E1.17 | Designing a Strengths-Based Comeback
Vicki explores a strengths-based approach to dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and discusses how teams can develop resilience, confidence, and work towards a strong comeback.
Featured Guest
Vicki Newell | CEO, Engaged Practice Growth Specialists
Website
Focus
Dr. Don Clifton, often cited as the Father of Strengths Psychology and the Grandfather of Positive Psychology, created the CliftonStrengths assessment after asking himself “What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what’s wrong with people?” Since the assessment’s inception over six decades ago, over 23 million people (and counting!) have used CliftonStrengths to discover their natural talents in the workplace and beyond.
Vicki Newell, who serves as CEO of Engaged Practice Growth Specialists (Engaged PGS), is a Gallup-certified strengths coach with more than 30 years in the orthodontic industry. She and her team utilize the CliftonStrengths assessment in order to help orthodontic practices advance away from antiquated, inefficient methods of management with the overall goal of creating more engaged team members.
Since orthodontics is such a team-based profession, using strengths-based training not only allows team members to realize their individual strengths, but also helps highlight ways of allowing those strengths to play off of one another in the workplace. This, in turn, fosters a healthier, happier, and more efficient team.
Key Takeaways
- Learn how employee engagement can boost performance and personal wellbeing
- Understand the importance of team dynamics within your practice
- Discover how to create and maintain a strengths-based team
Transcription
Richie Guerzon:
We're excited to have Vicki Newell with us today. Vicki is partner and CEO of Engaged Practice Growth Specialists and is a Gallup-certified strengths coach with more than 30 years of experience in the orthodontic industry. She was Six Sigma trained while working with 3M Corporation and has worked with hundreds of orthodontists and university residency programs across the country which provides her with unique insight into the needs of an orthodontic practice. Vicky, welcome to the program.
Vicki Newell:
Thanks Richie. I’m glad to be here today.
Richie Guerzon:
Let's start with why you changed the name from Systemize to Engaged for those that know you as Systemize.
Vicki Newell:
When we first started, we recognized the need for efficient systems in a practice. So that was our focus of going in and evaluating systems: understanding the needs of the practice and, based on those needs, creating customized systems.
Over time we realized that you need the right people on the bus that were properly engaged. You can put the best systems in the world in place, but they weren't going to be efficient if you didn't have people who were happily engaged. So our goal became employee engagement, because when people are engaged they’re more productive, they’re happier at work, and work takes on a new meaning and purpose. It’s much, much more effective. It affects every aspect of a practice if we have people who are happily engaged. So, engagement is your bottom line. And so if we're looking to improve profitability, well-being, and quality of life, we have to strive towards engagement.
Richie Guerzon:
So what is Engaged Practice Growth Specialists today versus before? Do you just focus on the team right now and there's less focus on the systems?
Vicki Newell:
It's a bit both. Actually, of course it’s both. There’s a quote out there and I think it might be Peter Drucker, but it was: “You do not build a business. You build people, and they build the business.” That is so true.
We’re all good at something, but none of us are good at everything, so the team dynamics makes all the difference. If you go back in orthodontic practices—the kids would call it “old school” and I do too—you would have a corner office manager, then you would have the clinical team, the front desk team, and the doctor, and the financial coordinator. But that system is antiquated.
The annual reviews where people dread going in and finding out what they are doing wrong and what they can do better—that’s antiquated. If we’re still practicing like that then we’re falling behind, and as we all know, today’s profession has become incredibly competitive. So, in order to remain competitive, you really need to be making sure that your systems are current and that your people are properly engaged, and that they are developing their talents. We all have knowledge and skills, and your knowledge deepens the more experience that you have. Your skills improve the more practice and the years you have. But talent is the missing component in most of the practices that we see because a lot of people—unless they take the assessment and someone makes them aware of their talents—they’re really not sure of what their talents even are, much less able to develop them.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’re talking about this idea of creating a strengths-based practice. Why don’t you tell us sort of an introduction to strengths-based practices? What does that really mean?
Vicki Newell:
Strengths-based is what brings a whole new language and culture to the practice. Strength training reminds me so much of a parallel with orthodontics, because when you’re new to strengths, it’s like a foreign language. It’s just a different way of approaching the business. A strengths-based team is 12-and-a-half times more productive.
Richie Guerzon:
For those of us who don’t know what it means when you say “strengths”. What do you mean by that? Was it based on that book originally?
