While this will likely evolve, chrisad’s recruiting department currently tells us that job offers by employers at pre-COVID
compensation levels were largely ignored by prospective employees. “Why would I go to work for $200 more per month…when I can sit at home in my pajamas, go on FACEBOOK… & get paid the same by the government??”
In all cases…worldwide…when a business wants an employee to achieve higher goals, those goals are more likely to be achieved or exceeded as the employee knows ahead of time & with CERTAINTY that they will earn more for doing so.
On the other hand, as employees are asked to accomplish tasks that are difficult, uncomfortable or inconvenient, IF NO
INCENTIVE IS OFFERED, employees will almost always (very quietly) SABOTAGE these agendas… & DAMAGE THE
PRACTICE! Yes, YOUR office as well!!
This death of the Work Ethic appears to be more prevalent in the western world than in the developing world…where I am now (rural India) as I write this section. In the developing world there is usually no governmental safety net of unemployment insurance, social security, bail out funds or similar.
10
The “TIGER” running is after them, & he is on their tail! You lose your job & you will suffer: You are out on the streets.
A friend of mine, who is the founder/chairman of a major worldwide Indian corporation, recently suggested that, “With my native Indian workers, I am worried that they work TOO
MUCH! I have to tell them to slow down.”
Unfortunately, this is certainly NOT the case in the most U.S. & worldwide markets where we care for our valued clients!
People reading this whose families…or they personally…come from the developing world…frequently intuitively expect that Western employees (from U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand & others) will have the same work ethic as do those workers in their native land.
They’ll soon find out…the HARD WAY…that this is
ABSOLUTELY NOT the case!!!
Extraordinary individuals…particularly those with accounting, finance or similar backgrounds…oftentimes struggle to understand the value of incentives. HOWEVER, properly configured, INCENTIVES cause WONDERFULLY POSITIVE
& SOMETIMES UNIMAGINABLE outcomes that would NOT
have otherwise occurred.
In other words, an accountant or bookkeeper typically views numbers in the rear view mirror: They cannot understand nor quantify the production/sales declines that would have occurred had an incentive NOT been initiated!
The world isn’t always the way that we want it to be…or perhaps what we may believe it is. But it is what it is & we must deal with it.
Interestingly, many individuals…who were raised in various international & domestic cultures…where employee job 11
classification compensation levels are deeply stratified…tend to want to keep a given employee at the compensation level “where they are supposed to be.”
They believe that paying an employee more than this normative level screws up the system!
HOWEVER, we must consider the steep price that a practice will pay for maintaining this sedentary point of view.
For example…if staff quietly blocks or “empties out” weekend or evening hygiene patients (this regularly occurs) because the amount they are paid to work those prime time hours is (in their mind) INSUFFICIENT to offset their inconvenience…the practice will commonly lose millions of dollars worth of these BEST PRIME TIME PATIENTS.
On the other hand, they could have incentivized employees to offer & fill these PRIME slots with ONLY a few thousand dollars of tightly targeted incentives. Pay out pennies…get back thousands!
So who cares if your hygienists earn $150,000 a year if they saw 150–200 patients a month… & a (average hygiene exam value) $880 exam was performed on each?
Do the math.
So what if an office manager is paid $300,000 a year if he/she helped grow & manage the practice from $1 million a year to $7
million a year???
As mentioned, I began aggressively studying the concept of bonuses & incentives over three decades ago. My original intent was not merely to help our clients…but to figure out a way to help our own company enjoyably grow while fairly distributing the fruits of our collective labor to our valued employees.
I knew I could not do it alone.
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I spent years interviewing many hundreds of clients’ staff regarding their current incentive systems.
I found that those incentive plans that were based on some sort of profit as a target were generally laughed at by staff as being easy to manipulate. Monthly alterations made by the doctor/practice owner were generally viewed as greedy manipulations.
Many plans were written by accountants & presented in too complex & fatally confusing accounting language. Many staff were discouraged because they never received bonuses when they thought they should.
Surprisingly, many staff did not even know they had an incentive plan…when they in fact did. Others were discouraged because the goal was never attained. And much more!
Again, a properly configured incentive system can be your best managerial system. Who needs a bunch of managers?
A great incentive system DRIVES better BEHAVIOR!
