Tips For Creating A Healthy and Productive Office Environment

You spend a lot of time in your dental office. The space should not only be inviting but also energizing, healthy and creative. One way to do this is by simply creating a positive flow of air and mood throughout the space.

Here are some quick and easy tips to uplevel your dental office:

#1 – Keep the air flowing.  One thing you don’t want is stale air in your office space. Regularly open windows at either end of your office space to allow a clear path of air to flow through at all times. It’s important to keep the air flowing even during the extreme weather months. You don’t have to open your windows very much to get a good flow of air – a little will do and first thing in the morning when the weather is still cool in Arizona is a great time.

#2 – Keep the office green.  Plants do a lot more than look attractive. Having plants in your office space will help reduce the static energy in the air. This is energy that comes off computers, telephones and other electrical outlets. Green leafy plants will help reduce the amount of toxins in the air and help you breath easier.

Stay away from spiky or thorny plants as this is said to stop the positive energy flow in the Feng Shui of your space.

#3 – Keep things natural.  The more natural materials you can use in your office space the better. Opt for natural wood, stone and paints where possible. The key is to reduce as many toxins as possible in your office. Go for simple renewably sourced products. When decorating, opt for a “greener” eco-friendly paint that doesn’t release toxins into the air.

#4 – De-clutter often.  The less cluttered your environment, the better the overall energy flow. Keep your office space tidy and neat. If you don’t need something, find a good home for it. A clutter-free office space may also help you think clearer and more creatively.

#5 – Add feel-good items.  Feel-good items like favorite sculptures, art and wind chimes will all contribute to the positive mood of your space. Add these sparingly without cluttering your space for a feel-good vibe.

#6 – Balance your color scheme.  Colors can set a mood instantly. Blues, greens and yellows (yellow in moderation) can create a creative, airy, light mood – perfect for offices. Reds and oranges are fiery and may be a little too bright for most office spaces.

Take a little time to look into colors to see which make you feel good and will create the mood you’re after.

Creating a healthy office space doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s simply about creating a more relaxing, happy, energetic space. When you walk into your dental office and instantly feel good you know you’ve achieved just that.

Grow Your Dental Dream Team

When it comes to growing your dream Dental Practice, there are always tweaks to finding and creating the perfect team. To help you fine-tune the process, here are some must do tips to have in place to make growing your dental practice a breeze.

Make Sure Your Business Has One Central Project Manager

You may have several people working for you, each of them experts in their own right, but if none of them have an understanding of what each other is doing and how it all fits together, it can lead to office chaos.  So appoint someone (even if that’s just you) to coordinate everyone else.

A Office Manager or Project Manager is like the choreographer in a ballet or the director of a play.  She or he is there to coordinate all the different roles and components so that nobody misses their cue.  People make their entrances at the right time, scenery is shifted smoothly and the story flows like magic.

So it is with a Office or Project Manager:  She or he makes sure the dental office runs smoothly and efficiently.

Formalize your Systems and Office Protocols

Having clearly defined systems and protocols is essential for your dental practice success.

Creating protocols, then making sure everyone is aware of them (and of who is responsible for each area) will go a long way towards making your business flow smoothly and efficiently.

Create and Use a Company Manual

In the same vein, put all these protocols and procedures in a Company Manual.  You keep the Master Copy, and hand out only those sections relevant to each employee or contractor.

Make Sure the Entire Team Knows How Your Dental Practice Works

It goes a long way to ensure each team members knows how they fit together with the other members in your well-oiled wheel.  Employees or contractors who are aware that any failure to produce on their part will stop the flow or prevent others from doing their piece are less likely to be casual about deadlines and delivery.

Get Help Finding The Right Team

Finding and creating an incredible team that will grow your business is no easy task.  However, when you get the right help, it can make growing your business easy.  Here at Dependable Dental Staffing we take pride in making sure we are placing just the right team member in your dental practice, so you can easily grow your practice.

 

 

*Image provided courtesy of nongpimmy of freedigitalphotos.net 

Simple Tips To Uplevel Your Career and Lead with Confidence

Confidence isn’t something you learn like rules. It’s your state of mind. It begins with positive thinking, practicing, training and gaining knowledge.  Confidence is built through actions and acceptance of your own skills and experience.

Whether you’re part of a team or the leader of a team, confidence in yourself and your abilities is an important part of excelling in your job and/or career.  This month we are sharing some simple tips to help you uplevel your career and lead with confidence.

Keep your emotions out of it.

Good leaders know that their emotions don’t normally have a place in business. Yelling and getting animated over problems have no place in the workplace. Allowing your emotions to get in the way is a sign you’re not objective enough and may be too passionate about the situation. Learn how to put your emotions aside.

