There’s a reason football teams have a huddle when they need to make a change to their game plan. Huddles are effective! And if you’ve spent any time working in a dental office, you know that morning huddles are effective for dental team building, too! But no one likes a meeting for a meeting’s sake. To be truly effective, it’s important to follow a few simple guidelines.
At Dental Practice Enhancement, we specialize in dental team building and virtual administrative services. Quite simply, after three decades in the business we know what works. If you’re finding it difficult to make your morning huddles truly beneficial, we can help you set an agenda and schedule that works for you.
Read on for some tips to improve your practice’s morning huddle. Then contact Dental Practice Enhancement for help in implementing these and other best practices.
1. Keep It Short and Sweet.
40% of dental practices say they find morning huddles challenging because they don’t have enough time for them. Or they need to spend too much time gathering information to make the meetings worthwhile.
The reality is that morning huddles should be brief, lasting no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Schedule your meeting for 15 minutes before your first appointment. That way, you can’t go over your allotted time frame.
2. Be Forward Thinking.
Morning huddles should be about goal-setting, as well as dental team building. Of course, these meetings should certainly include a review of the previous day. But past experiences should help you establish new objectives to improve your practice.
At each morning huddle, be sure to touch on:
- Production: How many patients do you aim to see this week? This month? How many procedures do you hope to complete? Where is there room in your schedule to accommodate any last-minute patients who will help you meet those goals?
- Marketing: You probably have one or two team members in charge of marketing, but your whole staff plays a role in this key element of success. What sets your practice apart from the crowd? What noteworthy experiences have your clinical team members had in the treatment room? What are some opportunities to reach out to the community?
3. Address Patient Needs
Of course, patient experience is key to your practice success. And we know that providing compassionate and quality care is your biggest concern as a medical professional.
Review the day’s upcoming patients and their specific needs. Briefly discuss yesterday’s patients. Did any of them have less than stellar experiences? How can you reach out to them or better meet their needs? Do you have non-compliant patients? How can you improve communication with them and help them advocate for their own dental health?
Use the information you have gathered about goals and patient needs to guide tomorrow’s morning huddle.
Contact Us for More Dental Team Building Tips
Are you ready to take the next step to help your practice thrive? Improve your dental team building with Dental Practice Enhancement. Contact us to schedule a coaching session or to learn more about how we can help your practice.
You can complete our online contact form or give us a call at (833) DPE-FOR-U.