In graduate school, I worked as a waiter. I was amazed at how more efficiently other waiters worked to please their customers with the hopes of receiving a proportionately greater tip! There was no need to have a supervisor breathing down my back!
If I made the customers happy, I’d make more money! The tip incentive system was a GREAT managerial system.
What if your staff knew they would make more money in direct proportion to how well they exceed your BEST patients’
expectations & grew your practice? Would you need micromanagement? Would you even need an office manager?
The following recommendations are based on our company’s unprecedented daily in-office incentive related experience with thousands of dental offices, in multiple nations, all states & most provinces over the past four-plus decades.
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Our conclusions are further supported by extensive research & study… & our own experience managing chrisad to four-plus decades of quarterly growth (with $0 debt)…even during numerous past catastrophic recessions & other economic calamities (except during the crazy COVID period).
Based on preliminary conclusions, I wrote the first version of this book three decades ago. All properly configured academic studies worldwide… & all data at chrisad (including monitoring around 20,000 client staffs’ behaviors over many decades)…suggest that properly executed incentives produce a WONDERFUL, POSITIVE & quantifiable outcome that otherwise would not have occurred!!
IMPORTANT: Staff will rarely tell you that they would be or were influenced by an incentive.
However, it pays to “follow the money”… & quantify what they DO…while downplaying what they SAY!!!
Usually the staff that (arrogantly?) most aggressively suggest that incentives are not important to them…are the ones that are influenced the MOST by incentives!!!!
In a general sense, to understand the role of incentives, one must examine statistical trend lines. Properly configured incentives CAUSE a positive deviation from a pre-existing trendline trajectory.
For example, a business determines that their “widget” sales trend-line… at $100 each…is one sale; per a day. Without exception in the Western business world, if this business provides an incentive of say $5 more per the second “widget” sold per day…more widgets will be sold AFTER the $5 incentive is inserted.
If the amount is meaningful for the target employee… & properly managed…the result is always greater…after the incentive has 14
been inserted. Of course, business profitability must be always considered. Profit must be pre-calculated to significantly increase AFTER more “widgets” are sold & employees receive increased incentives.
No incentive is perfect. And many clients are concerned that contests & incentives can be gamed. However, in reality, a properly configured incentive can’t be gamed by much.
AND yes, contests & incentives can cause money-focused, financially aggressive activity…but all this can be & should be managed.
Wouldn’t you rather have a contest that might be gamed a bit… & get staff off their tails…than flatlining or suffering 10–20%
DECLINE???
We understand people who cannot accomplish goals related to contests are frustrated by these contests & generally don’t enjoy them… & might criticize them.
But a deeper issue is UNDERSTANDING & CORRECTING
THE FUNDAMENTAL REASON WHY some can’t accomplish
their incentive-based goals & enjoy rewards!!! Did the practice owner/manager provide the tools for success? This is a never give up situation where we must continually fine tune & further perfect your incentive system!
Again, the world isn’t always the way that we want it to be…or perhaps what we may believe it is. But it is what it is & we must deal with it.
Properly configured, incentives lead to AMAZINGLY
OUTSTANDING outcomes that otherwise would not have occurred. This is UNIVERSALLY true in our business, our clients’ businesses… & with all businesses in the world!
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1. Spectacular Incentive-Fueled
Growth, Prosperity… & Peace of
Mind…That Wouldn’t Have
Otherwise Occurred!
How many huge corporations do you know that do NOT have some form of an incentive system? In fact, most got as big as they are at least in part BECAUSE of their incentive system! But how do you properly & optimally apply the proven powerful principles of incentives & bonuses to YOUR dental practice?
Your properly configured incentive system will stimulate enjoyable growth that otherwise would likely not have occurred!
A great incentive compensation system is an ethically correct way of stimulating & proportionately rewarding positive staff behavior…particularly when managers or the doctor-owner are away from the operatory, traveling with their family…or relaxing in the Bahamas!
The larger you grow, the more impossible it will be to micromanage every aspect of your staff’s behavior.
However, if everybody in your office is properly incentivized to work in the same direction, it is more likely that more substantial growth will occur. We cannot push a rope uphill!!!
Without such an incentive…or with improperly configured incentives…teams will be more likely to “row the boat” in different directions… & a pinwheel effect will occur…causing practice stagnation, discord & declines!
