Ginny Hegarty

Holiday party HR questions, featuring Bent Ericksen & Associates * go to www.dentistryiq.com for full article

Question 2: As a multicultural office, we find it difficult to celebrate the holidays. We want to have an event in which we can all get together and celebrate, but we don’t want to be disrespectful to any employee’s beliefs. What’s the best way to handle this?

Answer: In our ever-growing diverse nation this is becoming a concern for most employers. The best way to avoid allegations of discrimination is to refrain from using religious descriptions or decorations that represent a particular belief. For example, call the celebration a “holiday party” or “a celebration of seasons” rather than a Christmas party. If your main intention for the party is to reward employees for their hard work throughout the year, you may also want to consider celebrating during a different time of the year. Sponsoring events such as a summer BBQ or a day at an amusement park, for example, are great ways to show employee appreciation while avoiding any religious connotations

Here’s an impact of the economic slowdown that you might not have considered:

Discrimination claims filed with the EEOC jumped 15 percent in fiscal 2008. Sexual harassment claims jumped 29 percent. The EEOC expects 2009 stats to be higher. Don’t be part of the statistics; get your policies in place now. Contact me about the Bent Ericksen HR Director. We make easy work of getting compliant and gaining peace of mind.

*Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The annual ADMC (Academy of Dental Management Consultants) (ADMC.net) meeting is always a must-see event. This year was no different, especially with the location being in Waikiki, Hawaii. This is one of the few meetings that is designed by and for dental consultants and the collective brain trust in attendance is amazing!

Dr. Jerry Teplitz, a PHD in Behavioral Kinesiology demonstrated the physical manifestation of negative focus for the group. If you have ever doubted the notion that your thoughts beget your actions and your results, check out Dr. Teplitz’ website and see a snipet of his presentation http://www.teplitz.com/media/keynote/keynote1.html This should spark a great team discussion.

I’ve been providing HR support to my clients since 2002 and I’ve seen some disturbing new trends in the just past few months in the number of calls I’m getting regarding harassment claims. It’s a whole new world as these claims are being reported between team members & guests to the practice such as vendors and delivery people.

It’s important that you let your team members know that you want them to always feel safe and comfortable while working in your practice. Have a formal no-tolerance policy in writing, along with instructions for how to report any incidents. Protect your employees & your practice.

What a privilege it was to speak at the IACA. In over 25 years in dentistry and countless meetings attended, I’ve never seen energy and enthusiasm that rivals the IACA. If you are looking to get fired up about dentistry again, plan now to attend the meeting July 22-24, 2010 in Boston. Check out www.theiaca.com

Here’s how the call went “Ginny, I’m concerned because everyone is talking about how the economy is affecting their productivity and yet I haven’t seen that change. Now I know that since you’ve been working with us, we’re much more focused and proactive but I can’t help wonder when the other shoe is going to drop and we’ll see productivity slide too.”

This is not inevitable. Some areas of the country are feeling the economic slowdown more than others but that doesn’t mean that you and your practice have to see the numbers fall. My advice to my client and to you is to focus on what you CAN DO for each other and your patients, talk about your philosophy of care and commitment to excellence, keep attending continuing education courses and stay focused on providing the best possible care to your patients. Negative emotions are contagious & they are 7x more powerful than positive emotions. It’s your choice and your opportunity.

If you’re an oldies’ fan you remember the Shoop, Shoop Song but you probably called it by it’s popular name “It’s in His Kiss” This song made simple work of finding the “right” one. When it comes to hiring the “right” person for your team, pay close attention to interpersonal skills and remember to hire talent, you can always teach skills. “It’s in their tone of voice, energy level, and their enthusiasm for dentistry.” Yes, you absolutely need to check experience and references but you’d be better to give up a little “bit there, done that” in exchange for a great can-do attitude and passion.

It was bound to happen. With Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites gaining such incredible popularity and with the prevalence of smartphones, we’ve had out first calls from dentists asking if we can add verbiage to their policy & procedures manuals to specifically outlaw tweets, texting and facebooking during work. You might think that this is unnecessary and simple common sense, but then you’d probably be the next “shocked” dentist or office manager to call and report this happening. Cell phones should be be off and stored with employees’ personal belongings during work hours and only turned on during breaks and meal periods. Period. End of discussion.

Business owners everywhere are unhappy when social networking interferes with work. Here’s an example of the tables being turned for one potential employee who may have tweeted himself out of a job:

POST: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” “TheConnor” Twitter
RESPONSE: “Who is the hiring manager? I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

I left home at 6:00 am for an on-site visit with a client today and at nearly 6:00 pm I’m about 30 minutes from home and hungry. I see a Chick-fil-A up ahead and decide to stop. If you check my post in mid-January you’ll read about the commitment that this company has to fine service and exceeding expectations. I figured I’d get dinner and also see if my great experience in January was a fluke. The wait in the drive-through line was longer than I expected and I was beginning to think that even the best intentions don’t always translate into great performance. As I reached the window to pay, I was greeted with an apology for the longer than usual wait and given a courtesy card for a free meal at my next visit. Wow! They exceeded my expectations once again. I think this company is real deal.

The take away for your dental practice: Customers / patients don’t expect you to be perfect every time - but they do expect you to be aware and to care. Service recovery strategies can save the day. Is your team empowered to turn your patients into raving fans?