You want great people in your practice. But it’s a challenge to find them, and an even bigger challenge to keep them! In this episode of Practical Solutions Day, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, to share their proven strategies to keep great team members engaged and wanting to stay. To learn how to build and retain a strong and dedicated team, listen to Episode 860 of The Best Practices Show!
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Episode Resources:
Main Takeaways:
Quotes:
“If you can retain the team members that you have, keep those right people in place, you're not going to have to worry so much about hiring, and onboarding, and tracking people down, and recruiting people into your practice.” (10:58—11:11) -Miranda
“I've worked with clients that lose a dental assistant, and it can take half a year to find someone. So, they're working with one chairside assistant. They're down to one column. How much production are they losing? Are their patients then suffering on the other end because they're having to wait a bit longer to have services that they know that they want? So, there's this long strand of impact that happens when a team member leaves. If we can minimize turnover and retain those quality team members, you're going to reduce the risks of some of those impacts that you get around time, money, energy, and patient feedback.” (12:17—12:52) -Miranda
“The best practices don't just hire well — they retain well. High-performing practices get people to stay because they feel connected and valued and clear on expectations. That's a big thing that we're so high on, is making sure expectations are super, super clear in a dental practice.” (12:59—13:19) -Kirk
“People don't leave jobs. They leave bad environments. According to a Gallup poll, only 32% of U.S. employees are engaged. Think about that. That means most people are disengaged. But the best leaders that we see in dentistry in certain workplaces, they get people engaged. That's where team members want to stay. So, your challenge is, how do I keep these people engaged? Like, if you're in a relationship and the other person is disengaged, it doesn't last long. And it doesn't matter what relationship we're talking about.” (13:22—13:57) -Kirk
“Core values are the center of everything. They're what all of our decision-making should filter around. The behaviors and characters of the team that we're building really should be centered around core values. We put this first because it's the foundation of everything. So, when you have core values that are really strong in your practice . . . there are very clear expectations around what that core value means here. How do we behave here? How do we engage with one another? How do we engage with our patients? There's clarity around that, and they're really alive every day in the practice. It's going to help support your team to know how to meet those expectations. You're going to attract more people that believe and value the same things you do when you're promoting your core values out to the world.” (14:16—15:02) -Miranda
“When you've done the work around building your core values, they truly are the core to who you are and what you're trying to create. Then, you recruit around those. When you have a hiring ad, you build your core values into that ad. We had a couple of people recently talk about interviewing within our community and some of the creative ways that they've built core values into their interviewing questions, or a pre-survey that might go out prior to even having someone come into the office and do an interview to gauge a little bit around, how does this potential team member connect to our core values? What do they resonate with? Are they going to fit in here? If you have a small team, you're one doctor and you have six team members, a couple of hygienists, a couple of assistants, maybe one front office team member, and someone leaves and you're replacing them, you really have to make sure that that next person is a true values fit for your practice because you know — anyone listening, you've been there and you've done it — when that person doesn't align with your values, everyone on the team can feel it. It stands out.” (15:13—16:16) -Miranda
“Once you find that person who is integrated to your core values and you do hire them and bring them on board, from day one, we're building those core values into our onboarding conversations. We're having those conversations at huddle in our team meetings. We talk about having a committee for the success of a new team member that comes on board, and you might have certain people on that committee that embody your core values naturally really well so that they're emulating and sharing that with the new team member so that it's part of their core of being in the practice from day one. Then, in the end, feedback loop. Any time you're having to provide feedback with a team member, you can always tie it into a core value because it's usually not the person that's the problem. It's that person not aligning in their action with a core value or a behavior expectation within the practice. So, being able to also tie those core values into that feedback loop. Really, every engagement with a potential team member, and then eventual true team member, should be tied to and correlated around core values and the behaviors that we perform here in this practice.” (16:34—17:44) -Miranda
