Learn why rethinking your office manager’s role as a true COO could be the key to unlocking smoother operations, stronger teams, and more time for what matters most—patient care.
By Roger P. Levin, DDS
When we began our research to develop a comprehensive office manager training program, we started by asking the question, “What should an orthodontic practice office manager actually do?”
The answer became obvious: office managers need to run the entire office. This means the office manager must oversee all day-to-day operations, have expertise in human resources and team development, and identify practice strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that they can be addressed.
This led us to develop the philosophy that the practice office manager should operate in the role of chief operating officer (COO), bridging the gap between a practice’s vision and its daily operational reality. The office manager, like any good COO, needs to translate strategy into measurable results and make sure everything runs smoothly.
Given the increasing complexity of running orthodontic practices, this is the only way that orthodontists can focus on patient care exclusively and experience an increase in starts, practice production, and profit on a steady basis. The orthodontic practice office manager should consider these key strategies for practice success:
- Delegation. Delegation is one of the most important aspects of managing an orthodontic practice as office managers cannot do their jobs if they are doing the tasks of other team members or micromanaging the team. The office manager must train the team to accept the delegation, handle and complete tasks, and apply measurements to those tasks. The manager should only be involved if there is a new challenge or issue.
- Measurement. As we have established, office managers should not do the work of others or micromanage. What they should do is determine which staff members can competently handle day-to-day operations and then spend time measuring results rather than directly managing. The key is to measure and be able to review results quickly to know if you are at a green, yellow, or red level. Green means you’re ahead of your goal; yellow means you’re on target with the goal; and red means you’re behind. If the majority of practice goals are at red, the office manager should provide the orthodontist with ideas for improvements. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be worried about 1 month of a red measurement. However, if you have 3 months of red then you are beginning to see a trend that needs to be addressed.
- Team Building. Office managers have a major role in growing team members. You want every team member to continually mature, becoming more knowledgeable in their jobs and be able to oversee even more tasks when necessary. You also want the office manager to help create a culture that is defined by the practice vision and mission. This is important because people with a purpose enjoy their work far more than those without one.
Orthodontists today are suffering from the mental fatigue of focusing on too many issues throughout the day that aren’t related to clinical patient care. The only solution is for office managers to be comprehensively trained to function as chief operating officers and manage all aspects of the practice other than clinical care. OP
Photo: ID 166008538 © Aleksandr Koltyrin | Dreamstime.com
Roger P. Levin, DDS is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on orthopractice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world. To contact Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit levingroup.com or email [email protected]