Respond decisively and with conviction.

Leaders who have self-confidence don’t show any signs of doubt. You can do the same by speaking with conviction and authority- even if you are unsure. This shows you are in control.

Act like you have confidence.

If you are lacking confidence in some area, put on a smile and act like you do have confidence. Don’t lose your composure by worrying and giving in to fear. As the saying goes, “fake it until you make it.”

Know your strengths.

Knowing your character strengths helps you build your confidence in the areas you are lacking. Play up to your strengths in the way you lead. If you are good at building morale, use it in your role. If you are better at appointing work to others in a fair way, find ways to carry that over into other areas.

See yourself as confident.

A strong leader has a compelling vision of how they want to lead others. They know where they want their career to go. You can develop this skill by creating your own vision. See yourself as confident.

Hire a coach or find a mentor or role model.

You may need to get help building your leadership confidence. Hire a coach who specializes in building confidence. A mentor is another way you can build your confidence. Having someone who is already a confident leader mentor you through those times when your confidence is lacking will go a long way in building your self-confidence.

Take courses in leadership.

Most community colleges, technical schools and business schools, offer courses on being a good leader. These courses will walk you through different scenarios and help you build confidence in how you handle them.

Most leaders aren’t born with the confidence it takes to lead others. It takes time and practice before you begin to feel confident in your career role, whether as a leader or as part of a team.

How to Improve Collaboration Among Dental Team Members

In the world of dental offices, collaboration is the key to growing a thriving practice. Getting team members to work together in cooperation with each other is mandatory for success.

Bringing together a diverse group of people to work towards a common goal is extremely rewarding to a team leader. It can be unnerving and frustrating as well. Knowing how to collaborate effectively takes hard work from you.

Here are 6 tips to help you improve collaboration among your dental team members.

1. Clearly define the goals and the expected outcome of the dental team. Each member’s responsibilities should be explicitly identified. It may seem obvious to you but you want it to be obvious to the team member as well. They shouldn’t be wondering what to do next or who is doing what. Delegate key responsibilities to your team; those that make an impact on the project outcome.

2. Choose your team by carefully thinking about the people you want to work with. Assigning tasks to the right people is necessary to having an effective collaboration. When choosing members, consider each member’s skills, personality, their experience and their schedules.

3. Are there members of your team who are afraid to voice their opinions or to argue? These members won’t be adding any helpful and stimulating ideas and need to be encouraged to speak up. Just because they are quiet doesn’t mean they don’t have good ideas. Always include every team member in discussions.

4. Encourage your team members to socialize outside of work. This can be a great way to open up communication channels and break down walls of mistrust or misunderstanding.

5. Recognize and celebrate good collaborative behavior. Mention the great work the team is doing in the company newsletter, on a podcast or annual report.

6. Provide your collaboration team with the right and necessary tools. Do they need specific software or task management tools? These types of tools can be especially important if your team works from different locations.

7. Once your collaboration is going, continue to mix things up. If the people on your team are collaborating more with people they know, like and trust, it might be time to mix up your teams.

Improving collaboration among your dental team members is sometimes necessary. Team members need to know their role in your office and be encouraged to socialize with other members they don’t know in order to build trust to work together cohesively.

The 8 Most Damaging Online Reputation Mistakes You Can Make

Warren Buffet once said, ‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.’ In the high-speed information age of the Internet, we might amend that to say it takes five seconds to ruin it, or nanoseconds if we’re talking about viral content.

Surprisingly, most employees’ and/or companies’ reputations aren’t ruined by past job experience, education or unhappy reviews. You’re much more likely to damage your credibility by an online mistake. Here are the most damaging online reputation killers to be avoided at all costs.

1. Social Media Under the Influence

Perhaps the worst mistakes are made when you decide to get on Facebook or Twitter after having a few too many drinks. Companies have to be careful about what they say in posts and tweets. Even if you’re slightly tipsy, the filter that keeps you appropriate may fall by the wayside. There’s nothing more embarrassing than waking up and discovering what you posted the night before.

2. Badmouthing a Customer or Employer

Never badmouth a customer or employer online. The whole point of your online presence is to attract customers or potential employers. When you say something nasty or inappropriate about one, this sends the message to prospects that you don’t respect them. Even if you’re valuable, you’ll drive them away.

Actually, it’s never a good idea to trash anyone online. This goes for colleagues, companies, or any other person that annoys you. This rule even applies if a person has said something about you that you don’t like.

You should be building a reputation for being a friendly person that anyone can feel comfortable sharing information with.

