When you hear the word “training,” do you imagine a super fit person wearing spandex and running around sweating in the gym? Do you hear the “Rocky” theme music in the background? Perhaps. But when it comes to dental office training, the term may sound foreign to you.
The statistics about dental office training are shocking
We polled over 40,000 dentists across the US and Canada and were shocked at the findings. Did you know that 97% of dentists and their teams fail to train consistently, or don’t train at all?! Wow. Another way to look at this is in a typical year, the majority of dental offices may train once at the most.
And that may be part of why we hear dentists complaining about the lack of enthusiasm from their teams, inconsistency in staff performance, lack of business growth, and poorly constructed and executed office systems.
Curse of the “Know-it-all”
Even dental offices where team members have been employed for a long time may not train regularly or perhaps have never trained in any structured dental office front desk training with a specific, systematic approach. Those team members assume that because they have been working in the industry for a long time, they know everything there is to know. But a good employee (or person for that matter) never stops learning. There is always room for personal growth and improvement of dental office skills.
Growth without training?
Imagine for a moment you are looking to improve your physical health – to get in shape (and who isn’t, right!?). Visualize a person who thought they could get in shape but decided that they didn’t need to work out, or only work out once a year. Improving fitness is not going to happen for that person.
The keys to getting in shape are consistency and momentum – you have to train a few times a week, every week, to see improvements. It’s the same thing with dental front office training for your team. Small but consistent efforts over time will add up and result in large impacts to your practice’s success and bottom line results. Consistent training is what is going to set your office apart from the competition.
Wise words…
The late Coach John Wooden once said, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” That message seems to, unfortunately, reflect the problem so many dental offices have year after year. They have a decent understanding of the challenge they face, but then they don’t take steps to correct it.
That’s where All-Star Dental Academy’s dental office training program is a powerful aid. We break training into short, actionable sessions for the dentist and team members, and make it easy to work consistent training sessions into your weekly office routine.
Little bites
Effective training is not about cramming as much knowledge and information into one sitting as you can. This approach is a recipe for disaster, as much of what people learn in long, drawn out lectures will either be forgotten or not implemented effectively into the practice.
Instead, success comes from making sure lessons are presented in a logical sequence, ensuring the concepts are implemented effectively, and then practicing new skills to the point where they are mastered.
And dental office dental training doesn’t just stop when the material is mastered. That’s the beauty of online learning. New team members can train in a step-by-step system right from the get-go, without anyone in the office having to drop everything to get them up to speed. And for more experienced team members, training is meant to be ongoing and customizable for an individual when specific needs are uncovered. After concepts are introduced, a student will be able to go on to more in-depth explorations in later learning modules. And a benefit of using an online platform is that content is always fresh – All-Star can easily update courses with new information that reflects the fast-paced environment of modern dentistry.
When does training stop?
If you work hard to get into top shape with six pack abs and then decided you were as fit as you wanted to be, would you be able to just stop working out and yet expect to maintain the same physique?
Definitely not.
The concept is the same with training in your dental front office. You have to continue training to maintain the skills you have developed.
Doctors and team members often ask us, “What do we do when we have reached the end of the training program?” It’s a great question, and the answer is simple – start again!
What we teach about building relationships with callers and patients has a lot of subtleties, and it would benefit every student to repeat the courses over and over. Some learning experts say that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. At 20 minutes a week, that’s 500 weeks of work, or 41 years. Make it a point to make consistent training a career-long practice.
Key Points
Here are some key points to remember when it comes to dental office training and your team:
- Keep training consistently and constantly
- Everyone in the practice should be training (dentists, office managers, hygienist, assistants, and administrators)
- Make the time (it’s only 20 minutes a week)
- Have systems in place to support training
- Give it all you’ve got
- No excuses
- Have fun
What next?
Now that we have given you some pointers on your dental office training, you have three options.
First, you can continue to do nothing and get the same results that you have been getting.
Second, you can try to implement the training on your own and figure out what systems are vital for training.
Or, third, you can join us at All-Star Dental Academy. Our program features the most comprehensive online training program in dentistry. We will help you get you on the fast track to success.
Dental office training online offers a convenient option for dental practices to educate and train their employees. Staff training and dental training combined enables you to improve the overall skill set of your employees and convert them into valuable members of your dental team, boosting your revenue and overall profitability.
Learn more about the All-Star Dental Academy dental office training program by calling (844) 631.7575, or sign up for a no-cost training webinar – “Dental Practice Excellence: 3 Steps to an All-Star practice.” We explore how incremental improvements in three key areas of the practice (phone conversion, reducing broken appointments, and team performance) add up to massive change in your success. See you soon!
