Your business’ strength and success relies heavily on having a highly motivated staff. Hiring, retaining and motivating your staff beyond the first 90 days can be a challenge. There are ways to ensure your dental staff and overall operation run as smoothly as possible from day one, but the responsibility of this success begins with you.
1. Create a Team Vision
A team vision is the most important aspect of a highly successful overall business and motivated staff. This vision includes the “what” and the “why” of your business.
What Are We Doing – What services or products do we provide to customers? Are we a B2B organization or a B2C? Where do we fit in compared to our competitors, etc.?
Why Are We Doing What We Are Doing – Are we providing a service or product that helps people or the Earth? Are we simply doing it to make a profit? Why does your business matter more than a similar business, etc.?
It’s important to make sure this vision is clear and concise from the beginning. Even more importantly, learning how to share this vision with your staff in a way they understand and relate to.
2. Hire Correctly, and Know When to Let Go
As we all know, hiring rock star individuals is the best way to ensure a successful business. What we also know, is that it isn’t incredibly easy to do this. As a manager, it’s important that you not only monitor and participate in the hiring process, but also be able to acknowledge and make the executive decision to let someone go. In hiring, having a cohesive “team” unit is exceptionally important in a staff that will be working in close quarters, on a regular basis and on occasion when you are out of the office.
Be mindful of characteristics such as:
- Personality
- Drive
- Attitude
- Personal Goals/Motivation
3. Set Team/Personal Goals and Actively Monitor Results
One of the biggest reasons I see for staff turnover has a lot to do with expectations that were not only not met by the individual, but were also not correctly or completely explained by management. Taking the time and effort to put in place team and personal goals for your staff can really bolster their motivation to succeed and your overall happiness with their performance. The catalyst here, is to monitor the results. This can present itself as time consuming, but it will pay off substantially in the long run. Don’t forget once goals are met and surpassed, it’s also important to reward and acknowledge your staff’s successes!
Remember, you are your business’ best champion. In truth, it’s not easy hiring and continually keeping staff motivated, but rather, making sure they can see the big picture and are excited to work towards that picture is the best tactic you can use to ensure a successful business.