3. Flat-out Lying

The urge to lie or bend the truth online is always there. It’s easier to lie through a computer screen than in person. In fact, you may be stretching the truth without realizing it. But the best thing you can do for your reputation is to be honest and transparent. You should always assume that a lie will be discovered and you’ll be exposed to the inevitable damage to your reputation.

4. Embarrassing Photos and Videos

One embarrassing photo or video can completely ruin your online reputation. Think of all the celebrities that have suffered this fate. Be careful about what you’re doing whenever cameras are present. You want your viral video to be one about how amazing you are, not how drunk you were at a party last weekend.

5. Getting Defensive

Again, if there’s a complaint or someone says something nasty about you, don’t get defensive. This looks bad, even if you’re in the right and the other person is a complete jerk. When you’re defensive, it shows that the person got under your skin and that there might be some truth to the attack. It also shows a lack of confidence on your part. Always handle complaints in a friendly, professional manner.

6. The Invisible Man/Woman

To build a good reputation online, you need to be consistent. Don’t disappear for days or weeks on end. Make it part of your regular routine to be present and interact with your audience online.

7. Online Reputation on Autopilot

Actively monitor your reputation consistently and frequently. Don’t only get concerned with it when there’s a problem. Set up alerts so that you know when people are talking about you and respond quickly when they do.

8.  All on the Same Page

If you have a staff of even one other employee or contractor, make sure they understand how serious online reputation is. Create a reputation policy so that everyone is on the same page and you can effectively avoid making any of these mistakes.

Golden Rules To Hiring Your Next Dental Dream Team Member

Hiring a new employee can be a stressful process. You need help and you need to trust someone to take care of certain tasks, as part of your dental team. By following these golden rules, hiring your next dental dream team member will be a lot easier.

Always Trust Your Instincts. If you’re not connecting with a potential employee or something just feels off, trust your instincts. If you feel like it may not be the right fit, test them out first. If you think they can handle everything you can throw at them and then some, hire them! Your instincts are one of your best assets; use them to help you grow your team successfully.

Clearly Explain What Your Needs and Expectations Are. Always tell your potential employee exactly what you need them to do. Don’t make them assume or guess. Provide as much information as possible. One great way to accomplish this is to create a SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) so your new potential employee knows exactly what to do and what is expected of them.

Check References. If you’ve decided to do the hiring directly yourself, always check references. If you’re working with a staffing agency, they do the heavy lifting for you. It’s important to follow through on this part, you’re hiring someone; make sure they’re the right person for the job you need.

Test Them Out. One of the best ways to develop a solid relationship with a potential employee is to start small. This is a huge benefit to working with a dental staffing company. When you try someone out on a temporary basis, it takes the pressure off and gives you both time to develop a relationship. This gives you time to learn how this person might fit with the team. Plus, it ensures you hired the right person to help you grow your dental office.

Utilizing a dental staffing company is a good business decision to help with the process of hiring someone for your team. If you decide to tackle the task on your own, remember to take your time, trust your instincts and follow good hiring practices and procedures.

11 Tips To Fine Tune Your Dental Practice

Fine-tune your Dental practice with these tips and you will not only make it easy to have a dream team running your practice, but it will help your business grow and expand.

1. Make sure your business has one central Project Manager.

2. Formalize your systems and office protocols.

3. Create and use a company manual.

4. Make sure the entire team knows how your business works.

5. Ask for recommendations with-in your office.

6. Check and screen carefully potential candidates or use an agency that does.

7. Enable, don’t dictate by allowing your team to exercise their own competence.

8. Break-up projects into small elements and assign to team members based on their own excellence.

9. Read client feedback and reviews.

10. Give employee feedback even on a job well done.

11. Lead by example. If you want an organized, positive and enthusiastic team, lead this way.

Want A Promotion? Avoid These Mistakes

You may have your eye on an upcoming promotion and you probably feel that you’ve put in your time and work, but hard work and time are not necessarily the most important factors to getting that dream promotion. Managers and team leaders are always looking for smart hard-working employees, but you need to make sure you avoid these mistakes along the way or you might get passed over.

Take a look at these ten mistakes that make managers reconsider offering a promotion to an employee.

1. Gossiping and feeding into office politics have no place inside or outside your company walls. Even if you trust your colleagues… never, ever gossip. Your bosses are watching you all the time and gossip has a way of getting around.

2. Don’t disagree with your boss in public. Share your concerns in private only. In public always support your boss, show your respect and don’t embarrass him or her.

3. Don’t play the part of a victim or complain. Of course, it’s difficult to be happy all the time, especially when things are stressful. Just don’t constantly nag and complain. Ungrateful employees turn off bosses and many times other employees. Make it a point to be positive and professional when things are bothering you.

