What would 202% mean to you?
How does engagement impact productivity? First, we have to ask, what it is that inspires team members to go above and beyond? What is it that takes work ethic to the next level and has your team offering their head, hands, and hearts in support of your vision for the practice? And, why does this matter?
More Productivity
The Dale Carnegie organization did an assessment that showed businesses with employees that could be identified as “engaged” outperformed their counterparts with “disengaged” employees by up to 202%. Take a moment and do the math, what would 202% improvement in productivity and revenue mean to you and your practice?
Let’s be very conservative and make it easy, what would 10% of that look like?
At 10% a practice currently collecting $100,000 per month would see an increase of $10,000 per month translating into $120,000 annually. Do you think your team could produce and collect $10,000 more per month? That’s $625 per day if you work 16 days per month; an increase of $78 per hour in an 8-hour day.
Now give those numbers faces and imagine the good work you’d be doing to improve your patients’ dental and overall health… this is what having impact is all about…and this is something that people can get their heads around. Your team’s effort could be fueled by a goal of doing well by doing good. The key is to take good care of your people if you want them to take good care of your patients.
What is the impact of YOUR engagement?
Several years ago, I witnessed a team member making a point that she didn’t believe her doctor really cared about her as a person, instead she thought he saw everyone as “a replaceable pawn in his business.” Shocked, the doctor insisted, “Of course I care about you.” The team member responded, “Ok, so what’s my last name?”
Silence. Red-faced, the doctor admitted he didn’t know. This isn’t conclusive evidence, but when we realize that each person’s perception is their reality, this supported the team member’s feelings.
What can YOU do?
Get a list of all team members, their contact information and families’ and pets’ names, study it and connect on a personal level.
Hint: people love to share photos of their kids and pets.
Take a few minutes each week to have a personal conversation with a couple team members to learn what they like to do for fun. Do they enjoy sports or the arts? Share the fun by starting a team meeting by having everyone take a few minutes to share where they grew up if they had any siblings, what was their favorite pastime as a kid, what brought them to dentistry.
Once you learn someone’s story you naturally feel like you understand them better and set yourself up to improve your communication with them. Once someone has shared some of their story they feel more invested too.
Feel like having some fun at next team meeting? Try playing “Getting to Know You” Bingo” with your team! This is a fast-paced and fun activity to use to set the energy for a meeting!
This is an easy pivot for this week and I’d love to hear how this went in your practice. Please share your experience in the comments section below.