Vicki Newell:
is a research study. It was five decades of research through Gallup. If you’re not familiar with the Gallup company, again, there is such a parallel because it’s a company of scientists. Everything there is research-based just like in orthodontics. We want evidence-based, so the research just brings so much credibility to the work. It’s five decades of research they have. Dr. Clifton – it was basically his life study, and it was a life study of excellence and what it is that people do to perform and to reach excellence, or at least strive. I don’t know that any of us, ever, become excellent or reach excellence. So the goal is to reach the striving for excellence.
So, what is it that people do to perform and to reach excellence? Well, Dr. Clifton narrowed it down to 34 talents. Every person on the planet has all 34, but the sequence in which they are applied varies with each individual since we are all unique.
We give the assessment when we’re working with a team. That’s the first thing we do before we ever go into the office, we make sure everyone has taken the assessment and has gone through an initial coaching session.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’ve gathered the data and you have the raw data about what their strengths are based off of this test that you’re giving everyone?
Vicki Newell:
Yes. So after the coaching session, we have a really good idea of who we're working with, and we start positioning people. Oftentimes people do not have the opportunity to play to their strengths or to use their talents. That can cause problems on a team. You’ll often know that there’s obvious problems based off the strengths and what position they might have, etcetera, before you can walk through the door, which is really helpful.
It’s such a great tool in that we don’t have a lot of time because we’re boots on the ground in the office every day. This gives you a deeper dive into who a person is. It’s really amazing research. I’ve never coached a person yet that didn’t say “Oh my God, that’s me. That’s unbelievable. I could have written that about myself.”
Richie Guerzon:
How is it different than a personality test like the Myers-Briggs?
Vicki Newell:
Myers-Briggs is more general and it is about personality, where this identifies your innate talents. It is unique and more specific.
The data is much more valuable when you’re building a team. It is so perfect because in orthodontics, the team is everything. I mean, if you’re not a team player, I’m sorry, but you can’t be here. We have to be able to work together to collaborate and that is at the heart of strengths or working together towards common visions and common goals.
Richie Guerzon:
So, they’ve all taken the test. You’ve got the data, then what’s happening?
Vicki Newell:
We’ve done the assessments individually and then we’ll go in for the first on-site visit and assess the systems. We’ll look at their systems, and look at how the dynamics of the team interact with the patients, the parents, and with each other. This is a key indicator of if people are well-positioned and it is a process.
It’s a journey, but to watch what unfolds is extremely rewarding. It’s really fulfilling to see people starting to tap into and reach potential that they didn’t realize that they even possessed. It's a journey but the to watch that unfold is extremely rewarding really fulfilling to see people starting to tap into and reach potential that they didn’t realize they even possessed.
The coaching is key in terms of development, but we do provide workshops. I think the one thing that makes all the difference is that we are not a cookie-cutter approach. We customize everything depending on the needs of the individual practice and the group that we’re working with.
Richie:
Yeah, you probably learn a lot when you’re actually in the office talking to everyone.
Vicki Newell:
Oh, it’s wonderful. We learn probably as much as they do. You know, just like anybody that starts into this process, it’s an ongoing learning process. We do bring about change and that can be really uncomfortable for people. But we all know that it’s impossible to learn and grow if we stay in our comfort zone so we have to step outside in order to be able to stretch, learn and grow. The change is a natural process and people feel more fulfilled and more confident. They have a better understanding.
I think the one thing that is amazing to watch is the understanding and appreciation of the differences on a team, whereas that could have caused some conflict or be confused with personality conflicts. But it was actually just not having a good understanding of how a person responds.
To be able to understand what the talents of the members of the team are, you must first understand your own.
Richie Guerzon:
Once you start, do you do a one-on-one coaching with every team member?
Vicki Newell:
Yes, so that’s sort of one of the first steps. They understand their own strengths and you talk about weaknesses. It’s important for people to be aware of their weaknesses, but we really don’t focus on that because the time and the energy that you would spend on trying to fix what’s wrong with the person.
They might become average or mediocre, but they’re never going to be great at something that they don’t enjoy, or where they don’t find the energy. So we focus on what they’re really good at. We don’t go into change anyone, but to help them to become a better version of who they already are.