4. Getting defensive. Take constructive feedback for what it is; a way to help you grow professionally. Work and personal feelings should be kept separate.

5. Not following through. When you commit to doing something, make sure you can deliver on your promise to follow through.

6. Asking for a promotion, raise and more benefits or privileges all at the same time. Keep your priorities in mind and work on getting them regularly.

7. Thinking promotions are based on merit alone. Other factors, including politics, comes into play. Analyze your office’s principles to find out where you should focus besides hard work.

8. Don’t neglect your long-term goals. Is this promotion in line with your overall long-term goal?

9. Be clear on your skills and be able to show how your skills and reasons for seeking the promotion fit together. Your experience level; why you’re ready for more responsibility, your achievements, and skills all must fit in with why promoting you is right for the company.

Getting that promotion you dream of will take more than hard work. Employees looking to move up within their company need to avoid these mistakes whenever possible.

How To Find The Right Staff For A Thriving Dental Practice

Today, dental offices can pick and choose among a large qualified job market. However, finding the right team member within the ocean of candidates is what is important. Hiring the wrong person can be very costly and time consuming.

Here are a few tips you can use to make sure you hire the ideal candidate for your team the first time.

Get Clear.

It’s important to have a very clear picture of the responsibilities you want your new team member to have. Before you post a help wanted ad or seek support from a staffing company make sure you’ve developed a detailed job description

Narrow the Search.

A post for help wanted can get you flooded with resumes and emails. It can be overwhelming and time consuming to sort through. To help make it easier to identify the right candidates it can be very useful to work with a staffing agency who has a wealth of candidates and can easily select candidates that may be a perfect fit.

Follow Your Instincts.

Today there is a great selection of talented people and using a staffing company can get you connected to those applicants quickly. You can shorten the time you spend interviewing applicants and insure you get the right person for the job.

Check the Fit.

Once you have interviewed the applicant and feel like they could be a great fit, this last step, can make a world of a difference. An applicant can be truly talented, but if they don’t fit with the team, personality conflicts can turn a great team upside down. When working with a staffing agency you can test out the applicant before officially hiring them on. Plus, by working with a staffing agency you typically can have them handle the drug testing and background check, so that you have peace of mind.

Why Acknowledgement Matters: To The Team Leader And Team Members

William James, the father of psychology, stated that the most fundamental psychological need is to be appreciated. Everyone wants to feel appreciated for the work we do. For leaders, the payoff for showing your appreciation is that your team members will do more for you. Team leaders often believe they are more appreciative of their members than the team thinks they are. The same can be said of team members themselves. Sometimes they don’t appreciate their fellow members or their leaders.

If you’ve ever felt your employees don’t respect you it could be because they don’t feel like you appreciate them. You fail to acknowledge them and their hard work for you.

When you lose their respect, your authority and control quickly becomes undermined.

Acknowledging your team members is a positive way to interact with them and it can boost their respect for you.

• Acknowledge their hard work and the results they are getting.
• Reinforce the behaviors you want to see most often.
• When you see your employees doing something right, acknowledge it.

Try to do this often. Be sincere and specific though, instead of blurting out an automatic “Good job”.  As a leader you need to take the time to thoughtfully explain your appreciation for the actions by the team member.

As an example you could say, “Jason, I really appreciate how you quickly took action to resolve the issue that customer had without causing a delay in our schedule. That makes a big difference for our practice.”

Showing appreciation for your team members’ efforts, motivates and inspires them to do their best work.

If you feel like you’ve been under-acknowledging your team members, take control and start showing more appreciation. Your actions could motivate others to follow your example as well. And it makes you feel good when you give appreciation.

Here are 5 tips on how to begin to give acknowledgment to the people you work with:

• Acknowledge work you see well done on a regular basis. Be as specific or general as the situation calls for. Start with something small like nice job and move up to bigger kudos if you aren’t used to giving acknowledgments.

• Listen to what others are really saying to you. It feels good when someone listens to you about an idea you have on a project or a challenge you are trying to work through on something. Put away your electronic devices, close your computer screen and listen to your co-worker.

• Become interested in your team members lives. Ask them basic questions about their favorite hobbies or their family. People feel appreciated when they know you are interested in their lives outside of work.

• Offer training and further education opportunities. Give team members work challenges that will stretch them to grow and learn. Be there if they have questions.

• Simply say “thank you.” It goes a long way in making someone feel appreciated for their work.

It’s part of human nature to want to feel appreciated and that we make a difference. It’s a great way for both team leaders and team members to earn the respect and trust of each other. Take the time to show your appreciation for the work your co-worker does.