How do you address cell phone use in the dental office? We have an employee in the back who is always texting on her phone. We have never had issue with this before. Just wondering the best way to deal with this.

ANSWER: We have a policy about cell phone usage/internet usage/taking breaks/etc., so there is no “gray area” in the office. Every team member reads the policies in the employee manual and signs it. This basically means “You told me the rules and the consequences if I break them. I fully understand your expectations”.[mepr-show if=”loggedout”][/mepr-show] [mepr-active memberships=”629,630,37388,37393,37672,37676,37670,37668,37674,44674,232156″ ifallowed=”show” unauth=”message” unauth_message=”Answer hidden, please login or purchase a membership to view.”] You may think some of these behaviors as just annoying or a nuisance, but they can be detrimental to your practice. If you allow one employee to bend the rules, the others will notice and then they will either follow suit or become resentful that the others are getting away with bad behavior which contributes to office drama that no one wants to deal with. Bad behaviors have a way of affecting everyone – all the way down the line to your patients.

Our suggestion would be to sit down with your team and explain to them what the rules are and what your expectations are. Discuss with your team the office policy on cell phone usage or any other “issue” you may be dealing with in the office. Ask for their input and if it is in line with your philosophy, put it in your office policy and have everyone sign off on it. This way they contributed to the policy and not only have more buy-in but also are all very aware of the rules and more importantly the consequences.[/mepr-active]