2020 has been a tough year for everyone, and although we aren't out of the woods yet with the Covid-19 pandemic, it's still important to look at how you can improve your business (i.e dental practice). A New Year is a great time to assess where you are at and what your priorities will be going forward. We often do this in our personal life but how many of us use this for our business? In addition to losing weight, getting organized, saving more (top 3 most common resolutions of 2020), here some simple suggestions to help you make 2021 a prosperous new year!
1) Assess what needs to change and make a Goal. Many of us struggle with day to day challenges and before we know it we are halfway through the year and planning our summer vacations during the kids school break. This year start out thinking about a goal for your practice. “Keeping Busy” is not a goal. Talk with your CPA, your spouse, your staff, and get a goal that you believe in, and one you’re willing to work for.
Here are some guides to help you get started:
2) Make your goal attainable. 60% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Make your goal reasonable and then share it with others (i.e staff members) who are part of its success. Here at tab32, we've noticed our most successful dental practices are those who have informed teams. When team members know the numbers, they are more likely to feel ownership over the success of the practice.
Click to watch a video with one of our community members talking about this:
3) Measure, Measure, Measure. Depending on your answer to #1 you need to figure out how to measure your progress. Pick a number that you currently collect that will represent your progress. Pick outcome metrics not input metrics. For example, if you want to increase your number of new patients who follow up for a second appointment, measure the second appointment directly. Don’t measure number of follow up calls made or number of new patients seen. Input metrics measure your effort. Outcome metrics measure your results. In the end, it’s the results that matter!
Here's a blog that talks about how to use analytics to improve workflows.
4) Celebrate the small wins to empower your staff! As you start to measure, you will inevitably start to see small improvements. Celebrate these small wins and use these to gain momentum with your staff. It’s likely your staff will be more responsible for this success than anything one person will do alone. Celebrate these small wins to convey the message that this is really important, and that you are still focused on this goal. The biggest hurdle you need to overcome is breaking the old way and embracing the new. Celebrating these small wins will reinforce your new goals!
Watch this video about how to empower your team members and the value of doing so:
5) Don’t give up. In the end, change will take time, and the death of meeting most new goals is distraction. Life happens. If we've learned anything from 2020, it's you will have small and big distractions pop up in 2021. All the while, keep your goal in mind. This is not something that will happen without your attention. If it’s important, give it your regular attention! Your focus is the oxygen your goal needs to become an established process. The idea is to make this goal part of your regular business, one that you can build on throughout the year and continue for years to come.
A great way to establish new processes is getting rid of old technology that is holding you back from improving. tab32 is an all in one cloud dental practice management software built to encourage practice growth and better patient care. Click to book a demo today!
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