging benefits to your team. In fact, we encourage them! We simply encourage you to put systems and structures in place that are equitable for all of your team members.
Don’t forget the compensation benefits that don’t show up on your employee’s paycheck. These items are called “Hidden Paycheck” items and your dental care benefits are only one example of this.
Employees may overlook the benefits provided to them by their employers. By incorporating these items into your compensation review, it allows the employee to see the whole compensation picture for what it really is. Many times the hidden paycheck items can add up to 35 percent of their earnings, and most of it is tax-free.
Example of a Compensation Review – Preliminary Offer
Annual Base Salary Offered $__________________
Employer Matching FICA $__________________
Profitability Pay when Available $___________________
Medical Premium Contribution $ ___________________
Pension Plan Contribution $ ___________________
Total Salary $___________________
The items listed below will not show up on your paycheck. But they are additional benefits provided to you by the doctor.
Uniform Allowance $ ___________________
Dental Care Allowance $ ___________________
Jury Duty – Bereavement Pay $ ___________________
Parking Garage Fees $ ___________________
Continuing Education $ ___________________
Total Compensation $____________________________
Pension Participation Date ___________________
Coaching Department; The Schuster Center
Dental Practice Wellness
Posted by: | CommentsWhile I was on a phone call the other day, Dr. Schuster placed a document on my desk that he had written. He told me later he got the idea from his chiropractor and modified it to fit our dental patients. I read the “Four Steps to Wellness” and immediately began to see how this fit with our Center Students as well. Here it is…
Step One: STOP THE DISEASE PROCESS
First, you must acknowledge when disease exists. If your practice isn’t healthy, you begin to feel the negative effects but you may not know exactly what is going on. Your practice analyst helped you to see where some of the problems may be. Then you attended Retreat 1 of the Management Program at The Schuster Center and that began to help you see more clearly. You began to sort it all out. You looked at each of the engines that drive the practice and produced step-by-step policies and systems to begin the change process toward health. You started to look at what health is relative to your dental practice. You decided to stop doing things the way they have always been done and start reflecting on a better way to practice.
Step Two: THE HEALING STAGE
This is where Policies and Systems are put into place and the implementation begins. The dental practice embarks on a journey of healing. This healing process in most cases will require the entire management year and sometimes beyond that year. Healing requires change.
Step Three: THE CORRECTIVE STAGE
Once healing has occurred, the stress level in the dental practice will be reduced and the team can now begin to focus on the goals set forth for the future of the practice. This requires the commitment to continue working on your practice even after the management year is complete. It is important to continually review your Policies and Systems and make revisions as you change and grow. The statistical data collected monthly can be utilized to determine where change is needed. Corrections are made based on objective data.
Step Four: THE MAINTENANCE STAGE
It is far easier to maintain a healthy practice than to correct one in the disease process. Once the doctor and team have created the practice they desire and are reaching their goals, the ability to maintain them is dependent upon their commitment to the doctor’s vision of the practice. Continuing education through advanced development will assure the practice maintains growth. Maintaining health takes the effort of all involved.
Practice wellness takes life-long dedication just as your patient’s dental health and wellness requires commitment for a lifetime.
Happy New Year to everyone!
–The Schuster Center offers top practice management education for the dental industry. For more information, go to www.SchusterCenter.com
