If you don’t pay close attention negativity can creep into any organization. Dentistry isn’t an exception to that rule. Here are some ideas on how to actively maintain a positive workplace for your employees.

Institute Traditions:

• At my practice we start each of our meetings with “the positive focus”.
  • We each take a minute to go around and share one thing that’s going right in either or personal or our professional life. It’s a great way to motivate because people enjoy being around other positive people.
• A best practice used in other offices is the “collector card.”
  • In the morning meeting, employees can either give or receive what’s called a collector card. On these cards, employees write down how another team member went above and beyond in their work. You get a point when you either give or receive one of these cards. At the end of the month, whoever gets the most points wins a prize. This process encourages employees to acknowledge each other and be positive.

Lead by example:

• It can be truly inspiring to your employees if you can keep composure and positivity in the face of adversity. Under a hard-working dentist, the staff is proud to work side-by-side with someone who is not lazy, not just edging to get out, and is really in it for the patient. Setting an example is great motivation for the whole team to put in their A effort.

Value your employees even when they make mistakes:

• One office noticed that there were clerical errors in some of their paperwork. Meetings were held to bring these issue to everyone’s attention. Rather than fixing the issue, the meetings had the opposite effect. More mistakes started to occur. The employees, who were already working hard, became terrified of making any mistakes. Seeing what was happening the leadership changed their approach. They made sure employees felt that they were valued and appreciated. Everyone knew: “At the end of the day, even if everything isn’t perfect, if I’m trying to do the right thing, it will work out in the end.”

These are, of course, only a few examples of how to create a positive workplace. When this goal is embraced there are so many creative ways to bring it to reality. To all the dental professionals reading this, what has worked for best for you and your practice?