Do your Dental Practice Staff Speak your Language?

The staff members of your dental practice are your representatives when they are speaking to your patients.  How can you make sure they are providing the level of customer service that you want for your practice?  How can you be certain they are conveying your message of integrity, compassion and patient focus?

Every person who works in your practice must feel like part of a team, because that is indeed what they are – a team.  Functioning as a team, this group of people must work together to make each patient’s experience as pleasant as possible.  That means being present and available, both physically and emotionally, to the patient.

Make sure your staff understands and is on board with your mission and values.  Together, determine procedures for handling customer service situations and train all staff to follow these procedures.  For example, if a patient is left waiting longer than 10 minutes, have a staff member let them know why and how much longer they can expect to wait.

Survey patients to determine where any customer service deficiencies lie, then make the time to address those deficiencies with staff.  Finally, evaluate your staff’s performance regularly, giving them useful feedback.  Help each of them understand their important role as a member of your patient care team.