Every employer knows the value of giving feedback to employees.
After all, isn’t that what annual or semi-annual performance evaluations are for?
But we’re here to tell you that if you as a dental practice manager or owner only provide feedback once or twice a year, you’re missing perhaps the most important factor in growing and managing your practice.
As a matter of fact, we urge you to provide feedback to your team — Every. Single. Day.
Whether it’s positive or constructive, your team needs continuous feedback to shape their behavior and contribute the most they can to your practice’s success.
If, for example, you overhear your treatment coordinator nudging a patient off the fence to go ahead with recommended treatment, thank her immediately (or as soon as possible) for making the effort. Tell her she’s done good work. A well-placed “thank you” is a powerful request for “more of the same, please.”
On the other hand, if you overhear the same treatment coordinator backing off and allowing the patient to decline treatment without trying to educate or inform the patient, talk with her about how she might do a better job of persuasion with the next patient.
Given that example, isn’t it obvious that by the time six months or a year have gone by before giving feedback, it’s too late for the treatment coordinator to change and improve her job performance?
If you aren’t giving as much daily feedback as you might, pay attention to these six powerful benefits of clear, consistent, ongoing daily feedback.
1. Improved personal and practice efficiency.
If your team members repeat mistakes more than a couple of times, their work slows down as they take time to back up and deal with the same mistake over and over again. That directly impacts employee efficiency, which in turn hurts the productivity and production in your practice. Continual timely feedback gives your team members the opportunity to get better, faster, and more proficient at their jobs. And a team filled with productive staff improves your bottom line.
2. Improved interpersonal communication.
Feedback is a two-way street. Timely, specific feedback (both positive and corrective) can contribute to an environment of trust, especially if you encourage your team to provide feedback to you in turn. A good place to begin is to ask your team how you are doing as a manager or supervisor. What do they want more of? What can you do better? How might they improve the processes and procedures they’re part of? Take what they say seriously. Two-way feedback helps your team members take ownership of their jobs and understand how their performance contributes to their teammates, the practice, and to you.
3. Improved patient focus.
Specific, consistent feedback helps team members understand the size, scope, and reach of their job responsibilities. Clear direction helps them master their roles so they can be comfortable and confident spending their work day doing what matters most: focusing on providing exceptional patient care and customer service. And that exceptional level of patient care will contribute directly to your patient retention rates and practice growth.
4. Decreased interpersonal conflict.
One of the most common causes of interpersonal conflict on any team is la ack of direction and misunderstanding of roles. If your team isn’t certain about their individual roles and responsibilities, they might inadvertently step on each other’s toes while trying to figure out how things work. In the meantime, if the work isn’t being done correctly or efficiently team members can resort to venting, gossip, and placing blame for failures. Provide both constructive and corrective feedback as often as you need to, so your expectations are clear. When every member of the team understands your expectations for their performance, the potential for conflict decreases.
5. Reduced staff turnover.
When you treat employees fairly and provide them the opportunity to learn, grow, and improve, they’ll become more comfortable and content with their role in your practice. And happy employees are loyal employees. Reducing staff turnover can be a boon to your practice’s bottom line, as you won’t have to invest time and money training new hires as often.
6. Improved team morale.
We believe in the philosophy that everyone wants to do good work. When you provide your team members the guidance they crave, they become more willing and able to adjust their performance, become more effective, and experience greater job satisfaction. When your team consists of engaged people who love what they do, morale will skyrocket.
Feedback is a powerful tool. Don’t make the mistake of limiting feedback to those once-or-twice-a-year formal performance appraisal meetings that everybody dreads. Learn to provide clear, direct, frequent feedback, and teach your staff how to offer it in return.
It might just be one of the most personally and professionally rewarding skills you and your team will ever learn.
If you know you want to improve your feedback skills and take your practice to the next level, give us a call. We’d love to be of service.
For over 25 years, P & S Coaching has successfully assisted practices just like yours, working with them to achieve — and surpass their goals. Part of our coaching practice is teaching you and your team to create the kinds of feedback loops that will dramatically help your practice grow and thrive.
Schedule a complimentary Discovery Call today.
One idea — one tiny shift in the way you do business — could make your practice more satisfying and profitable. Why not take advantage of this complimentary opportunity?
