I’ll be the first to admit that it was far easier bagging groceries in strong paper bags that held their shape than it is to do so using today’s pleomorphic plastic, but the principles remain the same: double bag for heavy items, cans on the bottom with light items on top, pack cold things together, meat and bread always separately, and eggs get special attention. So why is it that no one working in my grocery store knows that?
And when did cashiers forget how to make change? Not long ago, my grocery bill was $16.25. I gave the young lady $21.25 expecting a $5 bill in change. She handed the $1.25 back to me saying “I only need the twenty.” When she counted out my $3.75 change, I handed it back to her with the $1.25 and asked her for a five. She just stared at me…
When the attitude of the employee clearly illustrates that he or she simply doesn’t care to be better at what they do, I find fault with them. But when it’s clear they’ve never been properly trained to perform at a higher level, I blame the employer. (Ask me how I know….).
As a completely inexperienced small-business owner in the late seventies, I made virtually every practice management mistake that can be made, including failing to properly train my young team. Since I only hired people with “experience,” I (wrongly) assumed they’d intuitively know what to do! Yeah, that worked well!
With today’s available assets, there is simply no excuse for a practitioner to fail to properly train his or her team. Need to improve your management systems? Purchase the “Building Blox” series from the Pride Institute. Need better training for your business team? Contact Laura at FrontOfficeRocks.com. Need first-class videos to enhance the skills of your clinical team? Look at the huge selection of DVDs available from (Gordon Christensen’s) pccdental.com.
And don’t overlook locally available state and regional conferences for “hands-on” training opportunities and exposure to some of the brightest minds in the industry today. Budget to take your team at least every other year to a world-class meeting like the Thomas P. Hinman or Chicago Midwinter. Everyone wins.
These are simply my favorites, based upon my personal experience, but there are many more options available. The bottom line is to start somewhere, and provide the training your team needs to perform at an optimal level. Remember, Doctor, you’re only as good as your team.
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“It is not the employer who pays wages – he only handles
the money. It is the product that pays wages.”
~~Henry Ford
