10 Minutes to Skyrocket Dental Production

If I asked for $1 in exchange for a brand new $20 bill, would you take that deal? Most would answer “yes” every single time. However, after surveying many dental practices I found that that about 80%+ answered “No.” Seems crazy, right? Let me elaborate on this metaphor…

The Morning Huddle Is Your $1 Investment

Dental offices can be an extremely hectic environment but 10 minutes before the madness starts can be the defining factor that elevates a reasonably good day to an exceptionally great day. I am referring to “morning huddles” or “morning meetings.” This is the leader’s opportunity to set the tone for the day while ensuring business advancement. These 10 minutes are a dollar invested to gain twenty. Now, I understand that carving out the time and gathering everyone together is tough but here are two reasons to consider it:

Culture

Fostering an empowering and comfortable workplace environment starts with the leadership team. Implementing a morning huddle allows the team to be together, encouraging camaraderie while aligning the team with a common goal. It is difficult to control life stressors outside of the office but routinely introducing positivity and structure inside the office will make a world of difference for some people. Take care of the team. The goal of the practice is patient care while the goal of the leader is “team care”. After all, the team collectively spends more time caring for the patients than the leader. Team culture reflects in patient experience, so strive to create a positive work environment.

Productivity

Imagine driving to a destination without a roadmap. Imagine the many wrong turns, missed freeway exits, and frustrated pit-stops until ultimately reaching the destination if ever at all. The value from the extra minute of Googling the destination and setting the GPS is invaluable. Morning huddles serve as the practice GPS, guiding the team to effective communication, excellent patient care, and exceptional production. Invest a dollar in exchange for twenty and reap the bonus rewards of increased happiness for all involved. Make the morning huddle as automatic as your GPS searches.

Common Concerns

Hopefully at this point most are convinced that this can improve the practice. Naturally, some will have reasons as to why they cannot implement morning huddles in their practice. The most common reasons I hear are the following:

1. Not everyone shows up at the same time or team members (including the doctor) run late. Thankfully, technology allows us to connect remotely. Facetime, phone calls, and/or recording the morning huddle can involve all team members regardless of their arrival status. The morning is ideal, but mid-day could work as well if absolutely necessary.
2. My staff is not invested in the success of the practice. I understand this can be challenging. Maybe the team members are not the most experienced or genuinely do not care. Maybe they are not a great fit for the practice. Regardless, I argue that it is challenging to be invested in something when there is no reason to be invested. I have seen team members perform “poorly” in one practice and excel beyond all expectations after moving to another. Morning huddles provide reasons to be invested.
3. I have no idea how to run a morning huddle. This is easiest to fix. I am including a free downloadable morning huddle template and additional resources to automate preparation.

I’ve detailed a guide for the optimal morning huddle. 10 minutes should be sufficient, but I suggest never exceeding 15 minutes since attention spans are increasingly limited these days. If this information is helpful, please consider subscribing to email resource updates. I would greatly appreciate it and always welcome feedback.

See the outline below (downloadable template at bottom):

The 10 Minute Morning Huddle Outline

Step 1 –  Recap of Yesterday (3 Minutes)

• Patients seen, production, collections (Actual vs Goal):
• MTD Production Forecast = Completed + Scheduled (vs Goal) = Forecasted
• Key metrics: Average Hygiene and doctor production per visit (Actual vs Goal)
• Doctor discusses results of consults and potential follow-ups
• All Team notes positive events and one learning opportunity

Step 2 – Today (4 Minutes)

• Patients Scheduled, Production, Expected Collections (vs. Daily/Monthly Goal)
• Unscheduled Referrals – Note chart with unscheduled referrals/family: Remind patient + Reminder calls/texts/emails
• New patients
• Unscheduled Treatment + Regular Hygiene Patients
• Past Due AR – Note chart and remind patient or call
• Plan for patient flow: Budget space for emergencies, note medical alerts, patient preferences, potential bottlenecks, etc.

Step 3 – Tomorrow & Beyond (2 Minutes)

• Patients Scheduled + Production
• Note unscheduled family members and referrals
• Note and follow up on unscheduled treatment and hygiene appointments
• Note and follow up on past due AR
• Note new patients
• Note holes in schedule and fill them with “hot” list
  • “Hot List”: List of nearby patients and patients willing to come in last minute
• Upcoming events or large cases

Step 4 – Focus on the Team (1 Minute)

• Celebrate the wins and be nothing but positive

Implementing The Morning Huddle

The worksheet must be completed prior to the morning huddle. I understand that preparation for the morning huddle could require more than 10 minutes and I still believe that it is worth the time investment. If the worksheet I provided or the current system requires too much time, it is possible to automate preparation. Dental Intelligence is a software integrates with the practice management software and providing an instantaneous morning huddle feature (pictured below). Additionally, it allows simple access to key metrics while including follow up and scheduling tools to make the information actionable and profitable. Best of luck!

Link to Dental Intelligence: https://www.dentalintel.com/product.php

If this information was helpful, please consider subscribing for the to gain access to the Morning Huddle Template and share with with friends on social media.

Contact Information:
Benjamin (Ben) Holguin
Text/Call: 714-560-3472
Email: Contact@TheDentalRocket.com