Your employees can be a gold mine for ideas that can bring your clinic to new heights of operational efficiency, productivity, and performance – including ideas on outreach to patients and on how to better market and communicate the merits of your practice to others in your community. And there may be no better time than now to gather and benefit from the varied and valued perspectives all around you; in its 2025 Survey of Oral Health Care Providers, Statistics Canada reports that three out of every four practices surveyed faced at least one operational challenge.
Eighty per cent of those surveyed also expressed concern over staffing (issues related to the recruitment and retention of skilled employees). Your employees are your “best asset”; however, they can also be an important asset when it comes to providing fresh and much-needed insights into areas that challenge your office’s productivity and profitability and limit its potential. By engaging with your staff in this manner, you can also have a positive impact on your ability to attract and retain the right talent. You begin to establish yourself as a practice that listens to and cares about what its team thinks.
When new dental professionals move to the area or want to make a change, they will think of your practice in a positive light. Additionally, your existing top talent will feel heard and seen. Employees are less likely to consider leaving your office (or even the industry) when they feel valued and when there is an open line of communication. The engagement fostered by this process also contributes favourably to employees’ sense of purpose. Not only is fostering this connection to one’s practice and profession personally fulfilling to each employee, but there is also a compelling business case, as Gallup researchers cited a 4.4% increase in profitability and an 8.1% decrease in turnover when surveyed workplaces experienced a 10% improvement in their employees’ overall connection to the organization’s mission or purpose.
Related: Operational efficiency and authentic leadership are reshaping the future of dentistry
How you ask is important
And, even if you have a small team, it is still important to regularly brainstorm and solicit ideas from members of your team for several reasons within a structured framework. This doesn’t mean you need an exhaustive “survey.” It means that you have some structure or a more formal way to solicit information. Otherwise, informal methods of occasionally requesting opinions or ideas lack a system for measuring and tracking the feedback.
As we always say, metrics support mastery and yield results, as they provide the organization with the necessary tools to prioritize its strategies and ultimately track its progress in specific areas. You may also identify patterns associated with strengths and weaknesses within your organization or organizational imperatives. These patterns can help you to better identify those changes that are worth implementing, and to also “triage” those changes, so you are addressing more emergent matters first.
Additionally, without some structure in place, these efforts may not be taken with the seriousness that they deserve.
We have highlighted why regularly gathering insights from your team should be taken seriously, as well as points to keep in mind when making your “asks.”
- Inspires the trust that supports sustained employee engagement. In the context of dentistry and healthcare, engagement refers to professionals actively and positively contributing to their normal working roles to maintain and enhance the organisation’s performance, which in turn supports and encourages only the highest-quality patient care. Engagement, regardless of industry, consistently supports improved patient relationships, enhanced productivity, reduced absenteeism, market resilience, and a culture of innovation and problem-solving (among many other benefits).
- Provides qualitative information and diverse perspectives to drive smart decision-making – The insights you derive effectively “enlists” your team members in the decision-making process. By actively acquiring ideas and suggestions, you can then run with them, and your employees will be motivated every time they see their ideas being implemented and “in action.” This is the antidote to “inaction fatigue,” which occurs when employees do not feel responses shared from surveys are used to make meaningful change.
- For maximum impact – Mind your survey design and content. You may choose to brainstorm questions for your employees in the lead-up to a major project or initiative. Or, your questions may address an ongoing challenge or pressing need. Ensure that the questions are open-ended/generate concrete and quality feedback that can then be used to make meaningful changes. Word your questions clearly, so there is little room for interpretation. Follow-up is also exceedingly important, firstly to ensure that you receive a good response to your survey, and secondly, to get a feel for which questions and survey method resonated most with your employees. To make this input process a part of your healthy workplace culture, it is essential to understand what is effective and areas for improvement, which can then be used the next time you engage with your staff through surveys.
Surveys can vary dramatically based on your workforce composition and clinic needs and goals. However, all clinics, regardless of their workforce size and needs, can benefit from the qualities associated with the seemingly simple act of engaging or reengaging with their staff. Truly transformative ideas may otherwise never have been shared if not for your giving the team the opportunity and “permission” to share their most honest, authentic, and even audacious goals and suggestions.
About the Author:
Naren Arulrajah is the president and chief executive officer of Ekwa Marketing, a company that has specialized in digital marketing for medical and dental professionals for more than a decade. If you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing results, call 855-598-3320 for a free strategy session with Naren. You may also schedule a session at your convenience with the Senior Director of Marketing – Lila.