What Women Really Want to Know:
How to Train Your Staff

Victoria, a dentist in California, asks:
How should I train a new staff member, when I don't know exactly what she's supposed to be doing and I have so little time?

The founder of Pride Institute, Dr. Jim Pride, used to tell the story of how he hired his first staff member, Elaine, when he was a young dentist beginning clinical practice. Although Elaine had no dental experience, Dr. Pride hired her because of the excellent customer service skills she displayed working at a local bank. On her first day at the practice, Elaine arrived wearing full nurse's gear, including the hat (this was in the '60s). Pad in hand, Elaine asked Dr. Pride what he wanted her to do. He thought for a moment, then had her write on her pad that he wanted her to "Work." When she asked "How?" his response was, "Hard." (Thankfully, Dr. Pride advanced his skills before subsequently creating the Pride Institute.)

If you're training your most valuable asset, your staff, by crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, you're doing what Dr. Pride did. Women dentists often feel uncomfortable training staff for the following reasons: They haven't clearly defined what they want their staff to do; they haven't themselves performed many of the non-clinical tasks and so feel uncertain teaching them; or they feel that they lack the time to train.

When staff members enter the practice, before struggling with performance shortfalls, they are enthusiastic and willing to learn. If you capitalize on their initial enthusiasm during the training phase, you won't need to invest unpleasant time later in correction, counseling, confrontation, and termination. If you dread confronting and firing staff, the antidote is to train them. Two basic tools to make training easier are the job description and training plan.

Overwhelmingly, the dental offices I encounter have either no job descriptions or flawed ones. Massive listings of duties with no priorities, no clarity, no outcomes, and no explanation of "why" the tasks are performed make for flawed job descriptions.

An excellent job description starts with a list of the ideal outcomes of the position, not the tasks. Outcomes tell trainees why their tasks are important. For example, assume you're hiring an appointment coordinator. The flawed way to start your job description is with a laundry list tasks, such as:

1. Pick up the phone in three rings
2. Make coffee
3. Take out the garbage
4. Etc.

Instead, begin by explaining what you are striving for, i.e., outcomes, such as:

1. Patients committed to and showing up for their appointments
2. A schedule that meets production goals, provides balance and efficiency, and ensures a quality experience for both patients and staff

When staff members know the whys, their tasks become important.

Job descriptions next contain the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes required for success in the position. Avoid Dr. Pride's generality about working "hard." Instead, be specific about the organizational, computer, customer service, teamwork, and other skills that a staff member needs to bring to the table. For the appointment coordinator, for example, your list may include: a) calmly and efficiently juggling many things—handling patients, filing documents, answering the phone, etc.; b) mastering computer software programs; c) exhibiting excellent communication, listening, and relationship-building skills to deliver exceptional customer service; d) a willingness to help other team members above and beyond one's own job description, and actively participating in staff meetings and projects to improve the practice.

After indicating your ideal outcomes, as well as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes expected for success, then—and only then—list the duties required. Ideally, prioritize the tasks, based on the vision and values of the practice (greeting arriving patients, for example, may get priority over filing charts). For the appointment coordinator, this section might include tasks such as: handling no-shows and cancellations; acknowledging patients within a minute of their arrival; and filling pre-set times for production blocks in the schedule.

Once you have completed an effective job description, you can easily customize an on-the-job training plan for new staff members (as well as veteran staff needing additional training). Review the job description with your new staff member, diagnosing the person's specific training needs as you go along. When explaining the outcomes, as well as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes expected of someone to achieve those outcomes, you can co-analyze the person's current status and define any performance gaps. For example, a new appointment coordinator like Dr. Pride's Elaine, because of her inexperience in a dental office, would lack competency in scheduling dental appointments. This is a gap, i.e., a deficiency in the trainee's knowledge and/or skill. Therefore, Elaine's training goal will be to learn all the aspects of scheduling, then to apply the knowledge until she masters the tasks.

When defining the training goals for a staff member based on the performance gaps uncovered, ask yourself and the employee three essential questions:

1. What do you want the employee to do differently after the training period, stated in objectively measurable terms? For example, at the end of a four-week training period, the employee will be able to schedule every day with all pre-blocks for major procedures and new patients filled, a balanced mix of procedures, production goals met, etc.
2. What tasks can the employee currently do, and with what degree of consistency? Remember to consider the employee's transferable skills, i.e., skills learned at previous jobs that can be applied to the new position. For example, an appointment coordinator who has worked in the insurance industry will have a familiarity with insurance terms, computers, and organizational basics that will assist the individual in learning the new skills required.
3. What are the performance gaps that need to be filled through training? Always describe specifically the performance gaps, the standards the employee needs to meet, and the tasks the employee needs to learn in order to meet your standards. For example, it's not enough merely to tell the trainee to answer the phone and "interview" all prospective new patients. It's vital to state clearly what a successful new-patient phone call sounds like and the results it creates.

After reviewing the job description with your new employee, you can create a written training plan based on the competencies the trainee will need to acquire for the position, the transferable skills the person has that will aid in developing those competencies, and the benchmarks the employee will need to meet in order to demonstrate mastery of the assigned tasks within a forecasted time. New staff members will learn tasks by a combination of methods, including being shown the task by others, shadowing others, reading manuals, role playing, practicing the skills under supervision, then practicing them unsupervised until they are integrated. There's no greater feeling for the doctor or staff member than to mark off a competency on the training plan as mastered!

Amy Morgan is CEO and lead trainer of Pride Institute.

Originally published in Woman Dentist Journal , June 2007