Dental Huddle Ideas: How to Incorporate Morning Huddles into Your Practice
A dental huddle is a powerful tool for dental professionals to review patient cases and develop customized treatment plans. It can also provide a platform for collaboration and discussion between the dental team and can be used to review patient cases and develop effective treatment plans. During the huddle, the team can discuss any concerns and plan for future appointments. This can improve communication, increase patient satisfaction, and ensure the best care possible.
Additionally, dental huddles can be used to review practice protocols and guidelines, discuss team performance, and create a unified approach to patient care. With the right approach, dental huddles can be a powerful tool for improving patient care and enhancing the patient experience.
Are you interested in adding a huddle to your daily operations? We cover all you need to know about morning dental huddles, including nine fun dental ideas you should try.
What is a Morning Huddle at a Dental Office?
The purpose of a morning huddle is to ensure the entire team is on the same page. Doing so will make work more efficient and, in turn, improve the overall patient experience. Create a dental morning huddle template using our morning dental huddle topics and send a team-wide message with the agenda so that everyone is prepared for it.
As per the International Data Corporation (IDC), organizations with collaborative work environments will see 30% lower employee turnover, 30% higher revenue generated per employee, and 30% higher productivity by 2024. It is more important than ever to focus on the relationships between the team members and look at different activities that can help promote better relationships and improve productivity.
No business should underestimate the importance of a daily huddle. It can save time, engage employees, keep everyone updated and boost morale.
By huddles, we mean something other than a staff meeting. It should be a friendly, regular discussion for 15 to 30 minutes. Everyone should feel free to participate. There are three types of dental huddles:
- Daily huddle
- Weekly huddle
- Monthly huddle
Importance of Morning Huddles
One major aspect of a huddle is discussing key performance indicators. But the meeting is also a way to engage with the team about patients, achievements, and challenges. It is a way of building a healthy team dynamic. No matter the type of morning huddle at your dental office, it will serve multiple purposes.
Boosts Morale
The professional leading the morning huddle will set the mood for the rest of the day. This is why it is recommended to start the huddle with high energy and positivity to give the team members a boost. They will carry this energy with them throughout the day. When the leader expresses willingness and passion to help patients, it will inspire others to feel the same way.
Enhances Communication
Morning huddles can be a time for the team to communicate with one another. It will help them understand their coworkers and build stronger relationships. This will lead to the team members helping each other and solving problems faster.
Promotes Growth
Unique and engaging dental morning huddle ideas can create an environment of learning which allows new leaders to emerge and current leaders to hone their skills. Through the examination of past performance and setting new objectives, you will set up the business for consistent improvement. These meetings are a good way to see how the business is running, allowing you to get feedback and make the necessary adjustments.
Promotes Teamwork
A morning huddle is a chance for everyone to iterate on their role. Whether they directly deal with dental patients or handle administrative tasks, each department gets a chance to showcase something. Doing so will show coworkers what they do and how they can improve.
Whenever a team member has any concerns about the business goals, the entire team could get together and discuss ways to help them succeed. Through these morning huddles, you will be able to build a team that supports each other every step of the way.
9 Fun Dental Huddle Ideas
If you are looking for ideas to make morning dental huddles more engaging, here are a few fun morning huddle ideas you can use for inspiration.
1. Start with a fun brain teaser
A lot of us are not at our sharpest in the morning, so why not begin the morning huddle with a fun and thought-provoking brain teaser? It will set the right mood, foster team bonding, and will perk everyone up. It could be a viral math problem, a movie quote quiz, or maybe a game of hangman.
2. Get an adrenaline rush
If you have music lovers on your team, this is a great way to start the morning. One of the silliest yet seriously fun dental huddle ideas is to make the office your team’s stage and come together, lock hands and chant a slogan, sing a song or even dance!
Another way to get an adrenaline rush is to have a team relay race. This can be great for both physical and mental well-being. Divide your team into two or more groups and give them a list of physical and mental tasks to complete. You can even make it competitive and award a prize to the winning team.
3. Inspire with a motivational quote
The whole purpose of the dental morning huddle is to inspire the team and keep them connected. By sharing a motivational quote at the end of the huddle, you can give the last push to motivate them and take their performance to a higher level.
Ensure that the quotes focus on building stronger relationships with their patients. You can also provide tips on different ways to connect with the patients. If this connection is made, the team members can then have the courage to sell your services to them.
4. Start with a conversation
If you have a fairly new team and haven’t had a chance to engage with them personally, you can pick a few conversation starters. This will make it easier for the team members to talk to each other and learn more about their shared interests. Pick basic morning huddle questions everyone can answer. Examples include:
- What was the last app you used on your phone?
- What is your favorite movie?
- Where is your dream vacation destination?
5. Word of the Day
How about morning huddle games to get the day started?
Word of the day is a fun choice. The game is best played at the start of a work huddle. It can be used to inspire creativity and break the ice. To play, assign one person to be the “Word of the Day” host. The host picks a word that is unrelated to the day’s work agenda. This can be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.
The rest of the team then has to come up with a creative way to use the word in a sentence that relates to the day’s agenda. The team can take turns or all come up with ideas at the same time.
At the end of the game, the host can choose the most creative sentence and reward the team member with a small prize or recognition.
6. Talk about the day ahead
While it may not be possible to prepare for an emergency or have a schedule in advance, you can always talk about the production goals, marketing goals, and patients. Doing so will ensure that every member of the team is aligned. If there are gaps in the schedule, then make sure the team is aware of the same.
7. Appreciate team members
Another one of the top and highly successful dental huddle ideas is to praise a team member who went above and beyond in their duties. Highlighting a team member doing something really nice for another team member or a patient is also worthy of praise.
Appreciating team members for a job well done helps to build team morale and encourages everyone to do their best. Additionally, it helps to create a positive atmosphere in the office and helps to create a culture of hard work and excellence.
8. Team challenge
One of the most fun morning huddles ideas is planning a team challenge. Add a little excitement to the team huddle by creating a challenge for them. Offer a timeline for the team to complete it and set up new challenges each week.
Show the latest results at the start or end of the week to keep the team motivated. The challenge could involve business goals, or it could be something that motivates the team. It doesn’t have to be anything big or time-consuming. It could be as simple as hitting certain steps daily.
9. Karaoke
There is nothing like enjoying your favorite song first thing in the morning! Get the team ready and raring to go for the day with a karaoke sing-a-long. Just be sure to pick a song everyone loves! This activity is all about fun and encouraging your team to start their day off on a positive note.
Ready to Add a Dental Huddle to Your Operations?
Whether you have two team members or 200, including team huddles in the weekly business practice will significantly benefit your work culture and success. Another way to advance your practice is by using full-featured dental practice management software from Cloud 9. Our platform allows you to streamline all the tasks needed to run a successful practice.
With Cloud 9, teams can share information, manage schedules, contact patients, handle billing, and more. It can easily improve the way you operate the dental practice by minimizing workflow disruptions, improving staff efficiency, and boosting productivity.
Request a free demo today!