Richie Guerzon:
You kind of bring an awareness to who they were. They probably knew it, but seeing it written down and talking about it makes a big difference. I imagine you do this with the doctor as well?
Vicki Newell:
Of course. The doctor actually starts right away with leadership development. Because they’re trained to diagnose and treat patients, so running a small business, dealing with human resources, dealing with personality conflicts and all of that comes with running a small business. It distracts from their contributions on the team, which is diagnosing cases and in treating patients. That’s where most all the doctors find their energy, and that’s what they love to do of course. That’s why they’re in the role.
Richie Guerzon:
So are all of the team members aware somehow, or that everyone else has strengths? Is it written down somewhere in the office?
Vicki Newell:
I’m glad you brought that up. One of the very first projects that we do is we have them design a strengths board and the strengths board has every person on the team, their name on the board, and they can create and be as creative as they want to be. We’ve seen some really cool things that people have done with these boards. It’s in the staff room, so it’s a constant reminder of who has what talents on the team. The commonalities that the team has, you’ll see if you go into the staffroom.
Richie, you have command. I don’t think anyone else on the strength board is going to have command, because command is one of the rarest talents. In the research, we just don’t see it very often. Say it’s achievers. We see a lot of achievers and relationship talents, so they look for the commonalities because that’s fun and easy. What brings real meaning to the work is to recognize and appreciate the differences. That’s where the dynamics of the team really begin to change because people have a newfound appreciation of how a person responds and why. So, you can start to understand that person on a deeper level and have a new appreciation and adjust your communication with that person—which improves the relationship.
Richie Guerzon:
You’re helping them navigate all of this interpretation and all this newfound information about each other.
Vicki Newell:
Yes, through the coaching and through the workshops. We do measure everything along the way. We cannot improve what we do not measure.
Everything in a practice has room for improvement. So we develop benchmarks and Manon customizes those benchmarks for each of our clients. It’s a way we can measure everything from chair time to the recall system to the payroll expenses.
Richie Guerzon:
Are you working with the doctor to determine these KPIs for them, the things that you measure that matter to the doctor?
Vicki Newell:
Yeah, we run reports based on the number of starts, so then it’s a case of acceptance rate. That would be a big one. If you know the percentage is not where it needs to be then we can put action plans together to develop the goals to increase our case start acceptance rate. That’s just an example with payroll. If the doctor thinks “Well, we need to hire somebody for a certain position…” Let’s take a look at the payroll. Can we really afford to hire someone or are we going to have to cross-train and maybe have a couple people take on the role that you’re wanting to hire a full-time position for whatever the case may be.
Richie Guerzon:
That’s nice, because you can now look at the strength of the person instead of saying “Hey, raise your hand if this is interesting to you” which is how half of those meetings usually go.
Vicki Newell:
Even in the recruiting and interviewing, we help with that as well.
Richie Guerzon:
Yeah, so you'll help if someone wants to bring on more staff members.
Vicki Newell:
Yes. Yes, we will we do recruiting and screening. So we'll do the initial interview and if they pass our litmus test then we may recommend to go ahead and give them the assessment. Then we can look at what their top talents are and based on the position that they’re applying for, we’ll see if this is going to be a good fit for that person. It’s such a useful tool in all aspects of the practice.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’ll sometimes see big holes maybe in a team where you’re like, we’d probably want to recruit someone with this certain strength because it’s totally missing.
Vicki:
Yes. So it creates a whole new culture. You watch over time the language change as well as how people interact. It’s very transformative, and a very effective self development tool.
Richie Guerzon:
Say there’s a lot of drama in the office for whatever reason. Does it go up after you do this and then come down, or is it an immediate change?
Vicki Newell:
Oh, it’s gone. Zero tolerance. There’s no drama. That’s always our motto.
Richie Guerzon:
When I’ve managed big teams, it was always the most frustrating thing as a supervisor. There was just all this drama because it’s just sucking up your time and it doesn’t help anyone. Everyone is all upset.
Vicki Newell:
Well, you know oftentimes we have found that strengths is not for everybody and there are people that weren't getting on board and they were just not in a happy place. Yeah, you know, so when you reconfigure a team and you have a criteria of what you’re looking for, which should be a reflection of the doctor and what they want their practice to be. So people that want to learn and grow … the one thing I will tell you is we see a major reduction in turnover, because people want to be a part of a place where they can come into work, use their talent, their contributions matter and their voices are heard. They understand the expectations are clearly communicated.
