Team Meeting Protocol & Ground Rules

The purpose of team meetings is to develop a team that is well-informed, coordinated, well-trained, efficient and unified in providing excellent service to the people of your community. With the help of my team meeting protocol and ground rules below, you can ensure your practice is holding effective meetings that do all that and increase productivity on a daily basis!

Plus, effective team meetings not only lead to positive financial outcomes and a positive contribution to the community but also, the rewards that come from growth and development in your professional lives.

Without further ado, I’m providing the team meeting protocol and ground rules that I’ve used to successfully run my own practices for over a decade as well as those of whom I have consulted.

Team Meeting Ground Rules

Team meetings are irreplaceable if a practice is to ever reach its full potential. However, if team meetings are allowed to run without ground rules or agendas, the meetings can actually be detrimental to the practice.

8 Ground Rules for All Team Meetings:

1. Everyone is required to participate as every team member contributes to our success. Please share your ideas and input, no matter what you think of it, as it helps the team to make good decisions.
2. Everyone is to be respectful of each other. All opinions are valued and welcome.
3. Everyone is expected to utilize and implement the skills acquired in team meetings; the primary purpose behind holding these meetings.
4. If you describe a problem, you must offer a solution to the problem.
5. Keep your input short and to the point. Do not stray off topic or the agenda.
6. Once the agenda is finalized, no new items are to be addressed in that meeting. You must get your topic on the agenda to address it.
7. If you say nothing, then you are agreeing with what is being said.
8. Once the meeting is over, if a decision is made that is not congruent with how you would personally proceed, you will nevertheless work diligently to make the decision work. We are publically united. Be a part of the team. Do not be a divider.

Suggested Protocol for Team Meetings

As with all business, communication and team awareness is critical to success. Here is the suggested protocol for regular team meetings:

Bi-Weekly Team Meeting Protocol

1. Every other week, for 90 minutes, team meetings are held using the format below.
2. Meeting presentations are to be rotated:

   Meeting 1: Doctor presentation and training
   Meeting 2: Front office presentation and training
   Meeting 3: Doctor presentation and training
   Meeting 4: Back office presentation and training

3. Rotate and take turns presenting between front office team members for Meeting 2, the back office assistants and hygienists for Meeting 4, and in multi-doctor offices, the doctors should rotate and take turns presenting for Meeting 1 and Meeting 3.
4. When a team member is scheduled to present, approval on their suggested topic is required 10 days prior to the meeting.
5. The doctor will approve the selected topic and provide the presenter any resources and suggestions necessary to help in the efficacy of the presentation.
6. The doctor and the presenter should be in alignment on the topic prior to its presentation and the doctor should support the presenter in the process.

Make Your Team Meetings Productive!

Team meetings are not gripe sessions, they are solution sessions. Following the ground rules and protocol outlined above will help you make your team meetings productive. Team meetings, however, aren't the only meetings that help increase productivity on a daily basis. . .

Effective morning huddles create a team where every member can identify and act on opportunities to grow or preserve production.

In Dr. Mark Mosier's all-new, step-by-step guide to better morning huddles, you'll learn:

• How to incorporate purpose into your morning huddles.
• What morning huddle ground rules will make your meetings more effective.
• The morning huddle agenda that has worked for Dr. Mosier for over a decade.
• How technology can help your team focus on goals when the meeting ends.
• Why successful morning huddles make the difference between any dental practice and great dental practices.

Gain instant access to Dr. Mark Mosier's step-by-step guide, The 5 Most Important Keys to Successful Morning Huddles, below:

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