Office Managers & Business Administrators
Managers and leaders for the day to day operations of the dental office
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Staff Issue
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Staff Issue
In our office we have 2 front office staff (one check-in and one check-out). The girl checking patients in has worked for us for a little over a year. We have struggled to find “her place” Work truly doesn’t seem like a priority and everything is just chill and mellow with her.
-She isn’t being proactive with making sure patients have their forms filled out, and doesn’t make sure its entered in the patient charts.
-She isnt telling patients to arrive a few minutes early to fill out paperwork so the girls in the back don’t get behind.
-When filling the schedule there isn’t a drive to fill that appointment with something that is similar in value, so we don’t meet our day/monthly production goals. We wait until the very last minute to fill it because our rule is “if you absolutely cant find a high production appointment to fill the high production spot, 24 hours prior it can be filled with whatever.” So its just “easier” for her it seems like to hold off.
-We take lunch from 1:00-2:00, and ask that she is upfront after lunch at least 5 minutes prior to patients arriving that way she can get everyone checked in prior to their appointment start time. She can even take her lunch 5 minutes early, but is never the one checking patients in. She sits in the breakroom talking until exactly 2:00. So our Check Out girl is checking them in every day.
-I consistently catch her day dreaming, playing with her hair/nails, just sitting and watching check out do her thing.
She truly is great with patients, always a warm welcome and friendly/caring demeanor to her. The rest of the girls just come to me and ask “What is her job” “what does she do?”. Our check out girl just hit her 90 days and is EXCELLING. But today she came to me and said “I am sorry I am just very frustrated this week. I don’t want to cause any problems, I love her, but she really doesn’t do anything, and I just feel like I’m trying to work but she doesn’t ever stop trying to talk to me or do anything productive, very unprepared, no motivation, and is very inefficient with time. SO I really would like her to stay. But we need to see some improvement and I don’t know how to approach this situation gently because she truly is very soft and I don’t want to approach this the wrong way and she gets mad and leaves.
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1 Reply
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Thank you for starting this discussion. Was this person given a detailed job description when hired? If so, that will help as you move forward and discuss her performance with her. I would set aside time to speak with her. Ask her how she thinks she is doing. Provide positive feedback and then give examples of where she may not be meeting expectations. Maybe she is not completely aware of what is expected of her. Ask her if she needs additional training/support and if so, in what areas.
Don’t come from a place of “fear”; Sometimes we hire people that turn out not to be a good fit for the practice. Speak with her, allow her a chance to voice her opinion and then give her a timeline for improvement and determine next steps.
I think it is important to remind the rest of the team to focus on their own roles. No one should be asking what someone else’s job is – That is creating a situation where sides are being taken and that is unfair. Everyone has a role in the practice and each of those is different, but all are important. If there is a question of division of responsibilities, that is something that can be worked on together to be sure everyone is on the same page.
If you need a job description for your meeting, check the DOCUMENT LIBRARY for resources.
Hope this helps…..
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