In order to take your practice to the next level , it’s critical to take time out to work on the practice not just in it. Its common to hear that practices previously held office meetings then stopped . Resulting in excuses like, “ we’re too busy”, “the meetings were a waste of time”, “nothing was ever prepared”, or the meetings were just gripe sessions.
It’s impossible to achieve a higher level of success without regularly meetings to discuss topics like business development, marketing, achievements and goals. Regular office meetings if prepared properly can be a very effective way not only to improve communications among the staff but determine areas of concern and problem solving.
Why Meet?
The most important reason is to exchange information and implement new ideas. In addition, bringing the staff together as a team allows them to take a more proactive role in the business and the practices success. Meetings should be held to discuss different areas of the practice. Often times meetings are held to discuss key areas of the practice. Areas like , practice goals, production, collections, new patient exams, hiring new staff, vacations and areas of concern.
Who Should Attend?
The entire staff should attend. Everyone is responsible for the success of meetings as well as the business. All employees should know and understand where the practice is headed and what areas of concern the practice is experiencing. Having a team approach to problem solving will create a supplementary outcome resulting in a higher level of success. Properly preparing for the meeting is the key to achievement.
The Meeting Leader
The meeting leader helps plan , organize, and prepare the meeting agenda. One week prior to the meeting , the meeting leader should have all staff members write down areas of concern and what topics they would like to talk about. The agenda should be typed up and pencils and a note pad should be ready for the meeting. The meeting leader should assign someone to take notes during the meeting to determine who will be responsible for implementation of new ideas and deadlines to meet.
Meeting Types
There are five important types of meetings. The morning huddle, The evening huddle, The training meeting , The goals and numbers meeting and the business development meeting. Each type of meeting should be held separately and a agenda should be created to discuss the goals and needs of each area.
The Morning Huddle
The morning huddle should take place 10 -15 minutes prior to the start of patients. Each employee attending the meeting should be assigned an item to report on. Having everyone report on something will keep those attending interested in the meeting. Areas that can be discussed are as follows: Problem accounts, who’s over in treatment, difficult patients, medical alerts, scheduling availability , starts, new patients, perio clearance on starts and lab cases that are due for the day.
The Evening Huddle
The evening huddle should take place each night after all patients have left for the day. The entire staff should be present. This is a time to reflect on problem areas and daily achievements. Topics to be discussed should be as follows: Charting for the day, new patients that started, delinquent accounts that were resolved, care call,, problem patients, daily production goals, as well as daily collection goals.
The Training Meeting
The training meeting should be held two times a month in different areas. Once a month for front office and once a month for clinical staff. Only those who apply to the topic should attend. Once a month the front desk should go over customer service, properly answering the phones, returning calls, handling difficult parents, scheduling etc… The back office once a month should have a meeting regarding proper impression taking, bonding techniques, wire sequencing, taking proper x-rays and photos or what-ever other area you have concerns regarding.
The Goals and Numbers Meeting
This meeting should be held once a month during the first week. All staff members should attend. During the meeting previous month goals should be discussed. Things like department budgets, collection goals, production goals, case acceptance, new patient starts, referral sources, and achievements. Areas of concerns should be addressed as well as problem solving. Any type of bonuses systems that your office has in place should be given out during this meeting. The meeting should be scheduled for at least 2 hours.
The Business Development Meeting
This meeting is held on a quarterly basis. The entire staff should attend. This meeting is held to determine areas of improvement as well as ways to take the practice to the next level. Areas and or topics to be discussed should be: Remolding of the office, marketing ideas for the quarter, customer service, new equipment purchases, team building events, implementation of systems, consulting services that may be needed, fees and upcoming conferences and meetings . Having a game plan for the future is the key to success. This meeting is held on a non patient day and can take several hours of discussion.
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