“I'm going to speak to maybe the naysayer that's listening to this because I was you. Like, prior to COVID-19 — I'm going to go back to 2015. If somebody said, ‘Oh, you’ve got to build the team around core values,’ I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally get it. Totally get it. It's somebody I would want to have a beer with. Next. What's the next thing? Give me the next thing.’ What I did was I skipped over it. I didn't really lean into it and figure it out. What I've found out the hard way is that your favorite people that you'll ever meet care about the same things that you care about. So, you have to put your flag in the ground. These are behaviors. They're verbs. They're not aspirations like “excellence” and “integrity”. You've got to have integrity just to get through the door.” (17:45—18:25) -Kirk
“Once you've put the flag in the ground of like, ‘These are our core values,’ we're not going back. Now, you've got to establish a consistent rhythm of communication. And this is a big one. You've got to set up a way that you're connecting with team members the right way. I think — I don't think, I know — one of the most important disciplines you'll ever do as a practice owner is create a systemized check-in. It's a check-in with each one of your team members. Now, you have to get a little creative . . . But it's a sit-down, proactively, with team members where you do something like this: personal high, personal low, professional high, professional low. What does support look like from me? It's an opportunity where you get to know them way beyond the role, not just checking in with them whenever they're pissed off or not happy, or you say, ‘We have to talk.’ And they're not performance reviews. If you're listening to this, I'm going to say this, and you're not going to like this. Stop doing performance reviews. They're the biggest waste of time, ever, and they don't provide what you want, long term. They're really appointments to talk about my raise. You give people a hush raise, and then it goes on, and you're like, ‘Why aren't things getting better?’ That's why we encourage everybody to go to a check-in.” (19:57—21:23) -Kirk
“A monthly check-in, one-on-one with your team members, is an excellent way to provide a consistent time and place that they know they will be able to speak with you, connect with you, get support from you, and provide feedback to you. There's consistency within that system. When it's built in with appointments that they know are there, ‘You know what? I need to talk about something, but I have that check-in coming up in about two weeks. I'm going to jot that down. I'm going to bring that to my check-in.’” (22:41—23:08) -Miranda
“When you have the ability to really sit down — you're not rushed, it's not in between patients, it's not over lunch with everyone else around you — it's just the two of you sitting there, being able to really talk about how you truly and genuinely are doing right now in this moment. And again, we're going to talk about the agenda where we talk about personal high, professional high, personal low, professional low, and also some coaching and notes on, what is that person wanting to do to help impact the practice and grow and develop, and how can we as leaders support that and be more supportive in their day-to-day? So, there's that transparency, us being able to truly communicate on a regular basis.” (23:10—23:46) -Miranda
“We do have to recognize that personal is built into that check-in on purpose because people are human beings. They're people. It's not just someone showing up and checking the box. If we really want a high-performance team and we want to retain people, we have to care about them as people. That's where empathy comes in. It gives you this space. If somebody sits down and says to you, ‘I'm really struggling . . . It's really hard. I've been having a hard time getting the kids to daycare on time. Half the time, I don't even get them to practice on time. I don't have laundry done on the weekend,’ that's important for you, as a leader, to be able to say, ‘How can I support you in that?' and know that we aren't then going to create stories in our own minds as leaders about what's going on with that team member. If perhaps they're a few minutes late, they've shared with us that they're struggling, and we're going to offer support.” (23:48—24:36) -Miranda
“The key here is [the check-ins are] monthly. It's scheduled. It's intentional. Team members are signing themselves up for these check-ins, and they always have the next subsequent one signed up as well so that before you leave from that one-on-one check-in, you're saying, ‘Okay, when is the next time that we're going to sit down and connect with one another?’ It's creating this dedicated space to be together and to connect, and address concerns, and show them that they truly matter and that their opinions are valid and valuable. It's really important to get really clear expectations with your team when you start a system of check-ins that this isn't going to be about raises. We're not giving raises at check-ins. This isn't really about performance reviews, if there's a performance issue that can be dealt with separately. This is a place to connect and support and receive feedback. It's really great to give that space to your team member to be able to share with you if they're getting what they need from you as a leader as well.” (24:38—25:35) -Miranda
