Dos and don'ts for training the team

A strong team complements the dentist

A strong team can help you achieve long-term practice success. Building a high-performance team is one of the most difficult challenges you face but it is critical to your future.

Execute training properly. To ensure that team members all fully understand their roles, time must be set aside away from patients, and maybe even outside the office in some cases, so that the proper focus and concentration can be achieved. Training must also leave room for team members to ask questions. Always encourage questions. Asking questions taps into the expertise of team members and allows them to take ownership in the practice.

Don't imagine training can happen "on the fly." Training your staff is not something that can be effectively accomplished in the 10 to 20 minutes dentists may have between patient appointments. Training must be structured. Monthly staff meetings are a good place to provide more focused training. Your staff will feel more appreciated and valued when you treat their training seriously.