North Texas Dentistry Volume 7 Issue 1 Volume 7 Issue 1 | Page 14

practice transitions
MAXIMIZING YOUR PRACTICE VALUE
PART 3

Costly Staff Handbook Mistakes

by Richard V . Lyschik , DDS , FAGD , CFE
There are many staff handbook mistakes that dentists make when putting together such an important official practice document . Of those , there are several common mistakes that cause dentists the biggest problems .
If you want to stay out of the courtroom , follow these simple tips :
Stay away from generic template handbooks . Don ’ t be tempted at a convention , when you are offered a discount , to buy a boilerplate handbook . Your staff handbook should reflect your practice , its policies and the laws in your state . Generic handbooks may include items that aren ’ t relevant to your practice , or it may miss important topics that you need to address .
Resolve conflicts . While editing your handbook , you may discover that some policies are out of sync with others . Writing or modifying a staff handbook allows a dentist to look at the big policy and procedure picture . Resolve conflicts between policies , or between policies and procedures , before publishing or distributing them .
14 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www . northtexasdentistry . com