Motivating Your Team Toward Practice Growth

According to research and consulting firm Gallup, only 33% of the U.S. workforce are truly “engaged” in their day-to-day work. But instead of a concrete measure of productivity or skill, the idea of employee engagement refers to how passionate and excited people are about the work they do.

In the world of dentistry, you may be tempted to think that having team members with impeccable skills is what will make your practice excellent. However, having engaged employees can do the following:

• Reduce absenteeism by 78%
• Reduce safety incidents by 63%
• Reduce turnover by as much as 51%
• Increase productivity by 18%
• Increase profitability by 23%

It’s also important to note that boosting employee morale and engagement can in turn positively impact patient loyalty and engagement.

With everything in mind, consider the following 5 ways you can keep employees engaged and happy at work:

1. Recognize and reward achievements.

Research shows that employees who receive high-quality recognition are between 2.9 and 9 times as likely to be engaged at work. Acknowledging an employee’s hard work makes them feel like a valued part of the team. 

The good news is that recognition doesn’t have to be complex. Some ways to make it meaningful include:

• An “Employee of the Month” website feature
• A personalized thank-you note
• A gift card to their favorite restaurant

Whatever you choose to give, make sure your recognition is regular, authentic, personalized, and given fairly.

2. Create a positive work environment.

It’s important that employees walk into a welcoming, stress-free atmosphere, as that is what makes them excited to be in the office each day. A positive environment helps your team avoid burnout, stay engaged, and continue to do their best work. 

To achieve this goal, consider offering small perks, such as break room refreshments. You could also consider allowing employees to have more flexibility in their schedules when possible by providing varied start and end times, job sharing, or part-time schedules.

3. Encourage open communication.

Another means of establishing a positive environment is fostering a culture of open communication. It helps raise the level of transparency and support throughout your practice, building team trust and making them more likely to want to come to work. 

To encourage open communication, make sure you meet with your team regularly to discuss updates and lay out a road map for the future. You might also want to set up periodic one-on-one check-ins with team members to discuss their concerns and help them overcome roadblocks they may be facing.

4. Offer professional development opportunities.

A sizable 63% of today’s undergraduates say that developing advanced skills in their field is essential to their definition of career success. Applying that to your dental practice team, it’s clear that they want to learn how to better serve patients. Maintaining their engagement means providing them with opportunities to do so. 

One way to motivate employees to engage and learn is by providing access to orthodontic continuing education (CE) courses and workshops. Doing so will keep their work fresh and interesting, allowing them to hone their current skills and develop new ones. Not only does that enhance your practice and service offerings, but it also gives your team members the opportunity to keep their careers on a forward trajectory.

5. Organize team-building activities.

Having a fun work environment is another way to help employees de-stress and remind them why they love what they do. From time to time, non-work-related team-building activities can help build camaraderie among teammates as they learn how to communicate and collaborate more effectively.

These exercises can be as simple as having a group lunch once a month. If you want to get more elaborate, you can consider taking a yearly retreat with your team, tackling an escape room together, or even volunteering together at a local community organization.

Better employee engagement lays the groundwork for excellent care.

Though it’s important that your employees are highly skilled, it’s equally crucial that they are passionate and engaged in their work. One way to ensure that employees love coming to the office is to acknowledge their achievements and hard work. Dental practice owners should also look to create a fun, positive, and collaborative culture that thrives on open communication, in addition to remembering to provide their team members with robust opportunities for professional development. 

Fortunately, the American Orthodontics Society can help in that last regard. We offer orthodontic training programs and orthodontic CE courses for professionals at all levels who wish to increase their skills and learn something new. Contact us today to see how our courses can help you enhance your current service offerings, build a more cohesive and productive dental team, and ensure your practice thrives.