For many practices, summer is the busiest time of the year. Take some time to review the patient schedule for the next three months. Look for any extremely busy periods. Check employees' vacation schedules to make sure you have adequate coverage. Also, if the practice closes for a week, communicate that to patients as early as possible.
Plan around everyone's vacations. Build out the vacation schedule for summer as early as possible. All vacation requests should be submitted by April 30, if not earlier. This will give you enough time to adequately prepare for weeks when team members are off.
Don't forget about former employees. Former team members (meaning those who left in good standing) can be an excellent resource to provide coverage when current employees are on vacation. Many ex-staff members will be happy to return to the practice temporarily and earn some extra money. Other possibilities include family members who have administrative and/or clinical experience.
Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the founder and CEO of Levin Group, the leading dental practice consulting firm in North America. For the complete list of dates and locations where you can attend his latest seminar, visit www.levingroup.com/gpseminars.
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