Disagreements are inevitable—whether they occur between family members, friends or co-workers.
When an issue develops between members of your team—and it will—it is your job as the owner or office manager to maintain the peace and nip any disagreement in the bud. Ongoing staff issues can reduce productivity, create communication problems, and your clients or customers may even be able to sense the tension in the office.
You can help minimize intra-office problems by keeping your employees motivated and make them feel valued for their contributions. When employees feel unappreciated, they are much more likely to focus on themselves, or what their co-workers are doing or not doing. This misplaced focus can lead to gossip and negativity, which can easily spread through a workplace—any workplace—like wildfire. If left unchecked, this negativity will lead to other employees becoming involved in the turmoil. Some may quit as a result of the strife, or choose to leave just to be free of the negative atmosphere.
Keep your staff focused on team goals, which can help prevent problems among staff members. It helps to come up with fun rewards when office-wide objectives are met. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways such as holding regular team meetings to discuss office goals, accomplishments and praises to team members for doing well. You may be surprised what recognition can do for your team members! Some business owners even find that providing lunch for their team or planning a non-work related social outing could do wonders as a way of showing appreciation. However, there are even ways to show appreciation without spending much money.
If negative behavior such as gossip starts in your office, deal with the instigator of the behavior directly, but behind closed doors. This should be a private conversation where the employee receives direct instructions to stop complaining or gossiping. If such conversations do not stop the behavior, you may need to accept the fact this employee is a negative influence that should be removed from your team. These decisions are never easy but must be made if an employee is doing more harm than good.
These issues are going to emerge in an office where people work closely with one another on a daily basis. When a problem arises, nip it in the bud. Handling disputes quickly and effectively will garner greater respect from your entire team, too.
Remember: No disagreement should disrupt your primary objective: providing top-notch dental care to every patient. If you find that you are unable to deal with staff issues, reach out to us at Bryant Consultants. We have experience reshaping dental practices, training staff, and helping set goals and expectations for the team.
Bryant Consultants’ services can help you realize your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your practice. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799.
We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your practice so that you can provide exceptional results to your patients. No office is out of reach for us; we will even come to you!