A great staff incentive system is defined by being SO SIMPLE
that everybody in your office understands it & can explain it in a sentence or two… & that all staff members know exactly where 16
they stand on an hourly & daily basis…regarding the SPECIFIC
additional bonus DOLLAR amount that will appear in their upcoming paycheck.
The amount PAID must be VERY MEANINGFUL FOR THE
EMPLOYEE. (This amount varies from marketplace to marketplace.)
DAILY INCENTIVE PROGRESS must be made instantly
understandable via break room charts (updated hourly or daily!) so that the staff can immediately predict & project exactly how much MORE money they’ll CERTAINLY make at the end of the month!
Incentive-tracking systems that are hidden in desktop computer or iPhone application screens are super risky.
Make it easy on staff to know how they are doing. IT MUST BE
IN THEIR FACE!! No points of interruption or friction!! Make it easy on your staff… & they will make it easy on you.
The reason why we say to put the progress graphs up in your lunchroom is that it is UNAVOIDABLE, in their face & clearly updated every day.
A desktop computer or iPhone screen is usually hidden, can be easily ignored…or may be confusing.
Staff cannot switch off, avoid or miss a break room wall digital/electronic or hand-drawn white board graph! It is impossible to avoid understanding their current monthly progress…even as they eat their donuts!
An outstanding incentive system WILL NEVER upset even the most conservative of accountants.
It pays ONLY IF… & AFTER…the practice has grown… &
earned 10–20x more money…in one or more of the critical incentive areas. How can they complain?
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The beauty of the Rolling Average-based systems outlined in this paper is that it NEVER presents a drastic, unreasonable or unattainable goal! Since it is an average of past performance, the goal amount has always inherently been met in the recent past!
With rolling average-based systems, your staff is inherently never asked to exceed a goal that has not been recently attained!
EXTREMELY FAIR!
Staff motivation has proven to be very subtle & subconsciously based! Great incentive systems are a significant morale-booster!
Your staff will magically work even harder… & with more optimal focus…but only when they know ahead of time & with certainty they will receive proportionately more money for doing so!
Your office will likely become instantly more focused, invigorated, self-directed… & you will have a greater peace of mind while you are away from the practice for a day, week or year. Staff members will more promptly bring weaker team members up to speed…or these weak link employees will be more rapidly spit out of the practice!
The most common & long-proven Rolling Average systems (explained below) use an average of highs & lows in three key practice performance areas…over the previous three months…to encourage enjoyable growth.
It encourages staff ownership of the practice… & fosters a spirit of teamwork & involvement! Staff will usually start to proactively make suggestions as to how everybody can more efficiently attain goals!
With this system, the “manipulative & greedy” doctor-owner is not seen by staff as involved in the goal-setting process: It is completely transparent, independent, open & honest. The new monthly goals are AUTOMATICALLY determined by past actions of the office & staff! NOT THE OWNER-DOCTOR!
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Remember, with this Rolling Average system, bonuses are only paid out AFTER you grow above current production component levels.
If you properly maintain your incentive system, a year from now staff can be shooting for a goal that (for instance) exceeds a rolling average “foundation” baseline that is 30% higher...or even higher…than it is today!
Per the above example, the 30% growth that occurs during the year should be proportionately more profitable for any practice owner.
Any future bonuses are only paid as the practice skyrockets above this 30% foundation level…toward 40% growth ( & so on)…versus when the incentive system was initiated! As costs (other than these incentives paid out) are properly contained, this is even more profitable…for the staff, as well as the doctor-owner!
But remember, had you not initiated this incentive system, you likely would NOT have enjoyed that 30% foundation level of growth…or maybe any growth at all!
Many of our properly incentivized practices grow by many millions of dollars per year. We do not believe that these extraordinary growth levels would have been achieved in the absence of the optimal incentive systems outlined herein.
This suggested Rolling Average system is like a perpetual motion machine that continues to automatically push everybody far, far ahead & reward them along the way. Here too, there really are No Limits.
So what did you envision your practice would be like when you were graduating from dental school? Or when you first decided to become a dentist? Do you really want to grow? Are you prepared for a positive practice transformation? What did you believe the limits of a practice were? What did you think a great practice 19
would look like? How much money did you think you would make? How much money did you think your staff would make?
