Drama in the office? Here’s how to restore harmony to your practice

Summary : In an ideal world, your staff would get along effortlessly, work hard towards common goals, and leave the drama at the door. In reality, working closely in a small team means that the occasional conflict is inevitable, especially in a challenging profession like dentistry. But what happens when those occasional disagreements become frequent clashes? Left unchecked, the interpersonal conflict will send your staff fleeing and your stress levels soaring. In serious cases, patient satisfaction and safety can suffer. Here, we discuss why, when, and how the dentist-owner should step in to restore harmony to the office.  

The consequences of conflict

When drama rears its ugly head, the entire team suffers. As dentists told Septodont in a recent survey, interpersonal conflict dramatically affects how they feel about their work-life and environment, even when they’re not directly involved.

According to a 2018 article in the Dimensions of Dental Hygiene journal, conflict in the dental team is shown to reduce employee efficacy, productivity, and performance, negatively impacting patient care as a result. Further, poorly managed conflict is directly correlated with stress, sickness, and poor job satisfaction.

When there’s a conflict between staff members, they’ll often put on a professional front for patients. However, patients can and do pick up on the subtle signs, like stiff body language, stilted conversation, impatience, and irritation. Even if their care isn’t compromised, patients can be made to feel uncomfortable and anxious by such displays.

By leaving the conflict to fester, a dentist risks-high staff turnover, absenteeism, poor performance, low patient satisfaction, reduced revenue, and, in the worst cases, safety and legal implications. So how can you put a stop to this and bring harmony back to your practice?

Prevention is the best cure

This doesn’t just apply to oral health! It’s easier to prevent conflict than it is to manage it, so try the following steps to create a drama-free environment. 

1.     Involve your staff in hiring decisions

Conflict can sometimes result from a poor cultural fit, with employees having different working styles or attitudes towards the job. It can be hard to gauge this in an interview when people are trying to project a certain image, so consider inviting prospective hires to work a few days at the office.

A trial run will give you the chance to see how well they work within your current team and how they respond to the challenges of your practice. You can then ask your staff for their feedback before you make a decision.

2.     Communicate expectations clearly

When it comes to acceptable interpersonal behavior, everyone has their own standards. Conflict often arises when an employee, knowingly or unknowingly, falls short of the standards expected by their employer or team.

From the beginning, set out the minimum behavioral standards you expect from an employee. Include them in contracts, reiterate them in formal workplace policies, and have your staff review and sign them periodically.

Make it clear that some lines cannot be crossed, like aggression, bullying, and discrimination. You may also wish to include things like discussing conflicts in front of a patient or failing to report certain incidents to a superior.

Don’t just tell them what not to do, though. Set out how you expect conflicts to be resolved and signpost any resources in place to support staff through the process.

3.     Create positive working conditions

An unhappy working environment is a breeding ground for office conflict, with staff taking out their frustrations on each other. 

You can’t eliminate all stress from the dental environment, but you can make sure that your employees know how much you value and respect them. Don’t assume it’s obvious to them, even if it is to you! Make a conscious effort to communicate it whenever you can by:

• Recognizing and rewarding hard work and commitment.
• Asking for input and ideas on the things that affect them.
• Giving them opportunities to lead, learn and grow.
• Being considerate of their personal lives, especially as they continue to work through the pandemic.
• Creating opportunities for relationship building outside of the stressful work environment, e.g. team events and lunches.
• Innovating in patient care and being an employer they can be proud to work for.

4.     Foster a culture of collaboration

In an individualistic work culture, each employee is a “team of one”, focused on their own goals and their own successes. When interests collide, conflict is inevitable. That’s why we recommend actively fostering a collaborative team environment, where everyone is working together on a shared goal that benefits them, the business, and the patients.

Dental professionals tell us time and again that being able to improve their patients’ quality of life is the most rewarding part of the job. Unite your team around this common goal with a clearly defined, measurable project focused on improving the patient experience.

Hold regular project sessions where team members can share their progress, making sure to highlight and reward examples of a great collaboration. Encourage people to share any challenges or obstacles, too, and brainstorm solutions as a team.

