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April 7, 2010
Are You Measuring Teammates Performance?
Do you practice consistent performance management? Or, do you overlook performance gaps and turn a blind eye to problems just to avoid the conflict?
A wise mentor once told me that good results without a reliable process were just good luck! How long can good luck last on its own? He used a process which consistently netted great results and created enthusiastic employees.
A process that is repeatable, fair, and consistent allows dentists to be on firm ground in the treatment of all team members and fairly assess their collective and individual performance. As well, a consistent performance management process conveys the message to team members that the culture values them, that they are important!
Here's the process my mentor shared with me:
Step 1 - Establish Expectations: you and each team member agree on the performance levels, skills and behaviors expected from each other over a specific period of time. This agreement becomes the basis for feedback, coaching, and reviews.
Step 2 - Observe Performance: watch, listen, be aware of what each team member is doing on the job; you have lots of opportunities - patient visits, telephone calls, ad hoc conversations, etc. - each observation provides information you need for feedback, coaching, evaluation and recognition.
Step 3 - Provide Feedback: this should happen more than once a year! Regular feedback - formal and informal - lets a team member know how they are performing against the expectations you both agreed on. It also gives the team member a chance to improve - or reinforce behaviors and performance - before any disciplinary action is needed or called for.
Step 4 - Coach Performance: A critical skill for the effective dentist is to encourage team members with your coaching, teach them new skills, fix the "needs work" areas of performance, etc. Too often under-performance is overlooked and ignored by the dentist until it is too late.
Step 5 - Evaluate Performance: provide an honest, no-surprise performance appraisal. If you've heeded the first four steps, the performance appraisal should carry no surprises - after all, you've done everything that should lead to a fair evaluation.
Step 6 - Provide Recognition and Reward: This is a regularly neglected aspect of managing performance - and it's not all about money! Do you remember the last time someone commented positively on YOUR performance or simply took you to lunch as a thanks? We do too little to acknowledge outstanding or consistent efforts by our team members - yet, the payback for doing it right is loyalty and increased effort! If you are not doing this...start now!
These are the six steps my mentor passed along to me. It's not rocket science but it works when used properly and consistently.
If you are looking to improve your practice results, engage your team at a deeper level, inspire them to do their very best, and increase their level of job satisfaction. Measure your teammates performance and provide open and honest feedback that will help unlock the productivity in your practice. Continued Success to you and your Team!
Sincerely,
Art Deden
Vista Practice Management
www.vista-practice.com
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