As mentioned previously, a “warm body” is an employee who is physically there but who is not engaged.

That employee either doesn’t get it, doesn’t want it or can’t do it (or a combination of those three).

Management Time Under Short Supply

In every growing practice, management time and talent is frequently in short supply.

When you have these “warm bodies” walking around your practice in a zombie-like state, it takes up a lot of management’s time, effort and energy to keep them motivated.

Employees should “come with batteries included.” In other words, they should be self motivated. You want them to be at work, follow systems, and if they see something that doesn’t work, they’ll figure out how they can improve it.

Low Morale

When you have someone who is not performing at the level of other team members, it causes morale to suffer.

Other employees may soon say, “Well, if she gets away with X, Y and Z, then maybe I can, too.” It ends up bugging everyone. You won’t know it right away because the deterioration of morale starts slowly and eats its way in.

It becomes crystal clear when that “warm body” employee is let go because all of a sudden morale jumps. You’ll then realize that you didn’t have a real team member, you just had a “warm body.”

All in all, the “warm body” syndrome costs you a lot of time and money.

Handling “Warm Body” Issues

In our X Factor program, we’ll show you how to avoid hiring a “warm body.” If you already have a “warm body,” we’ll show you how to give that employee every development opportunity to grow. If you can’t get them to develop into a high-functioning team member, we’ll discuss the safest and most effective ways to make a separation.

Excerpted from The X Factor: How to Build Your Dental Dream Team