Pain management is one of the most influential factors in a patient’s dental experience, making it an excellent focus for a shared project. Septodont provides world-leading pain management products for every stage of the patient experience, as well as educational tools and resources to help you and your team become experts in pain management.

Managing conflict in your dental practice

Despite your best efforts, some degree of interpersonal conflict is inevitable. Here, we discuss when to intervene.

1.     Proactively encourage conflict resolution

Create opportunities for staff to resolve conflict before it escalates. For example, if you have regular team meetings, you might consider setting aside some time to discuss problems and collectively work towards solutions.

Privately, you could initiate informal monthly chats or implement an open-door policy, where staff can talk to you (or a designated manager) about interpersonal and other workplace concerns.

If an employee raises an issue with you, in a meeting or privately, never make them feel like they’re wasting your time or speaking out of turn. They may not feel confident reporting future concerns, leaving you in the dark about potentially serious issues. 

2.     Lead by example

Conflict isn’t always between employees. When an employee is unhappy with you or another senior member of staff, it can be very difficult for them to speak up, even to the most approachable of bosses. Instead, they may vent their frustration via passive-aggressive behavior, insubordination, or poor work performance. This can cause conflict with the rest of the team and compromise patient care.

Explicitly communicate to your employees that you hold yourself to a high standard, too, and that you would welcome their honesty if any problems arise. If an employee does approach you with a grievance, listen without defensiveness, own any mistakes, and set out how you’ll resolve the issue. In doing so, you’ll convey respect for your staff and stop resentment in its tracks.

3.     Catch problems early

We tell our patients that catching an oral health problem early prevents serious complications later. The same applies to interpersonal office conflicts. You tell yourself you’re too busy, it seems trivial, and it’ll work itself out. The next thing you know, your team is at war and your best employees are threatening to leave.

You don’t have time to play referee all day, there’s no doubt about that. And some potential conflicts do indeed fizzle out by themselves. But if you observe any problematic behaviors or interactions that might indicate a problem, don’t be tempted to ignore them. Keep a close eye on the situation and, if you observe it more than a couple of times, step in and deal with it there and then.

4.     Don’t distance yourself

When the office leadership is seen to distance themselves from conflict, two things happen:

• Staff feels that they’re not supported and may look elsewhere.
• Difficult employees are empowered to continue problematic behavior.

As the employer, you can prevent this by taking a visible and active role in conflict resolution. When a problem comes to your attention, spend a few minutes with each party, ask if you can do anything to help, and check in later to assess if any further action is needed.

In many cases, simply knowing that a situation is on the boss’s radar is enough to discourage problematic behavior and motivate people to reach a solution. However, if a conflict looks to be escalating, consider holding a more formal mediation session. (Dentistry IQ offers a detailed guide to facilitating a mediation session between your dental staff here.)

5.     Provide formal training

Frustratingly, you sometimes find that your most competent staff are the source of most of your office conflict; the brilliant dental hygienist who constantly rubs her colleagues the wrong way, or the diligent assistant who can’t handle criticism.

While they may be highly skilled at their jobs, some employees haven’t been taught how to communicate effectively or resolve conflict. If they don’t know better, they can’t do better, so consider providing training to help your staff develop these core skills.

6.     Look out for common denominators

Sometimes, conflict is simply down to a bad attitude – somebody who doesn’t do their fair share, gossips behind their colleagues’ backs, or loves to push other employees around. These people can create a toxic culture and drive great employees away.

If you find that the same name keeps coming up, don’t be tempted to go off your own impression of this person. Problem employees are usually on their best behavior in front of the boss, so take your employees at their word, observe this person closely, and take action if necessary.

Cost-benefit analysis

You may not be thrilled at the idea of getting involved in the interpersonal fallouts of your staff. However, if you’re reading this article, chances are you’re already being burdened with team conflict. The more we ignore it, the worse it becomes, the harder it is to fix, and the more severe the consequences. By accepting conflict as a fact of life, taking the lead, and investing a little time to manage it in the earlier stages, you can save yourself a world of difficulty further down the line. Your team, your patients, and your business will thank you for it.