That’s part of another assessment which is the Q-12. Now, with the Q-12 we administer, and that’s another research study that Gallup conducted over I think it was 17 years, with millions of employees globally to understand what they need in order to be engaged at work. So they narrowed it down to 12 questions. We administer that right away so that we understand the areas where they’re doing well. But the areas where they’re struggling is where we need to start. So we administer the Q-12 and once we get the results, we provide a workshop to go over the results and get input from the team.
And again, this is where it's such a collaborative effort. It's not coming in and giving them a list of things that need to be done.
Richie Guerzon:
Yeah, if you don’t get buy-in from a team, then it’s never going to happen.
Vicki Newell:
It’s not going to work. So the action plans we start right away, working towards engagement. Because we know when teams are engaged…
Richie Guerzon:
Can you give us kind of an example from the point of view, of maybe a potential patient, of what an engaged team looks like versus getting a team that is maybe not so engaged.
Vicki Newell:
Okay. Gallup identified three types of employees: happily engaged, engaged, and actively disengaged.
So the actively disengaged person is the person who is there, but is just not happy and it affects the entire team because of the old adage “Misery loves company”. It just affects the morale and the ability to work together to get things done.
With the actively disengaged, we like to help them find a place where they will be happy since it’s not here. So they just can’t stay if they’re actively disengaged because it disrupts the entire team.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’ll identify… the doctor will know specifically that this person is actively disengaged? With someone like that on the team, it’s like a virus. It’s affecting the performance of everyone else, right?
Vicki Newell:
That's a very good analogy. Yeah, and it's contagious. So it affects other people's attitudes and moods and they're not happy to come to work because they dread it and think “What is it going to be today? What are we going to have to deal with today?” So actively disengaged people are just on the wrong bus. They just need to find another bus altogether.
Richie Guerzon:
That’s important to know. Okay.
Vicki Newell:
So, an engaged person, what Gallup found is, they are reliable, they show up, they do their job, but they’re on autopilot. They’re there for the paycheck.
Richie Guerzon:
Oh, there’s a lot of people in that situation.
Vicki Newell:
There’s a lot of people there. So, less than 30% of workers in the United States are engaged. Less than 30%. So, 70% -- that’s a lot of people! You think they’re doing a good job because they’re reliable, they never miss. But they’re there for the paycheck. They’re really not actively engaged.
With the actively engaged person, they’re able to find “flow state.” We’ve all heard about flow state.
Richie Guerzon:
So, why don’t you tell us about flow state? I think I know what you mean. Is it just when time is passing and you’re in it, right?
Vicki Newell:
Yeah, no. They are able to reach their… They’re so engaged and love what they’re doing that they really don’t even realize what else is going on. They’re just completely focused on the patient if it’s in the clinic and they’re working on a patient. And the procedure, and learning the perfect the procedure. They’re just totally engrossed.
That they're just totally engrossed.
There's a story I'll share with you. I just absolutely love this story, and it’s a true story. There was a surgeon and it was a neurosurgeon. It was a 5-hour surgery and he was so engrossed in what he was doing, so happily engaged and loving the process, that at the end of the surgery and they were closing the patient up. Then someone said to him, “You didn’t even realize what happened during the surgery.” And he said, “No, what happened?” Well, the ceiling had fallen in over in the corner of the room, but he wasn’t even aware.
He was so engaged. I can imagine, being a neurosurgeon. In all, the point is flow state was someone who is happily engaged occurs, it’s consistent. It’s more than not. Whereas a person who’s not engaged is like “Okay, what next? Okay, I got this, what next?” a person who is engaged and loving what they’re doing is more productive. You can just imagine how that affects the morale of the rest of the team when everyone is engaged.
Richie Guerzon:
That makes sense. So the doctor’s getting more production, and the patient is getting more attention. The attitude has to be totally different. The energy of the person must be totally different.
Vicki Newell:
Well, engagement is your bottom line, period. It affects performance. Again, we measure what matters.
Richie Guerzon:
Could you help us tie some of those measurements to engagement? If we want more patients for our practice, how is engaging going to help do that?
Vicki Newell:
Well, engagement affects the level of customer service that we deliver. If you’re in the TC role and you’re completely engaged, obviously they are going to be more effective in closing cases and getting their start rate where it needs to be. So, if it’s at 70%, ideally, we’d like to see it at 90%.