It is a wonderful new world now. Take advantage of it! These opportunities may not be around for long!
A great dental practice incentive system is a fundamental component of a practice that exceeds your wildest expectations… & your most optimistic dreams!
This incentive system…working in concert with your chrisad marketing…will help catapult your practice WAY BEYOND any
“next level.”
There will be less need to micromanage…less quiet staff sabotage…. & you can vacation or take days away from the office with the confidence that staff will be motivated by their incentive system to do the right thing!
Is your practice glass half empty…or half full? If you have not yet adopted a perspective of prosperity, please do! Please shift your thinking to one of expansion, prosperity & growth!
Here’s an example of the way we ask you to think about your incentive-related opportunity: What does it matter if you pay out $7,000/month in bonuses if the practice owner grows by $100,000/month… & there was no other way this growth would have occurred? This still represents a net gain of $93,000 that otherwise would not have occurred!
Again, who cares if the office manager is (for example) paid $300,000 a year if he/she helped grow the practice to the point where the doctor-owner is PERSONALLY paid $3
million/year… & the practice value was similarly increased?
Please adopt a new way of thinking! Embrace a perspective of putting into play elements to encourage, stimulate & reward staff for causing your growth & prosperity!
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CHANGE IS GOOD! In order to have a different outcome, you must make changes that will cause a different result to occur.
The norms of practice mediocrity must be shocked, shaken & upgraded! Chrisad marketing alone can certainly help…but it is a lot easier when staff are pushing for growth…rather than subtly sabotaging & fighting it!
Many clients believe they cannot afford to pay their staff a bonus. However, it is the other way around!!
The reason they might be currently in a new-patient or production slump, be declining or be short of cash is…maybe subtly…but DIRECTLY tied to the fact that they had NOT paid bonuses in the past!
AGAIN BEWARE: Without proper incentives, virtually all staff is quietly SABOTAGING your practice.
The practice must break the chain of this dangerously flawed stagnant compensation protocol… & immediately correct the course of the ship! Your practice can be whatever you want it to be. Your current practice can evolve into a much more prosperous & enjoyable level in the immediate future.
If you are not growing at a rate that satisfies you, please remember to avoid pointing fingers: The primary factor is usually NOT the economy…or your local marketplace. It is NOT the competition!!!
Your true opportunity lies in how you ADOPT to your evolving marketplace.
Your staff is typically not the problem…the issue is how YOU
manage them!
In reality, the path your practice takes is a byproduct of your managerial skills. Similarly, your staff’s behavior is a key product of your managerial prowess. Your staff will significantly affect the patient-consumer’s behavior.
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From an objective perspective, your dental practice staff typically is exposed to potential new & existing patients…over the phone & in-office…10–20x more often than any doctor…or most office managers.
The patient’s impression of your office is largely a byproduct of their various encounters with your staff & /or their actions.
Doesn’t it make sense to do whatever it takes to keep staff happy & engaged so they might optimize these critical marketing touchpoints of patient-contact?
If your non-incentivized staff has a subtle chip on their shoulders…or blatantly aren’t doing what they are supposed to…they will LEAVE A NEGATIVE IMPRESSION & make life very rough for you & your patients.
HOWEVER, conversely, if the patient’s in-office consumer experience exceeds their wildest expectations, life will be a great deal better for you! (NOTE: Chrisad studies document that relative clinical excellence is rarely perceived…nor generally understood…by the patient.)
IMPORTANT: A practice should generally NOT rely on awarding arbitrary & subjective hourly wage or salary increases.
Traditional arbitrary & expected annual hourly or salary raises or cost-of-living increases (etc.) are in no way exactingly tied to performance.
Rather than place the employee’s raise at the discretion of their manager’s (usually subjective & sometimes socially motivated) evaluation…the following recommended Rolling Average system more directly & proportionately ties the employee’s earnings to their objective performance!
In addition, in some cases…rather than grant an hourly
“rais…managers frequently give key staff members increased incremental bonus amounts. For example, if a given staff person 22
were receiving $5 per new patient above the rolling average, the practice could raise that amount to $7 for this key employee.
This is the right thing to do! From an ethical perspective, shouldn’t staff prosper in direct proportion to their positive actions that lead to better patient care & practice growth?
