STAFF MANAGEMENT - System Problems vs People Problems

Our office “systems” or procedures are the habitual way our staff does their work – how they file insurance, schedule patients, or collect overdue accounts.  These procedures can either be well designed and reliable or they can be disorganized and inconsistent.

When things go wrong in the office, it’s either the result of a faulty system or poor execution.  And because the execution part is the most visible of the two, we tend to blame the person not the process when problems come up.

So, when the insurance didn’t get filed, we blame the financial coordinator.  When the patient doesn’t get rescheduled, we blame the front desk.  When the assistant forgets to clip the end of the archwire, we blame the chairside assistant.

We can end believing that “If only my staff would improve, my practice would improve!” And all these things wouldn’t happen. But let’s remember –

Good people can’t be productive

with unclear directions, inadequate resources,

in a poor system with too little training!

 So it’s our responsibility, not theirs, to set things right.

Our staff is the force that propels our practice forward.  Too often, we wonder why they’re not motivated. But their commitment to making practice improvements is a direct result of our leadership.

What do employees want to know to make a change?

• They want to know WHERE we are taking them,

            which gives them a well-defined target to shoot for

• they want to know WHY it’s important to go there,

            which gives them a good reason to go along with us

• they want to know HOW they’re going to get there,

            which gives them a reliable path to make the change

• they want to know WHAT they need to do to get there,

            which gives them clear directions on how they need to change

• and finally, they want to know how things are going to get better FOR THEM

            if they go there with us.

            which sustains their motivation as they change

So, it’s OUR responsibility to provide them with clear directions, give them adequate resources, establish well designed procedures, and thoroughly train them. And once we do - help them thru the change as we make things better.

If we do our part,

we’ll be able to turn good people into extraordinary performers.

And if we do our part, we can get what WE want – which is to have our practice become more efficient, more effective, more productive, and error-free.