Dentists, there are many important things that can ONLY be done when you’re not operating the tools. Like forward planning, systemising, training, organising, strategising and implementing all those great ideas you’ve had but NEVER HAD THE TIME. Some downtime is going to be a blessing in disguise for many of you. 

1- Relax! Netflix, chill, sleep, recover, recharge, reflect, breathe, meditate, move and stretch. When you’re satisfied with that…

2- Systemise your practice. 100% undoubtedly, it’s the key to a successful, scalable and profitable business. Many don’t have documented systems in place because there was “no time” even though it’s the single most beneficial action they could take. Everything from the new pt phone call to onboarding new staff to your clinical procedures, they should be defined in a way that optimises efficacy, efficiency and consistency. Your business processes are your greatest asset so why not capture its value? 

We use Level Up to create, organise, delegate and train all our practice systems to our team. If you want your practice operating at its full potential, start here. 

3- Online training courses. The most hygienic way for you and your team to learn! I’m addicted to online training and have had memberships to most of them because training to me = a never ending ROI. My favourites are the online academies of DentalEd, Spear Education (USA), Resorting Excellence, Practice Your Passion and the ADA’s CPD portal (free for members). I also love free content on youtube from Dr Rachel Hall’s “The Cheeky Dentist” and Dr Mark Hassed’s. These are also great for your team. Oh, and for your OHTs/hygienists, don’t go past Peak Hygiene Performance.

4- Staff training presentations. Everything that you’ve ever wanted to change or improve, turn it into a system and then a staff training presentation. Better, delegate this to your team to write and present (= increased ownership, empowerment and confidence in leadership). Feel free to steal some ideas from our staff training program this year: ways to increase referrals, how to train new staff, delivering 7 star customer service, complaints handling, maximising morning huddles, converting phone shoppers to loyal patients, emotional intelligence and personality profiling, keys to hygiene retention, the perfect handover and of course, showcasing our recent life-changing patient journeys to re-connect our team with WHY we do what we do. Spice it up with canva.com for awesome templates

5- Create or update your templates and documents. For EVERYTHING. We have templates for treatment plans, referral letters, forms, fast/quick clinical notes, SMSs, emails for literally possible situation. Templates are the defaults that ensure no opportunities are ever wasted.

6- Perform a stocktake. Declutter and clean your storage areas, discard expired stock and properly systemise your ordering process. You might even find some cool stuff you forgot you had! 

7- Organise your photos into folders for patient education. Create quick access folders that contain your favourite before and after photos of your different treatment types – ortho, implants, whitening, resin edge bonding, internal bleaching, etc. I also have folders showing consequences of untreated conditions like cracked teeth, perio bone loss, OPGs showing mesially tipped/extruded molars, erosion, abrasion, recession, wear etc. The impact of the communication is far more powerful if they are your own photos of your own patients. 

8- Develop your annual marketing plan. Plan out your practice marketing strategies, budget and timing of tasks. This includes pre-writing of content for social media posts, blogs and email communications, or recording some videos. Again, delegate this to your team. It can easily be done from home anyway. Plan out any future marketing initiatives and define how their ROI will be tracked. While you’re at it, have someone update content on your website. If it’s outdated, it’s the perfect time to create a new one. 

9- Create a reporting dashboard. Start by setting your KPIs for financial and operational performance (eg, production, dental draw, labs, staff, consumables, overheads, new pt numbers, retention, rebooking, % chair utilisation, etc) and create a spreadsheet template to enter your monthly figures. For those who’ve pre-registered at principle.dental, everything you need on will automatically be shown through a customisable dashboard, depicted through intuitive infographics.

10- Check in with your staff and openly discuss how they are going in their roles. It’s a good time to update your staff performance review process too. Put together questionnaires and feedback surveys for them to fill out in advance. Include things like growth opportunities in their roles, ideas and suggestions for the practice and feedback about management.  Formally acknowledging and praising their strengths should dominate the conversation. 

11- Implement your customer experience ideas. You’ve probably had dozens of ideas that you never had time to implement properly. Update the decor, install a coffee machine, a warm towel oven, mount TVs on the ceilings, create patient welcome packs, thank you cards, etc.

12- Upgrade your technology. These take time to install, learn, systemise, train and implement. Is your practice ready for 2020 and beyond? Consider upgrading your computers, new DSLR camera/s, digital IO scanner, CBCT, CAD-CAM (eg, CEREC) and move to cloud based software for security and remote access. Remove anything that might be perceived as ‘old school’ and focus on modernising the key things that you rely on in your business.