5 tips to create a successful family-run practice

If you own a family-run dental practice, you know how challenging it can be. It's not uncommon for emotions and family dynamics to take over, leading to stress and frustration. The truth is, no matter how much you love your family, this complex business arrangement can turn into a nightmare if you don't handle it right from the beginning.

5 tips

So what can you do to create a successful family-run dental practice? Follow these five tips.

1. Remember the practice is a business first and a family operation second

This means what's in the best interest of the business comes before anything else. This can lead to complications, but if you want a successful, profitable practice, you have to focus on dealing with issues as partners not as a family.

2. Create detailed job descriptions

While it's important to develop job descriptions for every team member, it's even more important when you're talking about family members.

Sally McKenzie, CEO of McKenzie Management.

I've seen it a lot over the years. A dentist hires his brother (let's call him Joe) as the treatment coordinator, for example, then offers Joe little or no direction on how to do his job. When this happens, family members like Joe have no idea what they're accountable for or how their performance will be measured, so they end up doing whatever they want. They are family, after all, so they likely think they can get away with more than your other employees, whether that means coming in late every day or giving deep discounts to family, friends, and neighbors. This damages your practice as well as your relationship, so make sure any family member you put on the payroll knows your expectations upfront.

3. Ensure they have the proper skill set for the job

You love your spouse, but that doesn't mean your spouse should be your office manager. Before asking any family member to become part of your team, take the time to really evaluate the decision. If your wife, Cindy, hates conflict and avoids it at all costs, it's probably not a good idea to ask Cindy to handle collections. Just like with any employee, don't extend a job offer to family members until you know they can excel in the role.

Because you're close to your family members, recognizing their strengths and weaknesses might be difficult. Your wife has a great personality and telephone skills, so you think handling collections is a natural fit for her, when in reality putting her in this role would do nothing but cause her stress and cost you money. That's why you might want to consider bringing in outside help to navigate you through determining who will work best at which positions.

4. Develop a system for giving raises

This is a big one. You don't want your brother or sister to corner you in the office one day to tell you why they think it's time for a raise. Giving in, though tempting, could send your overhead costs soaring. To avoid this situation, make it clear to all employees how performance will be measured and under what circumstances raises will be given.

5. Ask the right questions

You have to make sure you can work with any family members you plan to hire and that they share your practice philosophy, vision, and goals. It's a good idea to ask yourself and your family members these key questions before you bring them on board:

• Do you want the practice to grow or stay where it is?
• What's more important, giving up control and growing, or keeping control and staying where you are?
• What's your practice vision?
• How will the practice achieve that vision and those goals?
• Who will be responsible for which areas?
• How will the practice measure success?

This type of communication tells you their attitude toward the practice and also gives you the opportunity to get everyone on the same page, so you can avoid friction down the road.

Family-run business are complicated, but that doesn't mean they can't work. In fact, they have the potential to be very successful. To make it work in your practice, put family members in positions that fit their skill set and temperament, and then give them the tools and training they need to excel -- just like you would with any other employee. This will set your family-run business up for success and will ultimately lead to a thriving, profitable practice.

Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management, which offers educational and management products available at www.mckenziemgmt.com. Contact her directly at 877-777-6151 or at [email protected].

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.