The Edge to Elevate Peak Performance

Employee retention is a constant struggle for many practices and organizations. The cost of turnover is killing you in time, money, and sanity!

A study by SHRMOpens in the SHRM website predicts that every time a business replaces a full-time employee, it costs an average of six to nine months’ salary. According to reports from the US Bureau of Labor StatisticsOpens in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website, about three million employees have voluntarily left their job every month since June 2017.

The game has changed!

National unemployment is at an all-time low, creating a modern talent war. Change is happening faster, which influences the need for learned skills.

Research participants at “BonuslyOpens in the Bonusly website,” an employee recognition platform, stated that the top reasons for leaving their job were due to a poor onboarding experience, a lack of clarity surrounding job duties and expectations, and a less than stellar boss.

In today’s world of business, employees want an experience. Their work needs to have meaning and purpose. They have to feel needed and loved to build loyalty. Employees want to own their career paths today, which requires partnership from their employers to offer opportunities, ongoing education, feedback, and coaching.

This culture of success mandates the improvement of the hiring and training process, leadership, and communication skills. Not to mention rewarding those with superior performance.

Here are a few strategies that can help you and your dental management team decrease labor turnover, increase productivity, decrease stress, and achieve peak performance for your practice.

Target your team

Too many business owners these days are just putting warm bodies in positions out of desperation, scarcity, and fear.

Just as you target your audience in marketing in relation to the type of clients you want to see daily, so should you target your team that will create structure and support.

1.  Assess your positions! Be aware of the role each person will take, the skills required, and the best personality to thrive and produce peak performance in that opening.
2. Post clear and concise descriptions in your “for hire” ads so that you’re eliminating those who won’t contribute well to the specific job listed.
3. Formulate proper interview questions. 85% of people embellish their resumes. Make sure that you ask questions pertaining to skills and behavior as well as understanding body language.

Train & develop with clarity

Employers who invest in onboarding and developing their teams will come out ahead. Arming your employees with the tools they need to succeed will build their confidence, and in turn, their performance.

1.  Understand and communicate the mission, vision, and purpose of the practice.
2. Provide written policies and procedures that give explicit expectations and explicit goals.
3. Provide tools and resources for continuing education and professional development, such as webinars, seminars, and association membership.

Provide consistent performance management

Find a better way every day! Everyone on your team should be aiming to improve themselves daily and produce their peak performance.

Challenge your teams, learn from mistakes, and listen to your employees’ needs and concerns.

1. Formulate agendas to evaluate performance. Ensure policies are present and relayed to staff concerning 30/60/90 day and annual performance evaluations. Peak performers like to know where they are strong and where they can improve. Eliminate the bottom 10% and reward the top 10% talent.
2. Host meetings with meaning to improve communication. Daily huddles, monthly staff enrichments, and quarterly business meetings are crucial to high-performing organizations.
3.  Hold staff accountable with candor and integrity. Employees must know where they stand. You cannot leave them wondering if they are doing a good job or not. You must be able to have open and honest discussions about areas for improvement.

Lead & engage

The biggest talent gap facing us as in the future is a lack of emotionally intelligent leaders.

We live in such a high-tech world that people have lost the high-touch, and with that, leadership skills to engage our teams and create loyalty.

1. Be aware of your emotions to build trust and rapport. The workforce currently holds five generations of people trying to work cohesively. And change is happening faster and faster. We need emotionally intelligent and character-driven leaders to set the course of success.
2. Encourage a fun and interactive atmosphere. Organizations that conduct motivational activities experience less turnover and better productivity due to the increase in employee morale.
3. Recognize and acknowledge employees. Give credit where credit is due; it will build loyalty.

Inspiring, motivating, and creating a culture of high standards with trusted, loyal, and engaged peak performers will have you well on your way to the path of success.

It’s critical to have educated and talented leaders in place to create the right culture that fosters ongoing learning, development, collaboration, and innovation.

Build a winning team through target selection, and properly training and developing those teams with clarity and focus. Then drive your team to peak performance management by keeping them engaged, and you’ll enhance the results of any organization.

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Meet the Author

Dentistry has been April Mill’s life for 25 years, and the business of dentistry is her passion.

Her 15 years of business office management experience, coupled with her chairside assisting talent, led her to help produce a multi-million dollar dental practice.

Fulfilling her purpose as a business coach, consultant, and dental management trainer April looks forward to spending the rest of her dental career aiding dentists and their teams to maximize their potential to become extraordinary.