The Domino Effect: Proactive Solutions for Team Efficiency and Harmony
What is the “Domino Effect” and how do we stop it?
Remember being a child and working hard to place individual dominos in a specific place to create a beautiful masterpiece, only to accidentally bump one before your creation was finished? All your hard work, gone. This is “the domino effect.” Knocking them down was your final goal but having them fall prematurely is just devastating.
In the domino effect, a chain reaction occurs when one event sets off a series of similar, related, or connected events. One domino falls and then every domino behind it follows suit. Have you ever thought about how this relates to our teams?
When we think about a team, we think about how unique individuals work together as a unit to accomplish a goal. In our practices, our teams consist of many individuals with specific personalities who are assigned duties and responsibilities that they most likely perform without help from anyone else. Completing duties and tasks helps to accomplish the mission and vision of our practices. However, an individual’s absence, carelessness, tardiness, or attitude can affect the entire team. It is very easy for us to say, “That isn’t my job,” or “It’ll be okay.” However, the reality is that our attitudes and actions have the domino effect.
Here are a few examples with which I am sure we are all too familiar. When your provider (this could be a doctor or hygienist) runs behind, it affects not only their schedule but also the patient who is waiting as well as many other team members who cannot finish their jobs until the provider is done. When that irritated patient calls and yells at the front office staff, the domino effect can cause them to make everyone else’s day miserable.
Other than encouraging our staff not to be afraid to offer or accept help from one another, what are some ways that we can stop the domino effect before it takes everyone out?
- Be organized: At the beginning of each day, or even the evening before, look ahead at the next day’s schedule. If you happen to see a spot that may cause an issue with the flow of the next workday, speak with your teammates about getting some additional help, if needed, or adjust the process to eliminate potential issues.
- Be aware: Encourage your teams to be aware of what is going on around them. If a teammate is running behind, see if there is anything the others can do to help. For example, a hygienist may need help cleaning their room or an assistant may need someone to seat the next patient. Or perhaps, a hygienist needs an exam from a doctor, and another team member sees the doctor is available, that member can ask the doctor to complete the exam for the hygienist at this point so that the doctor is not interrupted again after returning to his/her own patient. In my office, we call this, “directing traffic.”
- Learn time management skills: If there are things that you can prepare ahead of time or in your downtime to make your life easier, DO IT!! This is a good rule of thumb for every team member. If a team member is already running 10 minutes behind, that is not the time to discuss the member’s vacation schedule for the next year. (We all have at least one that does this!) If the team member would like to use part of their lunch break to do that, tell them to feel free to do so. Do not bring up topics with patients or coworkers that will potentially cause an in-depth conversation. Although we want to connect with our patients and co-workers the best we can, wait until an appropriate time when you can truly listen and respond.
- Check your attitude: We all have bad days and stressful times, inside and outside of the work environment. I get it! Two words that will set me off quicker than anything… INSURANCE COMPANIES. Take a minute to vent to someone. We all need to get those feelings off our chests but be sure not to let a bad 5 minutes determine the tone of your whole day. Shake it off and get back to it. Think of something you are grateful for or something that makes you laugh. Try some breathing exercises (they work) to get some oxygen flowing. Take a quick walk around the office if you need to. In the words of Elsa from the movie Frozen, “Let It Go!”
- Let it end with you: The only way to stop the domino effect is to catch a domino that is falling and to not let it affect another domino. Be that person! Offer a word of encouragement or a lending hand, but most of all, let it end with you!
In essence, the dominoes are bound to get knocked over. There will always be something that comes up that causes us to get “bumped.” The best thing that we, as office managers and practice assistants, can do, is lead our teams by setting an example. Encourage them to be the one that stops the negative reactions and does not let another domino fall. As we know, when our dominos get knocked over, the only thing left to do is to pick them back up, again and again. Keep encouraging, keep leading, and be the change that you want to see in your practices and in the world!
About the Author
Melissa has been in dentistry for over 20 years and worked as an assistant, receptionist, and has held the position of office manager for the last seven years. She has been an AADOM member since 2017 and received her AADOM Fellowship in 2020. Melissa is grateful for the friendships she has made through AADOM and for the wealth of knowledge that it offers, not only through the membership but through networking with others who have years of experience.
