In any job, whether it be in retail, administration, or dentistry, it is consequential to provide adequate training. This involves not just the right training but the right amount of training. Why is it important to give your team the right amount of training? Yes, it benefits your practice, but it also reduces stress in the workplace. Instead of focusing on general training, however, I am going to focus on software training and its importance to you, your team, and your business. Just as with general training, the same rules still apply to garner the same results; effective training guarantees that everyone will be able to perform to the best of their ability with minimal roadblocks.
Roadblocks cause hassles, which in turn causes frustration, which then becomes stress. Attempting to understand a software program is hard enough without the added issue of not receiving the right amount of hours necessary. Have you ever tried to work with a new software program, no training, no previous experience? The first time I worked with QuickBooks, I admit I was lost. But instead of trudging through all the confusing jargon and navigating the program without help, I signed up to start the training. Not only are the lessons free with the application, they are necessary in order to understand how to use and navigate it. I am a new user, not exactly accounting software literate, so coming at the program with only half the amount of lessons I’ve been provided would not be enough to use the program as efficiently and effectively as I could. I would still have questions. I would make a countless amount of errors, and I would be less productive. It is the same with all other software program. They are effective tools to help simplify the job; now it’s a matter of learning how to yield them properly.
All software programs offer some kind of training—either in-person, online, and they all offer a significant amount of hours with each session. In the case of QuickBooks, I was taught using online training videos. It just wouldn’t make sense to watch one or two of those videos and then attempt to jump into the program head first. The results would not be pretty. The reason these hours are being provided is because they are essential to understanding and using the program to a hundred percent capacity. Spending only half of those allotted hours or less guarantees that most of your questions will still not be answered and may even add to the confusion of the software. I’m sure you have never tried to ace an exam by only studying half of the work nor have you tried to build something by only reading half the instructions. It’s impossible, impractical and potentially damaging. First off, if you are unwilling to put in the hours of training because you feel it isn’t worth your time, let me assure you right now that it is and, not doing so, can lead to issues such as—low production, high employee turnover, and loss of patient loyalty. If you and your team cannot use the dental software to its full capacity then the production of your dental practice will suffer, and, like a chain reaction, you and your team will become frustrated and stressed, resulting in stressed and frustrated patients.
To avoid this, you need to put the effort and the time in. The reason most employees fear new technology is because of their lack of understanding. The right amount of proper training can fix this and make things easier in the office and better for your practice as a whole.
Now that we’ve looked at the issues caused by an inadequate amount of training, we will look at the benefits of the proper amount of training.
- Increased patient satisfaction
- Development and motivation for your team
- Reduced frustration (for you, your team, and your patients)
- Increased profitability
- Consistent quality
- Improved business performance
- improved team morale
An Adequate amount of software training eliminates a lot of the smaller errors and issues that can cause frustration in the office. Training also helps to cut down the learning process, eliciting that click we all wait for when figuring out something for the first time. With training, you and your team can ask questions and get the answers needed to allow the brain to forge the right connections. If you and your team spend the time to achieve A-grade training, I guarantee that you will achieve A-grade efficiency, accuracy, and productivity as a result.
