What’s a Vacation Anyway?
Read the following definition:
A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee.
It has become a stand practice in America to avoid taking time off. Many doctors think, “I’m not making enough money already! How on earth do you expect me to take a vacation? Much less, close my office for a week and let my entire team take off on vacation too?!”
We’d like to give you some clear reasons for taking a vacation, as well as give you some helpful tips on how to successfully work it into your practice and financial schedule!
A study was done a while back that shows that most dentists’ production levels fall off after working longer than a six week period without a day off. Your case diagnosis and case acceptance are both affected by your level of energy… you’re just too busy and too stressed out to diagnosis effectively, and it becomes easier just to recommend “watching” a tooth/teeth that need treatment than to actually diagnosis an effective treatment plan. The ability to overcome objections and to accept rejection are lowered. It’s easier to lose your temper with co-workers. The communication of the entire team is compromised. So while you feel that you are working harder, your mind and heart just aren’t “in it” to perform at optimal levels.
The same goes for your team members. Feelings become more easily hurt, important tasks may be overlooked. When these warning signs start to affect your profitability, it’s time to seriously consider a vacation!
If your schedule is booked to the brim, how can you possibly take off? First of all, you have to plan ahead! If you have an important date that has been planned by a family member, such as an anniversary trip or family reunion, those dates need to be placed on your practice schedule ASAP! The more time you give your team to rearrange and re-schedule patients, the better. You became a dentist so that you could have some control over your life and your business, and it is okay to reschedule patients when the need arises, as long as you make a conscientious effort NOT to make this a habit! It’s much better to plan your scheduled days off at the beginning of the year so that your patients are not being shuffled from one day to another, however, if you really need to move patients, this can be handled professionally and efficiently by your front desk team. If you need help with how to do this, please feel free to send us an email… we’ll be happy to give you some effective suggestions.
If you are short on cash, decide what amount you can afford to set aside for the next 6 weeks in order to fund your vacation and take the necessary steps to work it into your budget. Hold a meeting to discuss your decision to take a vacation and allow your team members to share in the planning process.
As for your team, many families refrain from vacation these days due to lack of funds. Many team members I have spoken to are having stay-cations due to not enough money to leave and stay in a hotel. In our practice, we allowed the doctor to take a pre-scheduled amount of money out of each paycheck to put into an account for us to collect at a later date, for vacation funds. It was not a huge amount in most cases. However, saving even $25.00 a check will afford the team member at least a weekend away. It is late to suggest this now as summer is upon us. Think of the added benefit for next year. YES, it is after tax dollars.
This is an effective method for setting up your vacations next year. First, ask each of your team members to write down any special events they may be planning that requires them to take off. It is your office, so you get to decide when you will be closed, but we recommend allowing your team to take part in deciding which weeks you will be closed. Buy an Erasable Calendar in November for the upcoming year. Then plan which days you are going to take off! Everyone has input and everyone is off at the same time! Sounds crazy? I did it for 15 years and it works. Everyone has rest or fun adventures, and everyone comes back rested and ready to work.
If you would like to discuss how to make this work for your practice, please send me an email. We want to help you take more time off to be with your family and want your team to be able to do the same!
Dental Practice by Design 