If your staff stimulates 30% growth this year, you should feel very good about paying them a percentage of that growth! They deserve it! You should look forward to writing them a BIGGER
check! This Rolling Average system automatically & predictably rewards them. Please remember…without this incentive, the growth probably would not have occurred!
As we passionately care for you…our valued chrisad clients…I believe that we are doing you a grave disservice if we fail to make you aware of these new opportunities that are well within your grasp.
The truth is that there are absolutely no limits to any & all practices’ growth… & the senior doctor-owner doesn’t need to be in the office or chair every day…or every week…or even once a month!
With these incentive systems, anything is possible. Many clients who have mastered these principles no longer live in the same state or nation as their practice.
Many hundreds of chrisad practices are prospering at great levels without the doctor-owner in the chair.
However, this occurs far more efficiently as the doctor-owner evolves into being an ever-progressing & improving practice manager.
There are no limits!
What if Sam Walton viewed his retail opportunities as being limited to his one small Arkansas Variety Store? What if Ingvar 23
Kamprad was satisfied with selling matchsticks in southern Sweden…rather than founding IKEA? What if Steve Jobs was satisfied tinkering with electronics in his garage workshop?
Dedicating yourself to the highest level of practice managerial skill possible is a path well worth taking.
By reading & applying in your practice a dozen or so amazingly valuable business books (listed in chrisad’s list of recommended reading), you can quickly catapult your business & practice managerial skills to a level exceeding a typical MBA graduate.
In fact, many of our clients who have taken this path… & who are now earning more money & caring for more patients…while spending less (if any!) time in the chair…tell us that the path to becoming a great dental manager was far more rewarding & enjoyable than their becoming a great dental clinician.
But even the great incentive systems outlined below will not by themselves optimally propel an otherwise mismanaged practice…any more than chrisad marketing can sell desirable appointments that do not exist…or otherwise surpass what the patient-consumer views as the practice’s “closed door.”
These incentive & compensation systems are not “set & forget”!
They must be continually managed, monitored & fine-tuned.
However, a viable practice incentive system is a key, fundamental component of the practice growth & prosperity process.
It can elevate the practice to a point where daily staff micromanagement is less likely to be required…perhaps with fewer managerial staff… & can allow the senior doctor-owner to take more time off…while ethically & proportionately increasing practice… & staff…income levels!
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Work Ethic… & You Cannot
Push a Rope Uphill!
To repeat, anybody who assumes an idealistic “Pollyanna”
perspective…that the good-hearted work ethic of employees is enough to sustain your business…has a huge & VERY NASTY
shock coming!
Most staff are honest & hard-working. They mean well & are good people…but WILL ABSOLUTELY hop on
FACEBOOK…or file their nails…as soon as you turn your head…or leave to go into the operatory. It’s only human nature.
You may find a rare exception where you will encounter a dedicated employee who will work diligently without incentive-based compensation. But would they work even harder… & with more optimal focus…if they received more money for doing so?
Usually they will.
During the past few periods of economic hardship (economic recessions), too many of our clients have unfortunately taken the following fatally flawed attitude: “Staff can’t get another job anyway…so they BETTER do what they are supposed to do & what I tell them to do…or else!”
But under these oppressive conditions, will staff perform at 110%?
When the “big case” emergency call comes in at the end of their day, are you aware that the patient was told to call back on Monday…if the call was picked up at all?
As we have suggested…in law, marketing & management…it pays to statistically document what people DO… & listen far less to what they SAY. In fact, your staff’s QUIETLY suppressed 25
animosity can lead to them either consciously…or unconsciously…stabbing you in the back subtly & sabotaging your practice…the minute you turn away.
A tale of two practices: The following two real-life scenarios serve to illustrate the extraordinary difference that a great practice incentive system makes:
EXAMPLE A: A Tale of a Practice WITH a Great Incentive System: The following scenario is very typical: We’ll walk into a practice & are treated like heroes. Staff are smiling, laughing & gleefully telling me how well they are doing. Recently, a hygienist pointed to HER shiny new BMW in the parking lot & said,
“Thanks a lot! I got that car because chrisad helped us do so well with our bonus plan.” They market aggressively, rarely score lower than all As on their Secret Shoppers… & staff regularly ask how they can do better. Are you surprised to know this was another of our many practices that regularly enjoys $1 million-plus growth year over year?
