Practice Management |5 min read

Is Your Staff Getting the Most of Your Practice Technology? 4 Steps to Make Sure

Is your staff on board with your practice tech with Curve Dental Logo

Smartphones, online banking, grocery delivery apps – chances are that your staff is using technology in every aspect of their daily lives.

So why is it that your practice tech gets underutilized?

The truth is that we are busy people, and it takes time and energy to adjust to new technology, whether at home or at work.

The saying “change is hard,” has taken on greater significance given the “Great Resignation,” which has left many practices short-staffed. At the same time, the right technology can deliver big benefits to your practice, your staff, and your patients.

Implementing new technology is a universal priority yet a challenge across multiple industries. An MIT Sloan Management Review study… This text opens a new tab to the MIT Sloan Management website… found that managers see “digital transformation” as critical to their organization, but 63 percent said that the adoption of new technology is happening too slowly.

So, how do you inspire your team to get with the program – and ultimately create a better work experience for themselves?

Here are 4 ways to get everyone on board.

1. Choose Technology That is Powerful, But Not Overwhelming

Cumbersome technology is almost assured to meet resistance. When you evaluate technology options, walk-in your staff’s shoes.

While learning new technology and workflows are part of the process, technology that is intuitive and easy to use will be adopted much more quickly.

Our customers have told us that one of the most attractive features of Curve’s cloud-based dental practice management software… This text opens a new tab to the Curve Dental website… is how easy and fast it is for the staff to get up to speed.

Monique Eastman, Operations Manager at Town Dentistry in Atlanta, Georgia, was pleasantly surprised by how easy her transition was when she began using Curve Hero. Before joining Town Dentistry, Monique had been in the dental industry for 21 years, working primarily with Dentrix software.

“The thought of working with a different software was terrifying until I saw how simple Curve was to use. I picked it up in no time and found it very easy to train our staff.”

Ease-of-use is also important from the patient perspective, but the same principles apply. Look through the lens of your patients – will the technology you’re evaluating bring value to them?

Will it be easy to adopt? Curve takes pride in having the features like text-to-pay and self-scheduling that patients crave in a format that’s easy for them to start using quickly.

2. Sell It, Don’t Dictate It

Explain the virtues of the software as a starting point. Once your team understands the reasons behind the decision and how they’ll personally benefit from the new tech, you are well on your way to adoption.

It is human nature to shy away from something new, especially if you feel that it could threaten your job. But if you present it as a tool that will help them, the patients, and the practice, you meet less resistance.

When you connect the technology to your staff’s needs versus yours, they’ll see how it will impact their workflow and productivity and they will be more open to adoption. This way, you can position the investment in technology as an investment in them.

Allow staff to get acquainted with the software and observe as they find out what life is like on the “other side.” Seeing truly is believing.

3. Give Them the Training They Need

Too often, a practice will invest in new technology but then complain that the return on the investment is much less than expected. Typically this happens because the staff is not trained properly.

But how do already-busy dental professionals find the time to get training?

Curve’s answer is six, 90-minute web-based sessions… This text opens a new tab to the Curve Dental website… with a live instructor that set up each team member for success. Short sessions mean no one is overwhelmed learning the software and the practice doesn’t fall behind in treating patients.

After training is complete, all staffers have easy access to Curve Community, an online user resource that offers real-time access to support and training information on Curve Hero. Because you train using your own data, it is applicable, familiar, and best of all, it sticks!

4. Learn the Software Yourself

Investing time learning the software yourself will pay big dividends.

When you find the time to get to know the software, you can take better advantage of what the technology provides.

Curve Hero’s Business Intelligence… This text opens a new tab to the Curve Dental website… feature is a prime example. One Curve customer told us that she initially viewed reports as an afterthought until she made the time to familiarize herself with what was available.

Once she dug in, she had a much better grasp of the business side of the practice and what the dentist should focus on given his limited non-clinical time.

Another Curve customer used the reports to identify claims that had not been sent, patients who were not properly set up for recare, and other revenue opportunities that would have otherwise been overlooked.

Bottom line—invest a little time learning the software and it will have a huge impact on your practice’s ongoing success.

Technology Buy-In is an Ongoing Process

Adopting new technology is a process that starts with obtaining buy-in upfront, followed by effective training.

Explaining to your staff how they, your patients, and the practice will benefit is the first step to success. Well-structured training, expertly executed and reinforced, is the key to a smooth transition into the workflow.

At Curve, we understand the challenges office managers face incorporating training into their and their staff’s busy schedules.

It must be served up in short digestible bites so that the practice can implement it and realize the benefits quickly to adopt it into your workflow and get the best return on your investment.

To see how the right technology can transform your practice, click here… This text opens a new tab to the Curve Dental website….

 

Meet the Author

Mark Blount is responsible for Curve Dental’s marketing strategy and execution… This text opens a new tab to the Curve Dental website….

He has over 30 years of experience building dynamic B2B marketing teams focused on demand generation, branding, and sales enablement at emerging technology companies.

Before joining Curve Dental, Mark was VP of Marketing for Brightree, Verint, and other software technology companies.

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