Frustrations are not necessarily bad. At least that is if you can identify them. By identifying frustrations, you have the unique opportunity to address or eliminate them. Frustration identification is an excellent way for dental office managers to know what they need to work on.
Make conversation. Speak with each team member individually and together with the whole group at monthly staff meetings. Creating an atmosphere of transparency and open communication is essential. When you meet individually with team members (and they trust you) they will share frustrations with their manager.
Don't ignore frustrations. The biggest challenge to identifying frustrations is that we tend to ignore them when they surface. We do that because it requires effort to identify the source of frustration and address them. All too often an office manager knows that something is not quite right but does not know what it is. It is important to not simply push things under the rug when team members are exhibiting signs of frustration or outright expressing them.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email[email protected].
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