Originally published in Trojan Today, January 2014.
Dentaltown conducted a one-month survey to determine how you use your time. When asked if the practice had a morning huddle, 60% of the 258 who voted said they did not. To be profitable, the solution is easy. It is necessary to close all the gaps that can be closed.
A well-orchestrated morning huddle can add tens of thousands to your bottom line and ensure the team receives consistent bonuses. How? By adding more revenue-creating opportunities or preventing missed ones. Perhaps you’ve decided not to have a morning huddle because you are tired of meeting to read the schedule. Or you don’t want to be in the office any more than you have to be. I get it. This is what I know for sure…when my clients and the team are polled at the end of one year of consulting, 90% of the employees claim the morning huddle had the most profound effect on the practice.
Here’s how to huddle well:
- Believe a morning huddle is like breakfast. Every day should start with it.
- Be a good example. As the leader, expect to arrive at the office 10-15 minutes before your huddle begins. Every team member must make the same commitment.
- Make it productive. Charts, schedules, accounts, business numbers must be prepared and reviewed on a daily basis, the day prior to the huddle.
- Allow each employee a block of administrative time daily. This time can be used to prepare a checklist for the next day’s meeting, finish up documentations for the day, confirm lab cases, make follow-up phone calls. A 15-20 minute segment of the day can be set aside for these tasks. (That 20 minutes after lunch is ideal.)
- Don’t waste time! Use a checklist to guide your morning huddle. When discussions cause a disruption, post the topic on a team meeting agenda form to discuss at your next staff meeting. (Place the agenda near where you conduct your huddle.)
- Sign up! So that a patient isn’t left feeling unwelcome at the front desk, create a beautiful sign to announce, “In order to be better prepared for your visit, we are in a brief team meeting. We will be with you promptly at 8:00.”
- Start and finish on time.
- Be positive. Encourage team members to be responsible for bringing thoughts for the day.
- Don’t sit. This is not a coffee break.
- Let your patients know how important they are. Remember the finer points of what you discussed in the morning huddle throughout the day.
Once you begin having a morning huddle, even with the inherent obstacles, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Laura Jamison
FMI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamisonconsulting/
Read more from Laura:
Trojan Today Classic | Laura Jamison | Dentistry Has a Heart