How to Keep the Team Motivated Toward a Common Goal

Keeping a team motivated, and in action toward a common goal, is one of the greatest challenges for the orthodontic practice. Most orthodontic practices set a yearly plan and strategy to reach optimum goals to grow the practice. After meeting and reviewing the goals, the team starts out very assertively seeking and achieving these goals. The question is why and when do we lose our momentum. I would like to propose 10 motivators that will keep your team in action:

1. Keep the team informed. The team needs to know in what direction they are going and how their job designs make the practice successful. Don't just set up the goals, set up the systems that make the goals work!

2. Handle conflict immediately. If there is conflict in the practice, it needs to be handled as soon as possible so negative energy is not spent toward that conflict. Our focus needs to be on our team, our practice and our patients at all times. A team that deals with conflict directly is continually improving communication skills, which in turn becomes the most productive. 

3. Review and update all systems on a regular basis. Do not live with systems that drag the team down. Update the schedules, delivery systems, communication systems and the written systems on an annual basis. Use your systems to streamline your services. Many times teams live with systems that are not motivating or working. Such systems will drag the team down very quickly. If a system is not working, replace it, update it or just delete it. When teams spend the majority of their time enjoying what they do, rather than fighting with the systems, they are the happiest. The most enjoyable environment is always the most profitable. 

4. Be continually learning. A motivated team is learning on a regular basis. This is easily achieved through in-service trainings and continuing education programming. Make a list of the procedures in your practice and present an in-service on each one at the beginning of every staff meeting. For example, just reviewing the exam procedure with the entire team can increase the motivation for conversion and patient service.

5. Have a great morning huddle … not a good morning huddle, but a great morning huddle! A great huddle includes a greeting, reviewing what our patients need from us on that particular day, what we are doing right and also what we need from each other. In a true, motivated team, we are always asking the question, "How can I make your job easier?"

6. Always strive to cultivate the talent within the practice. There are so many talented individuals in most orthodontic practices. We need to continually shift duties to those who have the talent. Just because someone has done something for a long time, this does not mean that they are necessarily the best person to do it. Just ask on a regular basis, "Is there any system you would like to develop on behalf of the practice?"

7. Take time to make changes. Administrative time and creative time is just as important in growing an orthodontic practice as patient production time. To make the most productive practice you need to stand back and evaluate how you can make the environment more efficient and more enjoyable. Creative time and catch up time should be built into a progressive practice schedule. Just asking how each individual feels about how things are going is important. Of course, you should expect solutions, not just roadblocks.

8. Utilize your computer. When motivating team members, having everyone on the same page with all of the technology in the practice is most important. Have a trainer come in on a regular basis to look at how you are utilizing your computer and analyzing how you could be more efficient using the computers. When organizing a computer training, sit down and inform the trainer what you would like the computer to do for the practice. The computer is no longer a hands-off tool for the clinical team members. Computers are now being utilized by every position in the practice. Ortho II now has a users notebook for enhancement suggestions. 

9. Review progress. On a regular basis, evaluate where your practice has come from and where you need to adjust or implement any new goals. It is no fun to feel like you have worked very hard, but have not made progress with the goals you have set. Within the goal setting process, review what worked and what did not, and change what hasn't worked.

10. Never encourage Busyness over Results. Many busy practices are not profitable! If you are busy make sure you are monitoring the results. I have seen full schedules with no starts. This means 100% overhead on a very busy day.

These are just a few things that will increase productivity and help your team enjoy the practice of orthodontics at a higher level.