Becoming engaged, you will see improved performance. We just do.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’ll see that a lot of conversion rates will just go up because people are more interested in the practice.
Let’s talk about a strengths-based team preparing for a strong comeback over the Covid craziness is over. What is your advice there?
Vicki Newell:
What we’re finding is, we’re all dealing with uncertainty. Our routines are disrupted, our structure. That’s a challenge on a daily basis. The coaching has taken on a whole new dynamic in terms of … I knew this would happen in the beginning. We sent out an email that we’re here throughout the process of everyone’s furloughed or laid off. This is available to them, and there were a few takers in the beginning that were scheduling coaching sessions.
Now, that we’re this far in, it’s just back to back to back because everybody wants to go back to work, and we can’t, and it’s very frustrating. So I’ve asked everyone to think about their talents. And in terms of coping on a daily basis, what are you tapping into? What helps you find the energy to get through the day and meet the challenges, if it’s homeschooling or a disgruntled spouse—because they’re climbing the walls too. What is it that you have to tap into that can help cope and to get through the day and remain hopeful that we’re going to get through this. We are, but are we going to get through this in a way that we can show up stronger than when we left?
So, we are working with some of our teams with: “Okay, where were we? Where did we leave off? Oh, we were starting on the customer service.” We use a little Disney book: “Lessons from a Mouse.” So we’re starting a book club! Everybody can read a chapter, and we’ll show up in a group and start working on our customer service because that’s going to look a little bit different when we go back.
You know, you need to talk about that. We should be taking advantage of this time to contemplate. All of our people with futuristic or strategic talents… we can share our ideas about how are going to ensure that we all feel safe, and that our patients and parents feel safe coming back to the office. And what can we provide to ensure we’re doing that?
Prior to leaving, Manon, Sherry and I had done some masterminding before the shutdown. My team… I’m just delighted with the strengths dynamic among the three of us. I know that I can count on them for the things that I do not find the energy, but they do. And vice versa. They can count on me in certain areas that they just would rather not do.
Manon came up with an idea that, prior to the shutdown, when they show up for their appointment, they would text the front desk, and only the patient would come in. They removed everything from the waiting area—no toys, no magazines. They would disinfect every 15-20 minutes. Constantly, everyone could see visibly how they were disinfecting hard surfaces and wearing gloves.
Now, it looks like … I’m not sure what OSHA is going to come up with … but we can imagine that it’s going to be much stricter guidelines than what we had previously. So we’re talking about what products need to be ordered, because they’re probably going to be on backorder if you order them today, but we need to go ahead and get them ordered so we’re in the queue.
A lot of dentists and orthodontists had donated their existing gloves and whatever masks they had to the healthcare workers, so they’re going to have to completely replenish those supplies. We just need to be thinking about that now, not knowing if it’s going to be the end of May or the first of June that we will get to reopen. We certainly know that’s going to look different.
Richie Guerzon:
So get prepared for the new norm.
Vicki Newell:
The other thing is just staying connected. You know, every single one of our doctors were so concerned with the staff and it was such a difficult decision. They had to shut down, but laying people off and delivering that message, and then trying to ensure that they were going to be okay.
Richie Guerzon:
So Vicki, why don’t you tell us a little bit about some results you’ve seen with clients you work with? What were they looking for, and how do they achieve them?
Vicki Newell:
We always start with the goals. We do not set the goals for the practice. We may have recommendations, but ultimately, the doctor gives us the vision and goals. We have a vision and goals meeting with the doctor and they let us know the improvements that they would like to see.
The goal setting typically will be improved communication. I haven’t met a practice yet that didn’t want to improve communication. Establishing those goals … each person on the team. Part of the system that we remove are the annual reviews. Those are antiquated. Those are not effective. Nobody enjoys the process. We’ve replaced it with employee contribution and development plans.
Richie Guerzon:
Let’s talk about that, because I’m only familiar with reviews. I’ve done dozens of them myself.
Vicki Newell:
And you didn’t enjoy one of them, did you Richie?
Richie Guerzon:
Oh no. Whether you’re a manager or on the other side, everybody dreaded it. It’s a terrible experience.
Vicki Newell:
It is. So let’s come up with something that’s more productive and meaningful. It gives each staff person the opportunity to establish their goals. Those goals must align with the practice goals. So, if the goal of the practice is that we’re going to improve our communication, we’re going to improve our level of customer service, and maybe they’re looking for growth.