EXAMPLE B: A Tale of a Practice WITHOUT a Great Incentive System: On the other hand, we’ll walk into another practice & be treated like the bad guys…unwanted INVADERS
who stirred up all the commotion. We’re the marketing jerks who try to make them work harder for the same pay. Their Secret Shopper grades are rarely higher than Cs… & they resist making changes that will allow the practice to prosper because, they erroneously claim, “this market is different & that won’t work here!” But frequently there is a rapidly growing practice PROPERLY configured like “A” (above) not far away! It is likely that the real reason they resist making the advantageous changes is that it will cause them to work harder with no increase in compensation. There are no smiles. They continue to look down when patients walk in or by them in the hall. Even though they are marketing aggressively & the doctor-owner says that he wants to grow…their (after marketing) growth is only a small fraction of 26
their true potential & far less than the practice outlined in example “A” above!
The only difference in these two practices is that one has a great Rolling Average incentive/bonus system ( & other incentives) & the other doesn’t.
We are ABSOLUTELY confident that the growth outlined in
“A” above… & so many others like it would ABSOLUTELY NOT
have occurred if it were not for the bonus system.
And the stunted growth discussed in example “B” would have been growth & prosperity with the inclusion of a great bonus system.
The MAJOR FACTOR is NOT your patients, your marketplace or your local economy…it is how you adapt to it!
The above radically diverse practice growth trajectories & trends have become so pronounced over the decades…with so few exceptions…that we want to ensure you are aware of how to initiate a great incentive system in your practice…or improve your existing bonus system.
3. Potential Failures of Your Practice
Incentive System:
No incentive system is perfect. Even the following long-proven, tried & true incentive systems may need to be adjusted over time for various reasons. There are a number of factors that have historically been documented to DESTROY even the best incentive systems. We want to make sure that you are aware of the most common of these & will be able to avoid these pitfalls: 27
a. Failure to PROACTIVELY & Properly Add Infrastructure, Staff &
Appointments That Are Required for
Practice to Grow… & for Staff to
Benefit From Their Incentive System:
If the practice fails to add desirable hygiene appointments, it usually can’t see more patients… &
as a result, sales are unlikely to increase! A practice can’t sell more appointments it does not have. Three-plus decades of practice observation tells us that penny wise & pound foolish managerial behaviors…that will restrict a practice’s ability to check more patients & properly grow…will also neuter most of the incentive systems outlined in this document.
So the role of the practice manager is to proactively, properly & regularly invest in more desirable (prime time hygiene) appointments.
It is a well-documented fact that the vast majority of western patients ABSOLUTELY can’t or won’t
accept mid-day, mid-week hygiene appointments.
These working or in-school weekend & evening hygiene patients have been documented to be the
BEST, highest producing patients…with better
jobs…with higher insurance maximums, lower copays
& larger INSURANCE amounts being paid directly to the practice.
Accordingly, evening & weekend hygiene (prime time) appointments must be PROACTIVELY &
abundantly added in order for any of the incentives 28
outlined herein to work. A practice cannot sustainably prosper solely on the basis of infrequent, ONE TIME larger cases or elevated clinical
approaches (full mouth, sleep, TMJ, cosmetic,
implants, etc.…even braces!!).
Ultimately there must be an always-increasing,
perpetually compounding number of new &
returning hygiene patients to check in hygiene in order for the number of these “big cases” (if there are any) & all clinical events to sustainably increase.
If you attracted 50 new patients this month, you
must PROACTIVELY add 50 prime time openings 6
months later for them to return into. This is on top of your past (6-plus months prior) normative hygiene flows.
IMPORTANT: You must ALSO ADD more
immediately available prime time hygiene
OPENINGS in order to allow a predictable flow of
NEW PATIENTS to flow in.
Any obstruction in these natural, marketing-driven new & returning patient flows interrupts the ability of staff to enjoy their bonuses. This is without regard to how diligently staff work. They cannot sell
additional appointments that they don’t have.
The number of emergency cases is declining in the western world.
As a result, almost all restorative ( & larger cases) come as a result of hygiene checks. The more prime time hygiene openings there are…the more BETTER
new patients that can be allowed in… & returning patients back…into hygiene.
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Unfortunately, (without regard to the type or amount of marketing) we have seen many hundreds of incentive plans FAIL as a result of the office NOT adding proper amounts of prime time
hygiene openings… & required staff to support these increases.