“What you do regularly screams you care or you don't care. Now, you can say, ‘Oh, I care a lot.’ ‘Well, show me what you do that supports what you just said.’ And they go, ‘Well, I take them shopping at Christmas.’ I'm like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ It's a regular sit-down where you're literally listening. Now, the key here is that the team member is running it. You're just showing up with your head and your heart. You're proactively mitigating any future challenges. When we talk about retention, if you've ever had this conversation — I have — where somebody is like, ‘Okay. I hate to tell you this, but I have to give you my notice.’ You're like, ‘Oh my gosh, where did this come from?’ And then, you have a team member who's like, ‘I haven't been happy for like a year.’ You're like, ‘Oh! When did this start?’ You were just completely blindsided. When you're proactively doing a check-in, it's going to show up way in advance before they would quit. They're going to tell you, ‘Listen, I'm a little unhappy about this.’ You're going to go, ‘Wow.’ Remember, you're also giving space to some of their talents instead of you determining what their talents are. They're going to start saying, ‘I think I could do that. I think I could do that.’ And you're like, ‘Wow.’ Some of the greatest team members I've ever had, including Miranda, they've told me during a check-in, ‘I can do that.’ And you're like, ‘Whoa, you can?’ So, it's pretty cool when you leave space for that.” (25:54—27:20) -Kirk
“We’re trying to retain the right people. So, we're going to really identify what does it mean to have the right people as we go through what this scorecard is. One of our tools is a Right People, Right Seat Scorecard. And to really be able to provide feedback to your team, there needs to be very clear expectations of, what does it mean to be the right person here in this practice? What does it mean to be in the right seat? Basically, the right person is, do they fit our core values? Can we provide insight and feedback as to what we're seeing that says yes, and some of the things that maybe we're seeing and behaviors we're seeing that say maybe not so much?” (28:41—29:20) -Miranda
“This [Right Person, Right Seat] Scorecard helps us to say, is this the right person? Are they consistently measuring up to the values that we hold high here in the practice? Are they in the right seat? Do they understand their role, their job description? Do they get it and do they really want it? Do they show up all-in every day, and do they have the capacity to do it? This scorecard helps to eliminate surprises on your side and theirs, and it helps to give the team member a roadmap for improvement — because most team members really do want to succeed and do well. Most of them really do. So, you actually incorporate this into that communication rhythm once a quarter. It becomes a part of your check-in.” (30:35—31:16) -Miranda
“You only hire people for two reasons — not six, not three, not because they're nice. You're only going to hire people, for the rest of your career, for two reasons. The first reason is what Miranda said. They fit your core values. So, you have stated core values, they're behaviors, and they're non-negotiables. It's what makes your practice work. That's the first reason. The second reason you hire them is they get results. They're actually good at their job. They get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it. If their job is to collect money, they're actually pretty good at it. If their job is to do hygiene, they're actually really good at it. If their job is to be a treatment coordinator, they're actually really good at it. So, now you've defined clearly — and I do mean clearly — right person, right seat. So, it's GWC.” (32:13—33:04) -Kirk
“Every personnel problem that you ever have is only one of two things — or sometimes it's both. It's either a right person problem or it's a right seat problem. You might have a great hygienist, but she doesn't like working with other people. Like, she just doesn't like other team members. That's a right person problem, and you’ve got to be able to call that out. Or you might have somebody that came with the practice. She's really sweet. She works at the front. She's been here for 30 years, but she can't collect money. And her number one job is to collect money. Now, in most cases, those people, we can find a role because I'll take anybody who's a right person and put them in place.” (33:07—33:54) -Kirk
“If there's somebody on your team that just doesn't feel quite right, there's something in your gut — like you said, I want to be able to go in and know that these people are on my side. I love them. I love being with them. We feel good in the practice. But if you're listening right now and there's that one person, it's not really about that person. It's about the values. They're probably rubbing against a core value in some way. When you can bring the core value into the conversation and have a conversation with that person that focuses on, how do we bring this value to light? Now, you might find out eventually that they just don't resonate with that value, and that's an answer for you. But the majority of the time, it's just about expectations. They didn't realize that behavior was so important if we haven't really shared it consistently.” (36:01—36:47) -Miranda
“This bad behavior, they're like weeds. You have this beautiful garden, and this behavior, it's like weeds in your garden. You, as the owner, have to weed the garden, or the weeds take the garden. When you're weeding this garden, it's a beautiful garden, and it creates more beauty. You just have to be on top of it. Now, that sounds hard. But what makes it easy is the Right Person, Right Seat Scorecard. You can clearly state that that is not within our values. The more that you do this, the better the garden gets, and the more they find other people that would fit here. I'm telling you, it works.” (38:57—39:37) -Kirk