Their session, that we have with the staff, each staff members – is to establish three goals that will align with the practice goals. Then the process is, there is a form—the employee contribution and development plan—and they list their top five strengths. At the bottom is a place for three goals.
Richie Guerzon:
Each person has their own three complementary goals? Each team member, or the whole team?
Vicki Newell:
Each individual team member. This replaces that annual review. It’s a goal setting session. So rather than coming back once a year, we check in every three months to see how they’re progressing. Are they finding any challenges? Is there anything we can help you with in developing those goals?
It’s the support, the encouragement, and the training. Rather than just writing a goal on a piece of paper, you actually bring that goal to life through your talents. So maybe a person this is a high-relater, that might be one of the talents they choose as a way they’re going to tap into to improve custom service: “I’m going to develop more meaningful relationships with my patients or with my parents.” Right? Thereby, they can use that for communication as well. It’s not that you have to have communication to the best communicator – you could tap into any one of your talents to improve communication and customer service.
We actually have practice that have been in practice 20 years or so, and they’re really not interested in growing anymore. They’re at capacity and they really want to be able to balance their family life with their work life, so they can maintain the growth that they have achieved.
Richie Guerzon:
So you’re able to help someone in that situation? That’s interesting.
Vicki Newell:
Yeah, and that’s a great problem to have, isn’t it? Ha!
Richie Guerzon:
Who doesn’t want that problem?
Vicki Newell:
The growth is actually fun. It’s fun to see—to set the goals to increase case starts and then watch that evolve and reach those goals. It’s like “Where do we go from here?”. Well there’s always a next level, no matter how good we are, or how great our performance is. There’s always room for improvement.
Richie Guerzon:
And even if they’re at capacity, I think creating these systems and strengthening your team and getting them engaged… if you have some type of event like we’re having now or we end up being in a long-term recession… that might not be the case six months from now, so you might need to pull the levers to increase their starts and get them back to capacity—to where they want to be.
Vicki Newell:
I think you’ve had some show on the virtual consults. I spoke with a doctor that’s actually seeing the daily schedule and having them send photos and being able to manage the distalizers, the palatal expanders. You have to watch hygiene, because I’m sure parents get tired of reminding kids to brush their teeth. With braces on, that’s really important to be able to monitor the hygiene.
They’re working and maintaining a schedule of sorts—virtually—which is really important. So it’s all about preparedness and being ready to go back and not have it be a disaster. Ideally, we want to start with production, and try and make up for some of the lost time here that we’ve been off. So if we can focus on production, our schedules are going to have to change in order to accomplish that.
Those are all of the things that we are looking at with working with our clients to prepare to come back, and helping them come back strong.
Richie Guerzon:
You’re helping them be proactive now.
Vicki Newell:
Yes, we can’t wait. We can’t wait. It’s just like with ordering of the supplies. If it’s a practice that’s never used face shields, that’s probably going to be a process. Like I said, they’re probably, at this point, going to be backordered anyway.
We just need to be proactive and have a plan in place for when we do go back. Are we able to bring back the entire team all at once, or is it going to be incremental? That all has to be given a lot of thought. To be able to come up with a strategic plan of what that’s going to look like, because we’re not going to just pick up where we left off, obviously.
Richie Guerzon:
Absolutely. That’s great to have a consultant when you’re going through all of that. I’ve been talking to a lot of my clients and they’re a little overwhelmed. There’s so much to think about all at once.
Vicki Newell:
It is overwhelming, but everybody needs a good coach. You know, coaching is a calling. It is very fulfilling but it’s also very challenging at times to help, and to be supportive in a way—especially right now. I have some people that have shared with me that “This is so difficult. It’s like I wake up in the morning, but I don’t want to get out of bed.” And that worries me.
So, to be able to help them tap into talents and to find a way to cope, or to find structure in their life and to look towards the future. They might not be high in futuristic, like you Richie. So you have to help them create that vision, to help them see and understand the importance of staying strong.
I’m signing off all of my emails now with “Stay strong”. We have to stay strong and we’re in this together. I think it’s really important to maintain that connection. More than anything, is for them to know that you care, and to know that they’re coming back and to help them put a plan in place to prepare for the comeback is critical. It’s really key for them coming back strong.
