GAP Australasian-Dentist-May June 2019

Category 106 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist Dear Dr Toni, What’s your advice on having difficult conversations with my staff? I know I’m avoiding conflict, but there never seems to be a good time, and I don’t know how to say the right thing. Dr CAS, NSW. now, Dr C, this is a very smart question! there are plenty of practice owners out there who are adverse to conflict and who would prefer to avoid it as much as possible. i also understand that it can be tough to hold a staff member accountable for something, and to risk them taking it badly and having a poor attitude for the rest of the day. that not only affects your day, but can affect patients and other staff. We often see poorly-managed staff having hissy fits, or giving dentists the silent treatment when they’ve been told off. Clearly, this is unacceptable! so, yes, it can feel less risky to confront a situation than to avoid it. But i think that the reason you’re asking this question is because you know that it’s not actually working for you. the issues that you want to raise with the staff member don’t go away just because you have avoided raising them! Often, those issues only compound, and you end up feeling worse. sometimes the rest of the team can also see that someone is getting away with poor behaviour, and it negatively affects them as well. Here’s what you should do. 1 Prepare the conversation. Make some notes about what you want the outcome to be. it might be something like wanting them to be more careful with instruments, or present themselves more professionally, or to reduce cancellations more effectively. role play the conversation with someone you trust, if you feel that would help. 2 Focus on the outcomes you want, NOT on the person use the preparation to make sure that you are emphasising the demonstrable behaviours you desire, and stick to those when you speak to the person. And ensure that the conversation is never personal; for example, avoid phrases like “i’m upset with you,” or “you’re lazy” or “you’ve let me down”. 3 Choose a smart time to have the conversation ideally, you want the conversation to occur within 24 (business) hours of the incident, but not to occur while you’re still emotional. Make sure you can have it in private, and ensure that the staff member has time to compose themselves before having to be back in front of patients. 4 Get curious it’s really useful to find out their side of the story. Quite often they feel they haven’t been doing anything wrong; maybe they were trained poorly, or allowed to get away with something for so long that they didn’t realise it was a problem. Or maybe they think that another staff member has also been allowed to do it. their perspective can help guide you toward the right solution. 5 Stick to your message the staff member is likely to have their own emotions here, and to also have their own defensive techniques. some of them will cry, some will shut down, some will behave a bit aggressively, some will blame you. Have a box of tissues handy, and let them have their emotion to the extent that it’s appropriate. then bring them back to the outcome, by saying something like “i can see that this is really upsetting you. At the same time, i’m going to ask what it would take to ensure that the instrument count is accurate”. 6 Give yourself permission to interrupt the conversation if emotions are really high, or if the staff member has raised an issue you want to think about, then suggest reconvening the conversation at an agreed time frame. (the following day is great if possible; don’t leave Q&A with Dr Toni Surace Best praCtICes q&a It’s always best practice to develop business skills, systems, techniques and industry knowledge that could impact your practice. BEST PRACTICES Q&A is a forum allowing you to ask the tough questions to Australasian Dentist columnist Dr Toni Surace. Dr Toni Surace BDSC (Melb) Managing Director, Momentum Management Mentor, coach and international presenter. it more than a week unless there’s a really concrete reason for doing so.) Make sure you actually do return to the conversation, and keep focused on your desired outcome. 7 Follow up if you see the team member complying with your requests, congratulate them and thank them. similarly, if you see them slipping again, address it immediately. You need to train your team to take you seriously when you give them feedback. sometimes they say “yes” in the moment, and behave well for about three weeks, then revert to previous behaviours. if they do that, pick up on it immediately! You can say something like “Hey, i noticed after our last conversation that you did well. that means i know you can do what i asked. What’s it going to take for you to make that new behaviour the ‘new normal’?” A true team member should understand the need to take feedback well, and it’s a good idea to have that as a criteria of the hiring process. it is also worth trying to develop a team culture that includes taking feedback well. i’ll admit this: it can take a long time and a lot of practice to get these conversations right. they can be uncomfortable and unpleasant. However, the good news is that this is a skill that can easily be learnt! Get yourself some support if you need it; we’re really good at coaching you on these behaviours! Dear Dr Toni, I read a lot about digital marketing and new ways of doing things. I have even started Facebook, which is a big thing for me! So, does this mean that word-of-mouth is no longer important? My Gen Y team members say I’m old-fashioned for wanting to focus on generating referrals. Dr BM, NT. Dr B, i’m having a laugh at the inter- generational differences there! if i were Gen Y myself, i might have started with a “lOl!” in response to your question. BEST PRACTICES 4 “ “