Have you ever hired the ideal person for a position?  Have you ever lost that person in the first few days/weeks?  This pearl can help you avoid this in the future.   There is only one thing worse than not hiring the best person for a position—hiring the best person and then losing her because you did not bring her on board correctly.  To avoid this, do the following.   Hire the ideal person using the Team Organization & Hiring Kit.  Negotiate her initial and long term salary & benefits (see Management Pearl).  Determine her strongest personality style (Analyzer, Director, Relator, Socializer).   Orient that ideal person using the Team Training Kit.  Immediately give her a proper legal orientation and…

Do you find it difficult to identify where your team needs improvement?  Do poor attitudes that are difficult to confront permeate your team?  Are there team members you would like to improve, but if not possible, replace?  If so, this pearl can help.   Evaluating where a team member needs to improve is not difficult, but it does take time, truthfulness and a systematic approach.  Even though we all dislike criticism (the truth?), we all do want to improve, be thought better of, and feel better about ourselves and others.   Even though most team members seem fully trained, most are not.  And the first step to being fully trained is to identify the areas where they need improvement.  The…

  Do new team members get their OSHA training on day-1, or are you leaving yourself liable?  Is all of your team member’s OSHA training up to date?  Do you have an “instant” OSHA training system in place?  If not, maybe this pearl can help.     If the term “OSHA” were never mentioned again, it would be too soon.  Unfortunately, like taxes, it is a fact of life and the penalties can be severe, especially when it comes to team training.  If you willfully don’t OSHA train your team member before she starts working with patients, the fine is between $5,000 and $70,000 per team member…not fun.     There is no reason not to have a system in…

  Is your patient information secure from wondering eyes?  Does your team NOT discuss your patient’s problems with others?  Do you have sufficient documentation at the start of treatment to comply with HIPAA regulations?  If not, maybe this pearl may help.   In order to be compliant with HIPAA and avoid legal and punitive repercussions from disgruntled patients and team members you need to employ the following forms in your practice: Notice of Practice Policies on Patient Privacy (hand-out given to patient to review at their leisure) Acknowledgement of Receipt of Notice of Practice Policies on Patient Privacy form (to prove you gave them the notification)… (printed on your letterhead) Patient’s Level of Privacy Consent form (This orthodontic-related part states…

Are all of your SDS (Safety Data Sheets) and Labeling up to date as of June 2015?  Have your team members been trained on the new SDS and labeling elements?  If not, maybe this pearl can help.   Even though the revised SDS and Labeling formats were suppose to be in place on June 1, 2015, I still get inquiries about it.  The attached "OSHA SDS & LABEL Changes" PDF describes the SDS and Label formats, along with a sample of a label and the new SDS at the end. This team training management pearl was also created to update your OSHA training to account for the new SDS and Labeling formats and to make you aware that this training…

  Do you use an effective team training program that fully trains your new team members in weeks instead of months?  Are your team member trainers effective at their training?  Do you have a system for evaluating how effective their training is?  If not, this pearl should help you implement a more effective training system.   Team Member Training Essentials:   1)  An effective Team Member Training System must contain the following: 2)  An effective “Team Member Hiring Program" to hire the best person the first time. 3)  A newly hired employee, who fits that position because she is intelligent enough, has an appropriate position personality and wants to work in that position. 4)  An experienced trainer: typically a Clinical…