Richie Guerzon:
Yeah, I mean, now is the time to build your band, build your practice, make it better than it was before.
Vicki Newell:
Absolutely. How are we going to make sure that our patients feel safe, that we feel safe? We have to put all of those measures in place now, not wait until it’s time to go back because then that’s too late.
Richie Guerzon:
And it’s going to be completely crazy. That’s not a good time to be working on processes.
Vicki Newell:
Yes, it would be chaos. We cannot accomplish the goals for them, but we are the vehicle to help get them there. If their goal is growth, let’s establish a realistic percentage of growth and then… it’s not uncommon to blow the doors off. It’s really not, depending on the situation.
We had an account where a doctor had just opened a new location and there were zero patients there. Obviously, that’s a lot of opportunity. That’s just nothing but opportunity.
So we had established a goal I thought to be realistic: a ten percent growth. If you looked at the gross revenue of the practice, ten percent was really nice to start. Well, we ended up realizing 21%.
The other thing that’s really important is, in private practice, in corporate, we have incentives, not just fun trips, but bonus systems. We recommend putting a quarterly bonus system in place. So, if it is growth or even maintaining that, there’s something to be said for that too, that you’re not losing business but you’re maintaining. If you’re 500K starts, you hover somewhere around 500-530. Based on growth, a quarterly bonus system is a great incentive for staff to take ownership and see the big picture. Which I think is really important. So, if it’s data driven, which we are, then if we’re measuring—that bonus system comes into play.
Richie Guerzon:
Once you have the data and you measure it, it makes sense logistically.
Vicki Newell:
And then there is an accountability component, which is huge, is that there’s a criteria – not just growth, yes of course we have to have the growth – but then, the criteria is compliance and performance-based. So if they are contributing to the growth of the practice, then they’re going to be rewarded above and beyond their paychecks.
Richie Guerzon:
You’re helping doctors keep everyone accountable throughout this process, right?
Vicki Newell:
Yes, and usually what happens over time… when the right people are in place and they develop their talents and they actually become a strengths-based practice, there’s not so much… Nobody wants to be managed. None of us want to be managed, but it’s nice to be coached.
It’s nice to have a coach because sometimes you know a person can’t see the forest for the trees. If an issue does develop, we can recognize that. Through coaching, we can help identify any issues, and then help a person get beyond whatever it is that they’re dealing with.
Because it distracts from the team. The wellbeing is another area that we’ve recently gotten into because I realize, if a person doesn’t show up, where they’ve gotten enough sleep or proper nutrition or exercise, they can’t possible give 100%.
Richie Guerzon:
And a lot of people don’t take that into account. That’s a hard thing to address with an employee, like you know it’s happening, but it’s a tough conversation to have.
Vicki Newell:
We provide workshops and we talk about the benefits of exercise, nutrition. It’s a challenge for all of us, right? We all struggle with that. They’ll have contests within the office with workouts and… it creates a whole new dynamic. It’s all very supportive, very encouraging. It’s very important that we’re taking care of ourselves. Wellbeing is another area of focus that we think is really important.
Richie Guerzon:
It gets the team more engaged, it helps you reach your goals.
Vicki Newell:
And it’s fun. This is something I’ve tried to do all along, but it’s just the time involved, but it’s really interesting to take the talents of orthodontists, or TCs, or clinical coordinators, or chairside, whatever the position is – and find the commonalities. We see a lot of achiever or high responsibility in those talents. We would like to do our own research study as it pertains to orthodontics.
Richie Guerzon:
So if someone wants to get started… they’re interested in strengths… do you have any promotions going on right now during this time?
Vicki Newell:
You know, I was thinking about this prior the webinar and thought it might be nice that anyone that has attended the webinar today… if they want to go to our website and fill out the information with their email address… we will send you an assessment code and then offer a free coaching session. That’ll give you a little more insight into the work and the benefits for your practice, and for you individually. Because it very much is a part of your personal life and those relationships and things outside of the office. Definitely beneficial for teams.
Richie Guerzon:
Well thanks Vicki. We’ll put all of the information in the recap, and if anyone wants to get in touch with you, they just go to EngagedOrtho.com, and contact you right away. Vicki, thanks for your time, I really appreciate it.
Vicki Newell:
No, thank you, Richie! It’s been fun. Take care. Stay strong. Bye, Richie!