Would You Like Floss With That?

What will it be like to be practicing right after you graduate? You’ll be focussed on clinical skills and building confidence, and it’s also an opportunity for you to observe and learn about how to run a practice (or how not to!). Many dentists begin practice ownership without benefit

of business training or experience. They often try to reinvent the wheel using trial and error and can end up with a semiorganized jigsaw puzzle of business systems, procedures and routines lacking vision or direction. There is a better way, and maybe I can save you a few steps.

One of the most efficient business models in existence is a fast-food franchise operation. They are exquisite in their simplicity and efficiency; the principles are bare, exposed and not dressed up with fancy jargon. This is because franchises are designed for people who are disciplined but do not have any business background. Thus, they have much to offer the dental industry.

Five principles in particular are readily applied to a dental practice; Customer Service, Consistency, Operating Systems, Staff Management and Profit by Design.

Customer Service: Patients are Customers!

Franchises revolve around customer service – their very existence depends on it. Many dentists consider their practices to be patient-centric, but are they? Small things like waits, chair-side manner and floss-lectures, all serve to diminish patient experiences. Dr. Tim Orent (1000 Gems) says, “Imagine every patient is a guest in

KRISTIN NICKELLS, CEC, ACC Power To Succeed

Would You Like Floss With That? How to practice smarter & easier using franchise business secrets

Systems Operations: Structure Doesn’t Freeze You, It Frees You!

Franchises operate on a series of systems designed to produce quality results efficiently. A system is a structure, method, or routine designed to carry out a specific activity. For franchises, these activities range from building a cheeseburger to cleaning the bathrooms. The benefits of using operating systems in a dental practice are many; customer expectations get met, quality control is consistent, employee performance increases (the same jobs get completed faster), and waste and error are reduced (which increases profits). Most importantly, less management time is required and is reduced to tweaking systems rather than reacting to problems.

your home.” One solution, taken from the franchise manual, is to make an “alwaysdo” list of the things that must happen with every patient interaction (saying their name, saying thank you). Doing this ensures a positive patient experience!

Efficient systems can be created (for patient experience, sterilization protocol, op set up, hygiene protocol, processing patient billing and booking recall, for example) by crafting a detailed list of the steps required for everything done in a practice. This makes the inefficiencies pop out like red flags, enabling change.

Consistency: People Want to Know What to Expect, and They Expect to Get It!

Staff Management: To be PatientCentred, You Must First be Employee-Centred!

Consistency is the holy grail of franchises (ask Ray Kroc of McDonalds), and there is good reason for it. When what we expect doesn’t happen, we react with stress and anxiety (think about how you feel when you’ve lost your keys). Dentist turned coach, Dr. Ron Arndt, advises “persistent consistency” – determine and repeat behaviours and routines that work, for everything from hygiene protocol to dentist-patient interaction, post-operative care, check-out process, scheduling, etc. This creates calm for clients that comes from expectations met, which leads to more compliance, increased treatment plan acceptance and more referrals!

Franchisees put a tremendous amount of time and energy into training and motivating staff. I happen to think a root canal is more important than a cheeseburger, yet dentists don’t put nearly the same thought & effort into training! The solution is for dentists to select key employees to be trainers and train them how to train (there are many train-the-trainer programs available). These staff members would be responsible for training new employees and orienting them to practice culture, philosophy and mission.

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Before you see your fi rst patient, you’re going to have to choose dental malpractice insurance coverage. Some new dentists give it little thought and automatically settle for the fi rst insurer they hear about or use their employer’s company. But it’s your career on the line, and there are signifi cant differences in the quality and value of companies and coverage available. Choose the company that more dentists have trusted since 1899 to protect their reputations, practices and assets. Choose the strongest malpractice insurer — Medical Protective.

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