Nearly every dental practice deals with or has dealt with office drama. It brings down the team, ruins morale, and can create a hostile work environment. Unfortunately, if it isn’t nipped in the bud immediately, the problem festers and may result in some team members quitting unexpectedly, leaving the doctors and the other team members in a real bind. If there is one question we get time and time again, it’s “how do I get rid of drama in my practice?”
The good news is that we’ve got some helpful tips for you, but they’ll only work if you actually implement them, and the sooner, the better.
Maybe it’s time to set a precedent in your practice and start fresh, especially as the new year is just around the corner. If you’re experiencing office drama, heed our advice to stop office drama and get on with more important things……like helping your patients!
Be the Leader
Perhaps one of the most significant things you can do is step up and be a leader. As the doctor, don’t just retreat back to your office between patient appointments, pretending not to know what’s happening among your team.
Peruse the office and be intentional when interacting with your front office employees, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. We don’t mean that you go around eavesdropping but work on building a healthy relationship with your employees.
Mix in some fun things like special events or outings, or team-building activities to deepen connections among everyone in the office. Most days are probably quite busy, and everyone maintains their post, so to speak. Therefore, it may be difficult for your team to build relationships when part of the team works up front all day while the other half sees patients in the back office. So, lead by example! Show your team what these interactions should look like by walking the walk and talking the talk.
Lay Down the Ground Rules
If you’re currently dealing with drama within your practice, it’s time to set everyone straight. You can do this in a tactful way during a team meeting without calling anyone out or ganging up on specific team members. Explain to your team what you expect as far as their behavior, attitude, and how they should treat each other. And underscore that you won’t put up with drama at work.
Everyone in your practice is a part of a team, a bigger picture. Help paint that picture for them, and come up with some creative ways for everyone to understand each other’s roles. This helps reduce resentment, office gossip, and drama. When everyone understands what’s expected and understands others’ responsibilities, life in the office becomes much easier for everybody.
Be clear about the repercussions of breaking this rule. Each practice is different, and you have to be mindful of employment or HR laws as they pertain to your practice. We find that it’s best to implement the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” This often helps people understand what’s expected of their behavior.
Have a Chat with Toxic Team Members
If things still don’t improve, it’s time to have a one-on-one chat with toxic team members. Seek to understand their point of view and why they feel the way they do about the practice or other team members. For instance, perhaps you have a team member that has a bad attitude and makes everyone else miserable. It’s easy to quickly assume they are just a rotten, miserable person, when in fact, maybe they are internalizing their anger regarding a lazy team member that never does their share of duties around the office. Therefore, you may end up with a bigger problem than a bad attitude, which you will have to address. So, approach this conversation with an open mind and don’t jump to conclusions until you’ve heard their whole story.
Treat Everyone Fairly
Our last bit of advice is to treat everyone fairly. In other words, don’t play favorites. Giving certain team members special privileges or attention will most assuredly lead to office drama. So, don’t do it!
Always aim to treat everyone as fairly as possible. For instance, don’t give your favorite dental assistant all of the easy cases and nice patients, and put off the difficult appointments to another assistant. Or, don’t expect your hygienists to be solely responsible for cleaning the office when they have downtime, yet never expect any other team members to pitch in when they are able. Just treat everyone fairly. It’s as simple as that!
What do I do if a team member remains difficult?
In some cases, you do everything right and still have a rotten employee. Unfortunately, if they’ve always been this way and refused to change, and you’ve tried everything you can think of to remedy the situation, then it may be time to look at other options, like freeing them up of their time to look for other opportunities (a.k.a. let them go!)
Looking for more advice on handling office drama? Then check out our newest blog.
