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Q: What caused you to become interested in using a management consultant?
A: I was experiencing some growth in my practice but I was very unhappy. It wasn't the technical part of dentistry that was bothering me, it was the handling of staff and staff problems, patient problems and patient upsets. I was ready to cut back and do less because I didn't think the stress of dealing with these situations was worth it. I made a decision that whatever I was going to do in life, I was going to enjoy doing it. So I started looking at companies that offered help with organization and management.
Q: Why did you choose Silkin Consultants?
A: Silkin offered solutions that interested me. I had tried to implement some of the ideas that the other companies I was in contact with gave me and I didn't see any results. But the Silkin representative I spoke to explained their program and management techniques - particularly those that address managing people and communication - and I realized that this is what I was looking for. What I heard made a lot of sense and I liked the idea that Silkin follows up and helps you implement any needed changes.
Q: What do you consider had been your biggest success on the Silkin program?
A: Being able to consistently create satisfied patients and staff. I feel more useful, my staff is productive and happy, my patients are happy and we're all enjoying our lives. In retrospect, I now see that I didn't even know what an executive was supposed to do. It was a nice word, but I thought it applied to guys in suits that worked in tall buildings. I didn't realize it applied to dentists. I wasn't taught how to start and manage a business when I was in school. One of the first things I was exposed to on the program was how to be an executive and do things that an executive does. It has made me a very stable person. No confusions or problems come up that I don't have a pretty quick answer for. The result of learning executive skills and know-how is that we deliver a high quantity of high quality service and care to our patients and we all have fun doing it. I think that sums up my biggest success.
Q: How does the Silkin program get implemented into your practice?
A: Silkin addresses a practice from all angles. New clients are assigned a consultant who is responsible to make sure you get results. After taking an in-depth look at the practice, a step-by-step program is written by the consultant and given to the client. This consultant stays with you through every step of the program and is always there to guide you in decision making, planning and troubleshooting. All clients also take management training classes and attend management workshops. In these training sessions you learn management principles and basic organizational procedures. This combination of consulting and training is one aspects of the company that I believe sets Silkin apart from other management groups. The consultant guides you, but the training gives you the knowledge of why you're doing what you're doing. The information and knowledge is not just for the doctor, but the entire staff is able to get trained and reap the benefits of improving their management skills. This translates into each person taking more responsibility for their position and their duties and the practice starts to be stable so growth can occur and be maintained. Silkin oversees the implementation in an organized manner, step-by-step, one thing at a time. As the consulting, training and implementation is occurring, stress in the office begins to vanish. They've done this over and over again in thousands of practices and they have it down to an art.
Q: What results have you gotten?
A: My initial goal financially was to increase production and collections by 20%. During my association with Silkin , we've done four times that. Our production and collections statistics are probably amongst the highest in Louisiana dental practices. We've gone from being a group of 4 to 18. I have 3 full time dentists now and 2 full time hygienists. I've been able to take more time off. In the past 6 months I've been out of the office 10 weeks. Other important results I've gotten are that I'm much happier and I feel little to no stress.
Q: How long did it take you to see these results?
A: I was initially told that I would probably get a return on my investment in the Silkin program within 3 months of getting started. That proved to be totally accurate. Within the first 3 months, I paid back the loan I took to pay for their program. We started at about $500,000 and went to about $840,000 the first year we were with Silkin . The results have been more than stable, they've gotten bigger. This year we're on track to do $2,000,000.
Q: What do you feel was key in you being able to get the results?
A: The management training. My consultant helped me implement what I learned. I was shown how to manage by statistics and found that statistics are a building block and provide a means by which you can control what is happening in the practice. The job descriptions provided by Silkin were critical also. One of the things that moved us to another level is that my staff was able to get trained too. They learned communication skills, came to understand what "sales" really is and how to effectively talk to people about the dental care that they need. I mentioned earlier that I learned executive skills and I really believe this was crucial. Previously I wasn't doing a very good job of setting goals, leading my staff, making decisions and planning for the future. If I did have a plan, I wasn't very successful at executing it. Once that situation was corrected with me, we were well set up to expand.
Q: Has the Silkin program helped you to overcome the obstacles of managed care?
A: As a matter of fact, when I first got involved with Silkin , I figured managed care was going to be my only answer. I had just signed up to be one of the biggest managed care providers in my area. Now it's almost nonexistent. Probably only 2% of our gross is due to managed care. People like to come to our office because they see a big difference in the quality of service and care. Almost everybody that comes in says we are the finest group of people they have ever been around. I've even had administrators of hospitals and executives of companies comment on that point. My consultant at Silkin helped me handle the managed care situation with great expertise. I'm not experiencing any adverse affects of these changes that many health care providers are encountering today.
Q: How has your staff responded to the Silkin program?
A: Once they all understood how the program works and how we could all benefit from having a well run practice, they responded very well. Silkin provides job descriptions, office policies and organizational procedures that are very helpful to staff. My consultant helped me select a person to be the Office Manager and she did some extensive management training at Silkin . She then was able to help the rest of the staff become familiar with the management tools available, ensure each person understood their duties and could perform their job efficiently. She learned how to hire the right people for the practice and get new staff trained for their positions. We've all benefited from the increases we've seen in the practice statistics and the staff has been able to see the correlation between getting better organized and expansion. So we've created a good team that is happy to be here and is in full agreement with what we are doing.
Q: How has straightening out your practice affected your quality of life overall?
A: As mentioned, I've enjoyed greater financial success and I have more time off to enjoy other parts of my life. Reducing the stress at work has made me a better husband and father. That's very important to me and I know my family suffered to some extent when I was unhappy with the way the practice was going. It's difficult not to bring the stress home and virtually impossible not to have that stress affect personal relationships. None of that is an issue for me anymore, so my wife and kids are happier as individuals and we're happier as a family. We're all doing real well. I've also been able to get involved in other things because I have more time. I participate in charitable activities, professional associations, study clubs and I feel I'm making worthwhile contributions to my community. I'd like to add that my staff has also experienced a higher quality of life, which is really important to me. I want them to be happy. We've all been able to apply what we've learned from Silkin inside and outside of the workplace because these management techniques get results in any environment.
Q: What advice would you give dentists whose practices aren't doing as well as they'd like?
A: I'd ask them to take a good look at what their goals and purposes for having a practice are, then listen to what Silkin has to say. I believe if a person makes a decision to reach their goals and is willing to take action, the program can work for anyone, 100% of the time. I recently spoke to a doctor who has been working on the Silkin program for a few months and has increased his production and collections by 75% already. People come to us for dental work because they're not trained in how to do it themselves. As dentists, if we want management help, we should go to someone who is an expert in the area. I've found Silkin to be professional, ethical and they certainly are management experts. I'd tell any dentist to seek their advice because it will greatly accelerate the rate and increase the probability of them reaching their goals and fulfilling their purposes.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: Yes - my patients have really found that my practice is composed of a special group of people, handling their needs in ways they didn't expect. And that's been my experience with Silkin . They are a group of people who have handled my needs and the things I wanted in a way that I would have never expected. I never thought that anybody would be able to deliver with the care, concern, interest and attention that the people at Silkin have been able to do. It's a very rare occurrence and unfortunately it doesn't exist as often as we'd like it to. It's really a breath of fresh air to be associated with them and to know that they do what they tell you they're going to do. They "practice what they preach" and set a very good example of how to run a successful business.