Employees' performance

I recently had the experience of being dealt with by a terrifyingly efficient  receptionist – outside of dentistry I hasten to add. Once I had completed my transaction I started to think about how I would rate her performance. I couldn’t fault her on her efficiency (I had got an appointment and been sent on my way in double quick time) but I realised that I came away feeling rather short-changed. It was nothing to do with her appointment-making ability – it was to do with the way she had treated me and her behaviour. Her hyper-efficient manner had made me feel as if I had been weighed in the balance and found wanting – and I certainly didn’t feel like a valued customer. How, I wondered, if I had been her manager, would I have managed her performance? 

Dental practices, as we all know, cannot function without people. The performance of a practice, its financial, clinical and business success is dependent entirely on the people who deliver the service at all levels. Their performance affects the practice’s performance, and so when we talk about managing performance there is a sound and compelling business reason for doing so. In considering performance we need to consider how well someone carries out their role; if someone is not pulling their weight in the team, because they are not doing their job well or even because they take a lot of time off sick, it will have a knock on effect on the whole practice,  and indeed on the bottom line.