Creating a Respectful Dental Work Environment

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Respect is part of the glue that holds your dental practice team together, and if your team isn’t feeling respected by their employer, it’s likely that they won’t be dishing it out, either. Let’s take a look at why respect is such an important core value in your practice and how you can cultivate it.

Respect Starts With You

Respect starts at the top, and the best way to earn an employee’s respect is to pay it forward. As a practice owner, you get to make most of the rules, as well as set the stage in terms of the conduct you want your employees to follow in your practice.

Choose your language wisely; encouraging and honest talk is more successful than implementing autocratic policies that don’t give staff members a voice. Make an open space for discussions and let your staff know that you welcome their suggestions about making the practice a more productive space. Be explicit with each staff member about what is required by them in terms of key performance areas.

Hold regular performance reviews where you give positive feedback on successes and suggestions for improvement in areas of weakness. Recognize and reward good accomplishments and encourage your staff to keep raising the bar.

Watch your mood. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stressors of running a practice or to be distracted by what the day holds. Work to stay positive and it will trickle down to your employees too. 

Respect Is Nurtured

Employees who feel respected will treat others with respect, resulting in a comfortable environment for everyone. Your management style will permeate every department, so a respectful tone will benefit and rub off on everyone who works with you.

Respecting Patients 

If your receptionist is stressed out, or your dental nurse is undervalued and overworked, your patients will feel the brunt of it. Your patients do not want to visit a practice where they feel like a number, or where making an appointment is a major effort on behalf of the receptionist. If patients are treated with respect and gratitude, they will feel the intent.

Respect for patients extends to those in the waiting room and those on the telephone, and even though the patient standing in front of the receptionist should always take priority, the way you handle your telephonic inquiries says a lot to the patients sitting in your waiting room.

Express Gratitude

Gratitude goes a long way in conveying and cultivating respect. Thank every staff member and every patient when you have the chance. You can never thank someone too much; those two words will make a major difference in the lives of everyone you meet.