The Practicon Viewpoint by Ann Page Griffin

PUT SOME PEP INTO TEAM MEETINGS

Revitalize and Reap Rewards
The most productive dental offices are those in which the team participates fully and wholeheartedly. They care about patients. They respect and care about each other, the doctor, and the practice. They are appreciated. They contribute to the overall well-being of the practice. They work with rather than for the doctor. And regular team meetings are a vital part of the operation of the practice.

There are actually five types of team meetings:

• Morning Huddle
• Monthly General Meeting
• Monthly Area (Business and Clinical) Meeting
• One-on-One, and the
• Annual Planning Retreat

In this discussion, we will focus on Monthly General Meetings.

The Monthly General Meeting should be scheduled about the same time each month and should include the entire staff, full-time and part-time, and all dentists associated with the practice. Audio-visual aids such as short videos, cartoons, theme-related slides, etc. can enliven the overall ambiance of the session and the enthusiasm of the group.

The leader of the meeting should print the agenda, which can be distributed to team members or simply used by the leader. The agenda should include reports on basic business and clinical topics, with other pertinent topics, problems, or suggestions added as necessary. To facilitate these additions, supply each team member with a small spiral notebook in which to note ideas that might occur during the work day. The practice administrator can then add these "idea slips" to the agenda.

The privilege of leading a team meeting can rotate among the team members and the dentist(s) alphabetically by last names to encourage participation by all auxiliaries. Every team member is encouraged to speak at every meeting, whether to share a personal story, challenge, or achievement for the month, or to report on happenings in particular work areas.

Presentation of Health Reports, where a team member might present a three-to-five minute report on a health-related topic at the beginning of each meeting, is another way to encourage participation. Rotate this task alphabetically by first names.

Another way to enhance staff training and familiarize business staff with new treatment methods, materials, or equipment is to have the dentist present a clinical topic at the end of each meeting. Make the explanation basic and brief, and encourage questions from the staff.

Schedule a fun team meeting occasionally. Bring in resource speakers (a personality analyst, a cosmetologist, a musician, a CPR instructor, etc.), play games, or give each team member an amount of money in an envelope and an hour off to go spend it at a local mall. Snacks or lunch are always a nice addition to team meetings. Ideas are limitless.

Suggestion: call your team together to discuss ways to enhance and improve your team meetings. Seek suggestions from the team and implement as many as practicable. Your practice will reap the benefits.

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