“Pete [Dawson] said, ‘When you have the right people, you can produce twice as much, in half the time, with a quarter of the stress. I took the opposite. Pete didn't say this, but I took the opposite. Sorry, Pete. I basically did the reverse math. When you have the wrong people, you produce half as much, in twice the time, with four times the stress. You just do. When people are like, ‘It isn't working. I can't produce enough,’ this is usually a leadership issue. The leader hasn’t decided, what kind of team are we going to create? What kind of behaviors? What kind of fabric are we looking for in the people that are going to work here? We're going to go in this direction. And I'll tell you, it's an uphill battle for your entire career. Then, what happens is this uphill battle makes you salty. You actually believe there are no good people out there. The world is full of dental employees who don't want to work. And that's a terrible place to be because there are a ton of them out there. We meet so many amazing team members. The challenge is you’ve got to find out how they're going to work in your office.” (39:37—40:44) -Kirk
“People who feel valued are going to stay longer, bottom line. Like we talked about earlier, when you think about engagement from team members, 32% of people are engaged in the workplace. We also have that stat of, most people don't leave a practice or a business — they're leaving a leader or a boss. If they're not feeling valued or supported or invested in, then they're not going to stick around long term. So, a simple appreciation can go a really long way. And appreciation isn't one-size-fits-all. We have to learn what makes each person tick and what makes each person feel valued.” (41:58—42:32) -Miranda
“There is a difference between recognition and appreciation. I think this is worth talking about because I believe that what I experience is most dentists do a good job with recognition. They do a really good job with recognizing and praising the achievements or actions that an employee takes around a specific task or job. And that's really what recognition is, when we can say, ‘Thanks. Good job,’ around a particular task or perhaps responsibilities within their role. And recognition is important. There are some statistics out there that talk about how much more productive team members are when they feel recognized for their efforts and accomplishments. But there is a slight distinction between recognition and appreciation. Appreciation is a much broader expression of gratitude for an employee. It focuses on their personal qualities and their character, not necessarily accomplishing a job performance. So, recognition is more about what someone does and acknowledging that, where appreciation is more about who they are and acknowledging that. When people are genuinely seen as individuals and we can recognize their character and the contribution that you specifically bring to this team, it goes a lot further than recognition.” (42:38—44:01) -Miranda
“You might think, ‘When am I going to do this? When do I show people recognition and appreciation?’ Again, all of this is woven in. That's why the system of the check-in and the Right Person, Right Seat Scorecard — by using all of this, you have naturally built in a system. If you don't, what you do is you sprinkle it on everybody. ‘Oh, you're great. You're great. You're great too. You're great too. I appreciate all of you.’ That's what you say on the way out every day. Then, if you don't do this and you don't vet those weeds in your practice, you have team members that you actually don't even like. They're just there because they're good at their job, and you haven't really guided them as far as how to behave in the practice. So, what you do is you give false appreciation. You say, ‘I really appreciate you.’ Or you don't do it at all because your face can't. You can't even do it. Like, you can't even muster up the words to say it. That is a functional problem that you've created as a leader. And that is real. That is real. I have actually felt my muscles in my face. I'm like, ‘I can't even tell this person. I can't. If I do, I'm just . . .’ And that was my fault that I was tolerating that, because what you tolerate, you promote.” (45:46—47:05) -Kirk
“It's still nice, at the end of the day, for a doctor to say before they walk out the door, ‘Thanks, guys, for a great day.' That's still very nice. There's nothing wrong with doing that. But there is something different doing that, bags over your shoulder and you're walking out the door, than it is to sit eye to eye with someone on your team and say, ‘My days run smoother because of you. Our patients have better experiences here because of how much you care about them, and I want you to know how much I appreciate that and how much that means to me,’ because, in reality, we do need to be grateful for those team members that really do bring it every single day. We need to give them that energy because they could go anywhere. They could work anywhere. Everyone is hiring, and offering incentives, and this, that, and the other, and $10 more an hour down the street. So, showing that appreciation and showing that gratitude. And there is the difference between a blanket “thank you” and something that's really connected to who you are and what you're providing here in this practice as an individual.” (47:13—48:12) -Miranda
