Get Them All-In with a Check-In

Having a great team is the most important factor in having a great practice, but what do you do when yours isn’t measuring up to your expectations? The idea of “quiet quitting,” or working only enough to get by, is not a new concept, but it’s one that’s increased in recent years. One of our core values at ACT is “All-In,” so team members who aren’t giving it their all are a hindrance to the overall success of the team. So what do you do when these quiet quitters are sucking the life out of your team? Is it time for loud layoffs? No! You simply need to engage more with your team members and work with them to help them get all-in on your vision. 

Check In on Them

If you want to build up your team members, you need to nurture their development and show that you care about them, which means you need to sit down with them and have a conversation. It’s not always possible to do something about finding new team members, so it’s important to nurture the relationships with the ones you have. So many of the practices we work with have never done a check-in with their team, and it’s sometimes a foreign concept when we introduce it. 

The hesitance to implement the check-in comes from the tendency to just lump it in with the concept of the dreaded performance review, but they are very different. Miranda recommends developing a culture of separating the performance review process from that of personal development, so you have two separate organizational processes. That way you can sit down with your team and tell them you’re taking off your doctor hat or your boss hat and just talk to them, human being to human being. 

Create a System

A check-in isn’t something you do every once in a while, or only when you encounter a problem—it needs to be a regular, built-in system. If you have a lot of team members, schedule one per week so you’re establishing a routine. Set aside 30 minutes, and if you’re worried about it cutting into production, schedule it during your lunch and get it done before you go back to seeing patients. Angela advises that you use this time to get to know your team—what motivates them, what they want to develop and learn, and how they want to grow. Some of the topics we recommend discussing are:

• Their personal highs and lows
• Their professional highs and lows
• What leadership can help them with

When you ask these open-ended questions, it creates a space where the team member basically runs the meeting and you’re just lending your ear. The more this becomes a routine, the more your team members will see that you value them because you’re making an effort to help them get more invested in the practice. It’s like Kirk says, everyone claims that they value their team, but what are you doing to support that? We ask people to show up and spend the bulk of their lives with us, committing to our vision as practice owners, so it’s crucial to respect our team members and acknowledge that they’re doing that for us. Building these personal connections during the check-in will create a stronger foundation for your team, giving them the encouragement and support they need to go all-in on your vision. 

If you’re consistently having problems with team members with toxic attitudes, you don’t have to do it yourself—schedule a call today and get a coach! We can’t fix every single problem, but we can create a better environment where you’re not held hostage and subjected to crazy demands all the time. It’s not easy to build a team with an all-in attitude, but it’s important, and the better you get at doing it, the easier it will be to create a Better Practice, and a Better Life!

Angela Heathman is a Lead Practice Coach at ACT Dental

Miranda Beeson is a Lead Practice Coach at ACT Dental