Dos and don'ts for teamwork: Focus on making 'handoffs' smoother

Anywhere a number of people work together as a team, every person has assigned tasks, all of which are combined to get the desired organizational results. There are inevitably transitions from one area of responsibility to another. These "handoffs" are critical points. For the sake of office efficiency, productivity, and patient satisfaction, they must be as smooth as possible.

For seamless operation, check the seams. Transition points are where bottlenecks, confusion, friction, and failures are most likely to occur. Your practice should evaluate each of these separately. This could be done by the full team (on the premise that good ideas can come from anyone) or a more targeted group -- the two staff members involved in the handoff plus a supervisor. This group should identify any problems or potential for improvement and then brainstorm for ways to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Don't cling to the status quo if it's causing trouble. Sometimes, transitions seem fine from one side but not from the other. It may be tempting for the already-satisfied team member to try to keep things the way they are. However, it is better to actively seek a way to improve the handoff for the other person while keeping the transition smooth for yourself.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the chairman and CEO of practice management consulting firm Levin Group.

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