“There was a study out of the Haas School of Business in UC Berkeley. So, remember the difference between recognition and appreciation. So, people who were recognized for the work they did well were 23% more effective and productive than those who were not recognized. So, again, it’s still valuable to thank someone for the job they did. However, individuals who feel appreciated for who they are and valued as people in the practice, cared for by the team and the leader, are going to be 43% more effective and productive in the workplace. So, while both are important and provide an added value and motivation, ultimately, that's what it boils down to. A team member is going to be that much more motivated when they feel recognized, but even more so when they feel appreciated for genuinely who they are, not just what they did.” (48:58—49:59) -Miranda
“The other thing that Gary Chapman's work did for me that was so transformational is you learn about these things — first of all, is being aware. Then, I learned the hard way. [My language of appreciation] is words of affirmation. I felt loved and appreciated that way, but I was burying everybody with my love language. I found that's not effective.” (53:50—54:12) -Kirk
“Something that we hear often in coaching is, ‘How do we get our team to really want this too?’ Your team doesn't own the practice — you do. You have way more skin in the game than they do. So, if you feel like you have a team that you're constantly having to pull them into the game to get them to really dive in, a lot of that comes from, maybe they don't have the autonomy, or they haven't been empowered in a way to feel like they have a place or a role in getting the practice where you want it to go. So, there's this really strong tie between our vision, and then what impact I specifically have and what my role has on the vision for the practice, and how can we tie those two things together to make sure that the team member knows how important they are to the long term vision of the practice, and that we're doing everything we can to help fulfill them in their personal and professional journey.” (55:01—55:57) -Miranda
“If you don't feel like you're at a place to take a lot of this on and this feels a little bit overwhelming, you don't have to do all of it at once. Just one thing at a time. You were trained to fix teeth. You weren't taught in dental school how to be a leader. You're not listening to leadership podcasts. You're doing some Class IIs and making sure that you have really high-quality dentistry. So, this is something that you have to invest in continuing, education-wise, the same way that you invest some time into learning a new clinical technique. Your team needs this from you. And ultimately, you need this for your team because it will make your life so much easier when you can put the right people in the right seats and then keep them there. The amount of stress that will be reduced for you if you can make this happen as a leader is immense. So, you weren't necessarily prepared for this because you were so busy preparing your clinical skills. Once you've got that down, start leaning into that leadership side and creating that intentional strategy to connect.” (1:00:44—1:01:38) -Miranda
“Small, consistent efforts can create big, long-lasting change. So, again, we just went through five strategies, five concepts. You're not going to be able to take it on all at once. But if you can take small bites to start building that stronger team, in time, you're going to sit back and say, ‘Oh my gosh. It feels so different here. You know what? I don't even worry about that thing I used to worry about anymore because we've gotten the team to a place where everyone is empowered, and we're sharing the load, and we all appreciate one another.’” (1:01:39—1:02:08) -Miranda
“Retention isn't just about keeping people. Like we said in the very beginning, it's about keeping the right people. So, a really strong values-driven team is what's going to fuel your practice success. It's going to minimize your stress, keep you from having to answer those phone calls on your drive home from the person that wants to fuss at you at the end of the day, once you leave the practice, about the other person who drove her crazy all day. When you can get the right people in your practice who fit your culture and your values, all of that stuff starts to go away.” (1:02:11—1:02:39) -Miranda
“Rarely, if ever, does an amazing team member outgrow the dentist and stay. They get bored. Here's the downside. The downside of having great people is you have to challenge them, and you have to get better. It works in the same respect for them. The better they get, the better you have to get. And this is a process where you'll get better. You'll become more consistent. You'll weed out these behaviors. You'll get better behaviors. Your team members will grow. You'll grow other leaders. It has a compounding effect, not only in the practice but your happiness and, ultimately, your productivity. So, it's so much fun. I promise you it works. It's not the Easy Button, but it is a strategic system you can use.” (1:02:58—1:03:43) -Kirk
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
1:33 ACT’s TTT, BPA/BPA app, and Pro Coaching.
6:25 Why this is an important topic.
13:57 Strategy 1) Build a team around core values.
19:57 Strategy 2) Establish a consistent rhythm of communication.
27:48 Strategy 3) Provide feedback consistently.
32:06 Hire people who GWC (Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity for it).
41:46 Strategy 4) Demonstrate workplace appreciation.
54:40 Strategy 5) Empower and elevate your team.
1:00:31 Final takeaways.
Miranda Beeson, MS, BSDH Bio:
Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.
Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.