My staff is defensive whenever I suggest trying something new/something else and they’re very hesitant to change. It’s not personal, I just want to see if we can do it better.

ANSWER:There’s a correct way to implement change and it should be a positive experience. Sit down with your team and discuss why you’d like to make this change and what your plan is, then open the discussion up to getting the team’s feedback. Including the team’s perspective helps them to feel important and empowered at your dental practice.[mepr-show if=”loggedout”][/mepr-show] [mepr-active memberships=”629,630,37388,37393,37672,37676,37670,37668,37674,37676,44674,232156″ ifallowed=”show” unauth=”message” unauth_message=”Answer hidden, please login or purchase a membership to view.”]
If the entire team is informed about the initiative, trained appropriately, and understands why the change is positive, it should be easy to implement. When it’s not easy or is met with resistance, I suggest you take your focus off the change and shift onto who is pushing back. When a positive change is being resisted, an employee must be making an effort to stop it and avoid implementation.

When you discuss the idea with them they seem fully on board, but then you hear they were talking to other team members about what a bad idea it is and why it won’t work. You need to address this employee. There are a few reasons why employees are resistant to change and you can read more about those here.
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To learn more about how to better manage your staff and dental team, watch this training webinar and following course module! [wpcourse course=”5″ module=”2″ module_desc=”true” /]