If constructed the right way, morning huddles can help jumpstart your day by improving teamwork and the overall flow of the day. In addition, patients benefit because the dentist and team are better prepared to meet each patient’s individual needs.
However, if you want to have a great morning huddle, you need to avoid the common barriers that get in the way of a productive meeting.
- The dentist and/or team runs late for the huddle.
- Huddles end late and the first patients of the day are seated late.
- Huddles are unorganized.
- The huddle is just a review of the schedule; key information about individual patients is not covered.
- No one takes ownership for coming prepared to the huddle.
Therefore, if you want to have a great morning huddle, you need to manage your time effectively. Great huddles start and end on time. The dentist sets an example for the practice by arriving on time and prepared for huddles, and team members are empowered and held accountable to show up prepared for each meeting.
Instead of wasting time reading the schedule, the dentist and team discuss key points about individual patients: pending treatment, chief concerns, patient phobias, who referred the patient, and personal tidbits to bring up. This helps everyone personalize the patient experience.
Finally, the huddle provides an opportunity to discuss where to place emergency patients as well as how to deal with potential bottlenecks in the schedule. When the team has a game plan, the day flows much smoother.
Consider how you can make your morning huddle more effective, then jumpstart your day with a great meeting.