The Post-Covid Storm of Change
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a storm of imminent changes that have shaken our very way of life. As we slowly navigate through these uncertainties, it is becoming increasingly clear that we must contend with the consequences. The question then lies: how are we going to manage these changes so that we minimise the damage and rebuild our businesses to thrive once again?
Before we strategise on how to manage the changes, it may be worthwhile to have a bird’s-eye view of all the possible changes facing us at this moment in time. This allows us to prioritise which changes will be the most beneficial and anticipate the challenges ahead.
I would suggest that much thought is given to how we plan to implement the changes we want in our practice. Whichever changes we choose, one thing is certain we will need our teams to be on board with the new way of doing things. This means a shift in comfort zones, which is not always easy. Hence, understanding how you are going to manage the change will be an important consideration.
Change Management is a process that allows us to implement necessary changes in a way that is received as positively as possible by the team. This is the crux of effective leadership in times of crisis.
And it all starts with which initiatives we plan to carry out and why.
Possible Upcoming Changes Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Speed of Change
Things are changing at varying speeds with little certainty. We will need to be agile in how we adapt to the unfolding circumstances. In some cases, we will need to act quickly to take advantage of arising opportunities; in others, we must be more considered and tread carefully. This balance is difficult when surrounded by uncertainty.
Uncertainties Are Arising From:
Regulations and Guidance
Regulatory bodies are slow to reach and communicate decisions, such as when we can resume work, what we are allowed to do, and how we are allowed to do it.
Pandemic Behaviour
It remains uncertain how the COVID-19 pandemic will develop and progress over time. Will it ever go away? Will we see a second peak? Is it here to stay? Are we going to have to co-exist with COVID-19?
Impact on Our Businesses
As we transition from lockdown to sustainable operations, many uncertainties remain about what business will look like and what challenges lie ahead.
Cash Flow Management
How will we manage cash flow? What will our new financial goals look like? How do we focus on turnover while keeping profitability in mind?
The New Normal
When will things return to normal? I would propose a caveat here things are unlikely to return to the “normal” we once knew. The picture will look very different. The quicker we accept this, the sooner we can shift our mindsets and adapt to new ways of working. But this may look slightly different for each of us.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
We are now required to adopt a more systemised approach to dental treatments to ensure everyone’s safety. This means introducing several new systems for every team member to learn, with more likely to follow as we progress. The last major shift in our operating dynamics was the introduction of CQC protocols in 2011.
In addition, we now have enhanced risk assessments both for patients’ COVID-19 infection status before attending appointments and for which procedures are necessary, including any associated fallow time.
All this represents significant change.
Communication of Additional Treatment Costs
We must now consider appropriate ways to compensate for added costs such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), fallow time and materials.
Questions arise: How much do we charge? Do we absorb these costs? Do we charge per visit or per treatment plan? How do we communicate this surcharge to patients?
Team Communication
Regular team meetings are going to change to virtual meetings since you may not be able to have them appropriately in the practice, e.g. with Zoom meetings.
Topics you may need to include in your team communication are:
- Keeping the team motivated and continue building relationships with them.
- Providing up to date information
- Providing the required support, e.g. Mental health and coping with uncertainty
- Discussion of the latest developments
- Re-thinking how we approach things as the challenges arise
Working Hours Changed
Your normal working hours are now going to look a little different if you want to implement the changes necessary and bring your productivity levels back up.
Cross-Trained Team
It will be useful for you to have high adaptability within your team to accommodate productive patterns of work. This will allow team members to participate in different roles that may be required at different times to cope with the day. For example, it would be useful for a receptionist to also do Treatment Coordinator sessions or for nurses to participate in administrative duties when not nursing. This in itself requires considerable training and a change in mindset from the team.
Hygienists
There are many ideas floating around on what will happen to our hygienist treatments. Do you make hygienist appointments longer and charge your patients more? Does the hygienist only perform non-AGP to reduce fallow time and keep up productivity? Do we change the way hygienists are remunerated? Do we pay them only for the patients they see? Do we not pay an hourly rate anymore and change to a percentage of profits? How will we need to introduce the change to our patients? What additional training is our team going to need as a consequence?
There is much to think about.
Triaging New Patient Treatment
You will find that there will be a more principal-led diary to compensate for the additional costs and a reduced number of patients we are capable of seeing. Alternatively, the principal may start to refer various low-income or those procedures that the principal doesn’t want to do to associates, who become more like technicians.
Dovetailing
This is a concept whereby the principal works from two or more rooms. So, they work in one room with one nurse and then move to another room for another patient with another nurse. The first room can then be turned over with the appropriate fallow time. This means that the dentist is continually seeing patients.
Energy Management
Due to longer working hours, dovetailing, seeing all the patients and practice management, things are going to become quite exhausting. This means that you are going to have to take up strategies on how to best manage your energy levels. You are going to have to step up your game in this area too if you are going to survive these changes.
Patient Communication
There are many new and exciting ways that we can now introduce that will save time in the practice but still maintain a high communication level. We can take advantage of teledentistry, virtual consultations and an adapted communication journey for our patients. However, as well as the need to understand our patients’ dental requirements, we will have to communicate current practice updates and engage in COVID-phobia and safety management.
Digital Contactless Dentistry
This is another area of change that we may decide to introduce into our practice if not already. This can include digital dentistry, the use of digital scanners for displaying virtual treatment options, digital e-consents and all documentation, digital reports, online or contactless payments and e-consultations.
Diary Management for Productivity
You may have to introduce block booking and zoning out areas to accommodate both types of treatment and fallow time required for each. Hence, you can block out when you see non-aerosol generated procedures (non-AGP), AGP, primary, secondary and tertiary appointments, emergency patients and new patients.
Shift System
This is when two sets of teams work at different times, so overall “working” time is longer. This allows you to accommodate more patients.
Leadership Skills
Practice owners are going to find that much of practice management is going to require sharper leadership skills. However, in my experience, this is not something dentists know how to conduct appropriately and hence it will be associated with a corresponding learning curve.
Empathic Marketing
As part of productive business management, you will need to adapt to better marketing techniques that are sensitive to the times. This requires effort in re-analysing your marketing strategies.
These are but a few of the ideas currently being spoken about; there may well be more to come. I hope it is clear to you that the months ahead will need much of your attention, focus and energy.
There is much that will probably change. Therefore, you are going to need a planned, structured approach to instigate the change. This is called Change Management.
Introducing change initiatives has historically not been easy and can be met with much team resistance. However, there are certain strategies that can be employed to ensure that the outcome is as favourable as possible.
This is something I will be discussing with you all in the very near future.
Talk to us about how we can help. Get in touch with us today.
Bhavna Doshi
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