How Team Morale Can Make – Or Break
Your Dental Practice
Team morale can make or break your dental practice. It’s a bold statement, but there are several reasons why it is true.
The morale of every member of your team impacts other team members, your patients, and over time, even your ROI. If you want your dental practice to be a success, team morale needs to be a priority.
An unhappy team are less productive.When a member of your team is unhappy in their job, they work more slowly, are less efficient, and are less likely to “go the extra mile” to ensure a great patient experience. When an unhappy team member isn’t giving a great patient experience, that patient is less likely to be a repeat patient and unlikely to refer anyone else to your practice. Over time, this could potentially cost you dozens of patients and thousands of pounds.
An unhappy team member will make other team members unhappy. When one person is feeling unmotivated, unappreciated, or disgruntled, their attitude affects those around them. Other team members are forced to work harder to compensate for the lack of productivity.
One person complaining about being unhappy can hurt the morale of every other person in your practice. What starts as a seemingly small problem can fast gain momentum if it isn’t addressed quickly and correctly.
An unhappy team member is more likely to quit. On the surface, this may seem like a good thing: take the poor attitude and low morale out of the equation. However, the cost of finding, hiring, and training a replacement can be high. Even more, the most common reason why an employee quits a job is that they feel unappreciated and/or unsupported by management. Chances are good that if one of your team feels that way, others aren’t far behind.
What You Can Do?
Overcome team morale issues with good leadership. As the dentist and owner of your practice, you are the primary person your team is looking to for leadership. Hold yourself accountable to your team for following through on your promises. Deal with conflicts as soon as they arise. Have an open door policy that makes your team feel comfortable coming to you with problems, so you can address them before they become unmanageable.
Hold regular effective team meetings and 1 to 1’s to ensure every team member understands their place in your vision for the practice. Recognise individual and team successes. Show appreciation. Ensure that you are supportive of any team member empowered to make decisions. If you need to coach them on a change in policy, do so privately to avoid undermining their authority.
You are the leader of your team. The trust, support, recognition, appreciation, and respect you give to your team is the foundation of your team’s morale. When you create a great working environment, your team morale is high. And high team morale creates a better patient experience and greater productivity, which benefits everyone. To ensure your practice thrives, make your team’s morale a priority.
Until next time
P.S To find out how we can help you grow your practice and your team get in touch today.
Call the team on 0113 827 2249 or email vicki@connectmymarketing.com
