![](https://nextlevelpracticecoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/rock-climber.jpg)
Leanne, The Rock-Climbing Trip, and How to Fix Broken Bonus Structures
08/5/21 5:11 PM
Gary Kadi
Dental Advice, Dental Practice Management, Dental Team, Team Building
Did you know 50% of your team members are actively looking for a new position? Trying to keep your key roles filled is like riding a rollercoaster. It has been for years. Bonuses can be a simple, innovative way to work smarter and not harder. To keep your best people, start with cold, hard cash.
Not training to goals—bonus in a vacuum
Leanne is your front office scheduler and works hard. She fills the schedule according to who calls when and follows up according to plan.
Unfortunately, Leanne doesn’t know how much she “makes” per column as she assigns services to associates. We must teach her to fill the schedule to achieve our revenue goals.
- Once she learns how to do so, her bonus dollars each month will be based on the target revenue goals for the month, so she will be paid on this outcome.
- Her self-directed productivity gives her a sense of confidence and a sense of well being because her rewards are in her control. She’s got agency now—not busyness.
- If she only gets paid on production and not collection—there’s no stimulus for her to make sure the money is in the door.
- If she’s not making her bonus targets, she will come to you for more training because she wants the payout and wants to know how to get there.
Reaching outcomes is what will get her the rock climbing classes she has wanted for just about forever. Heck, maybe bonus dollars can pay for a trip to Colorado with the family to hike and rock climb together.
A bonus system can differentiate your practice AND help you keep performers
This plan will set you up to make the right kind of investment in your practice. And in its people. They will know that you will reward excellence. They won’t pop on Monster to check out the ballooning salaries in their field.
Motivate your team
Did you know 99% of the bonus systems out there will NOT change behaviors nor will the team look at them as repeatable? Teams should understand that:
- Bonus is not part of their salary—it’s tied to activities per role, and that
- Busy vs. outcome-based activity can transform their work life.
The opportunity for growth and profitability in dental practices lies in one place—ensuring the return on investment on wages. Bonuses turn your payroll into a profit center. Here’s an example: Say Dr. Jones pays $20 an hour for our scheduler, Leanne. If Leanne hits certain outcomes, she only gets bonuses on this new revenue. Her salary delivers “new money” on the investment in her wages.
Bonus for the docs
A low cost and high return bonus system runs itself. It’s one of the ways docs can decentralize from the practice. Dr. Jones wants to add practices. Dr. Ford wants to spend less time chairside and more time poolside. Both, with the right bonus system, can achieve their goals.
Call today
NextLevel Practice can structure a bonus system to meet your goals. Then, the psychology and practicality of the right bonus system will transform your life as a practice owner. There are replicable ways to get your team addicted to high performance. High performance teams have specific, replicable responsibilities they work toward to gain bonus dollars but also a sense that they are in charge of their own success.
When everyone is accountable for everything no one is accountable for anything—bonus structures ensure this doesn’t happen to your practice or your team. Watch our webinar on this topic. Call us today. 212-388-1712.