Emma John from Absolute Dental gives her advice on effective team communication

As everyone knows I am usually on the case of the reception teams. I grill them, I make them uncomfortable in their current delivery of care and then I work with them to create more efficient, effective systems.

I make their life tough for a while, but they allow me to do so to make the rest of the dental teams lives better, and the practice more successful and profitable.

For the starting point of this blog, lets for a moment assume that your reception team has already received my Perfect Front Desk training.

They are, therefore, a group of exceptionally skilled individuals who not only supply you with a series of new patients, but also deliver exceptional care and service before and after a visit.

Now liken your reception team to air traffic control (takes me back to my RAF roots). Air traffic controllers manage aircraft through all aspects of their flight with the priority of safety, followed by other aspects such as ensuring arrivals and departures are on time. They use navigation and surveillance to communicate advice, information and instructions to pilots via radio.

Air traffic controllers are well known for working in control towers at airports, but the majority actually work in area control centres. They are responsible for the en-route stage of the aircraft, using radar to track its exact position, keeping it safe in the airspace and providing the most efficient route.

Now we all know air traffic control are in contact with those in charge of the aircraft - namely the pilots. In dentistry, if your front desk team are the air traffic controllers, the pilots are the dentists. How can air traffic control carry out their job if the pilots are not communicating with them?

So today I am not on the case of the reception team; instead I am asking our dentists (pilots) if they are constantly communicating with their air traffic controllers?

Do they know how long you want for the next appointment?

Do they know if you are experiencing difficulties and are going to be running late?

Do they know if you are planning to use your 1030 gap of 15 minutes to make a phone call?

And so the list continues……...

Frequently the customer care baton is being dropped because our air traffic controllers are trying to work alone and this hinders the efficiency of the practice and can compromise the overall “in flight” experience of our passengers.

Emma John