More than likely (and hopefully) every day you and your staff are meeting 15 minutes prior to your first patient’s arrival to prepare for the day as a team.
It is a short quick meeting, but it is there to set your practice up for success that day.
So… are you and your team doing everything to make your huddle is as effective as it should be?
Well here is a little checklist for you to make sure your morning huddle is effective and profitable.
Make sure everyone is on time
It needs to be made clear how important the huddle is to the team. Shortly before starting have your office manager sweep through the office to tell everyone huddle is starting in 2 minutes.
And have a designated space for the huddle to take place, so your dental assistant is running around trying to find you guys.
Have your hygiene coordinator or dental receptionist put a sign up that reads;
“Good Morning! We are in our team huddle, please treat yourself to some coffee and we will be with you shortly.”
That way they don’t have to run out if a patient comes in early.
Now your team has a full and uninterrupted 15 minute to complete the huddle.
Assign huddle responsibilities
The huddle is not the time to pull up charts and review them as a team.
Rather, this should all be done the day before. And your team should know who is responsible for knowing what and what needs to be presented.
Here is a breakdown of huddle duties.
Hygiene coordinator or receptionist: Who was confirmed and who wasn’t and if there is any pending treatment from their last visit for patients on the hygiene schedule.
Hygienists: Discuss any health issues or anxieties that the team needs to be aware of the hygiene schedule.
Treatment coordinator or office manager: Confirmations and any pending treatment that is not scheduled on the doctor’s schedule.
Dental Assistant: Discuss any health or anxiety issues on the doctor’s schedule.
*And it is also nice if someone mentions events in the patient’s lives like a vacation or becoming a grandparent. That always makes patients feel good when the dental office remembers that stuff.
Don’t waste time discussing noncrucial information
It is very easy (and fun) to go down the rabbit hole of gossiping about patients and the silly things they do, but don’t. It will only take away from the short amount of time to prepare for the day.
Discuss numbers and goals
Production on the doctor’s side and hygiene side should be discussed as a team. This lets everyone know where we stand and where we need to push.
Have your Office Manager announce:
Treatment Production for the day:
Hygienist production for the day:
Treatment production Month to date:
Hygiene Production month to date:
This gives you a chance to game plan with the team.
For example: If the treatment production for the day is low. You can talk about who has outstanding treatment that is scheduled to come in and how to get them to accept same-day treatment.
End on a positive note
Read a motivational quote or affirmation. Have a fun little chant. Talk about something great that someone on the team did the day before.
Just do something fun to get your team excited and send them off feeling good.
If you are missing any of these items from your morning huddle, incorporate them tomorrow morning. These items on this checklist should help get your team on the same page so they stay on time and your patients get the care they deserve.
Smiles!
