Dos and don'ts for building systems

Implement data-driven systems

All practices have some type of management systems, but are your systems effective in achieving set goals? And even if they are, will they continue to be effective as your practice grows and changes?

Document business systems. Doing so allows the office to bring new team members into the practice and train them faster and more effectively. It also helps staff to revisit systems and protocols regularly to keep the office running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Establishing step-by-step guidelines for every operation in the practice is critical to creating and maintaining success.

Don't assume you design a system and you're done. Early in the life of most practices, basic management systems are put into place. Frequently, those systems evolve in a disorganized fashion, as your practice reacts to changing situations and circumstances. The resulting "systems" hold your practice together, but don't necessarily ensure it will achieve its highest potential.