What's Gonna Work?

In 2008, a TV show, "The Wonder Pets." captured the attention of our grandchildren. A line in the song spoke volumes. "We're not too big, and we're not too tough, but when we work together, we've got the right stuff."

That line, along with their credo, "What's gonna work, TEAMWORK," taught Josh, Emma, and Charlie a great lesson.

Talent, Information, and Environment are the critical elements of our resource model.

While all three components are integral in a high-performance practice, Talent often is the engine that elevates performance.

THE TALENT EVOLUTION

Over the past 50+ years, the composition of the dental team has undergone a significant evolution.  In the '60s, the team was typically the dentist and one clinical team member.  

In the late '60s, the team began to expand. In the latter half of the decade, the government became concerned with the dental workforce capacity. They put forth and funded several initiatives.

Government funding provided to build new dental and dental hygiene schools. Additionally, existing school enrollments increased.
The role of the dental assistant broadened with the development of an EDDA (expanded duty dental assistant.)

With the growth of the clinical team, the administrative team began to specialize as well. As practices grew, the "front desk" team often had an appointment, a financial and an insurance team member to care for the administrative functions. In many practices, marketing and social media became another role on the team over the last 20 years. With this ever-growing team, an office manager role became essential in many practices.

TEAMWORK

Syn·er·gy | ˈsinərjē noun
the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. 1+1=3

TEAM 

However, you choose to configure your team; you should strive to assemble a group of highly capable individuals that work together synergistically.

THE TALENT REVOLUTION

With the integration of information technology, treatment rooms started to become a part of the office information network in the mid to late '90s. That allowed numerous possibilities beyond the traditional configuration of front desk positions and back-office positions (hygienists and chairside assistants.)

From our point of care perspective, the addition of computers in treatment rooms allows the capture and documentation of patient information in a timely and efficient manner. The ability to make the next appointment with the patient in the chair is much more effective than the traditional front desk approach.

Renowned management consultant Tom Peters reported on a model known as a Care Pair that was working quite successfully in Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, FL. This approach facilitated a more efficient and effective patient-centered approach to care and desired outcomes.  For more details, Click Here

Our dear friend and mentor, Dr. Omer Reed, implemented the care pair approach pairing his assistant with an administrative teammate. His hygienist was also care paired with an administrative assistant. The result was more exceptional outcomes in productivity and relationships.

In a future post, we will explore the Talent Revolution with these topics.

Cross-training
Treatment coordinator concierge
Front desklessness
Virtual assistants
and more

We close this post with this recommendation.

Build a world-class Wonder Team focused on a relationship-driven mission.