As a result, growth rates inherently decline or flatline.
Incentive rewards stop.
Staff is disenchanted. Extremely expensive staff turnover levels increase.
So in order to enjoy substantial perpetual practice growth & enjoy always happier, heavily incentivized staff, the practice must be prepared to perpetually invest in prime time hygiene…along with the doctors, hygienists & staff required to fuel it.
To not do so will inherently choke the ability for the practice to grow…while partially or wholly destroying the staff’s reward opportunities related to the
following incentive structures.
b. DON’T BE CHEAP! If Incentive
Incremental INCENTIVE DOLLAR
Amounts Are Too Low…No One
Will Care.
One shortcoming of the compensation/incentive
systems outlined in this otherwise valuable document is that chrisad cannot tell you EXACTLY what per
increment dollar bonus amount you should offer.
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While we will offer herein some generally acceptable amounts, the optimal amount in your office is case by case.
The employee’s behavior is the ultimate arbiter.
Think of it as you would an AUCTION!!!
The employee will communicate to you by their
actions or inactions if they are motivated & buy in…or not!.
Some local areas where we maintain clients have
average home prices of $5 million. In other areas the average house sells for $200,000…or less. Some
practices have 95% overhead or higher. Other
practices have 70% overhead or lower. Some client practices have three employees…others 300 or more!
While a practice must examine local conditions & practice overhead (your local chrisad Practice Growth Analyst will be happy to help) before announcing the incentive amount… & take all factors into consideration on a case-by-case basis…AGAIN,
arriving at the optimal amount is LIKE AN
AUCTION!!
If the amount that you have selected is too low, your team will NOT be motivated by your incentive plan.
They will VERY CLEARLY communicate this to you
by their lack of actions.
They are buying in…or NOT!
They may VERBALLY TELL YOU that the incentive
amount is wonderful or similar…but their actions are all that matter.
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When there is no incentive system…or the incentive system is improperly configured or reward amounts are TOO LOW…practice staff have been repeatedly documented to quietly SABOTAGE the practice.
This EXTREMELY COMMON SABOTAGE loss is
usually thousands of times MORE EXPENSIVE than
what would have been gained by offering a few bucks with a properly configured & more lucrative staff incentive.
Historically, the first appointments to be quietly BLOCKED, not offered or emptied out are the
appointments that staff naturally do not want to
work: The weekend & evening prime time appointments where the practice would have
otherwise enjoyed its greatest return on employee & marketing investment!
In my sometimes humble view, we all must take
GREAT PRIDE in the fact that your incentive system made your employees wealthier than they
might have otherwise imagined.
Being in a position to compensate employees
more…for their great work…is ethically correct. This proportionate increase in compensation is a great accomplishment on your part…something for you to
be very proud of!
But your incentive plan must be priced & configured such that for every dollar your team gains, you (the practice owner) are inherently rewarded (for example) with 10x more!
Staff win. You win.
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Before announcing your incentive, please run a number of incentive amount scenarios to ensure that your team will be adequately incentivized…while
YOU are rewarded at a much higher level (including profit)…in lockstep.
The incentive must be substantial & meaningful to your team.
Remember, you must assume that there is no work
ethic!
There is an (often culturally based) anecdotal & emotional notion with many practice owners that
staff in a certain job category should not be receiving more money than they had in the past, or more
money that is the norm locally…or that you think is correct or enough.
This restrictive mindset is ILLOGICAL &
SUICIDAL to practice growth… & will cause your incentive system to falter or fail…while the practice stagnates at best.
You may know of others…in different employee
marketplaces…or in the past…that offered employee compensation at lower levels…perhaps without
incentivization… & still grew & prospered.
If true (it commonly is NOT) that’s great for them.
But this approach is likely no longer appropriate TODAY…in your evolved marketplace…or anywhere.
We are physically in hundreds of practices in every U.S./Canadian ( & many other nations) every month.
We don’t find practices with underpaid & /or non-incentivized employees doing well
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ANYWHERE…certainly not as well as nearby practices with employees that are properly
incentivized are doing!
There may be various seminar speakers & consultants that brag about their amazing success.
But be aware, most of these occurred in isolated
markets or under unique circumstances & are rarely replicated.