4Blocks: Reception/Front Desk
4Block Roles
4Blocks for Front Desk: PAF2
Overview
The acronym for a Front Desk/Receptionist’s Four Blocks is:
PAF2: Phone, Appointments, Financial, and Face-to-face
P=Phone: In a word, it’s about scripting. Any number of marketing, polling, and business intelligence sources make it clear how important this is, and experience bears it out.
A=Appointments: All the science of mastering the appointment book.
F=Financial: Collecting money, managing payment procedures, and talking about money with patients.
F=Face-to-face: Face-to-face and ear-to-ear, a good receptionist has the ability to make a connection with patients. They understand the reasons for the language used in scripting and use consistent language in all patient conversations, especially those about their time or their money.
4Blocks Front Desk – PAF2
You handle a lot of tasks, duties, and situations working the Front Desk each day, but you know you’re doing your part to help patients and the whole team when:
1) You’re great on the phone, following scripting when appropriate, and using language consistent with them in all of your interactions
2) You have mastered the intricacies of scheduling appointments from the perspective of both patients and the practice
3) You understand the procedures, policies, and people skills surrounding the explanation and collection of payment, and you have
4) Excellent Face-to-face with patients and staff, both on and off the phone.
P=PHONE
The phones at the front desk are where some of the most important conversations in the practice happen. Your skill in performing these calls is absolutely crucial in making the right kind of impression to help patients have the best possible experience with our practice. Because the consequences are so impactful, we take no chances with what to say. We use scripts that have been designed and tested with our patients comfort in mind. Using or avoiding certain words and ways of handling things make all the difference.
It takes some time and practice to feel natural using other people’s words, but using those words makes all the difference in the world. So does your tone of voice. Be upbeat. Smile before you pick up the phone. A pleasant, upbeat voice is the beginning of a long, happy patient relationship.
To help you master your role, you will be given Effective Actions (EAs) to focus on. To give some examples in no particular order, here are some 4Block tasks centered around P=Phone that you will master working the front desk:
Answer the phone promptly, with a smile, within 3 rings
Understand the reasons behind the scripting so you can follow it, make it your own, and use the same kind of language in the rest of your patient interactions
Schedule, move, and cancel appointments within benchmarks
Make confirmation calls consistent with scripting and script language
Triage patient concerns
Call to make referrals to specialty offices
Sample EAs:
1) Every time you answer a phone with a smile within 3 rings
2) Every time you deliver the phone script naturally on new patient call
3) Every time you mention that “you’ll just love” the assigned doctor or hygienist
A=APPOINTMENTS
Scheduling is another area where what you do at the front desk impacts every patient and everyone in the practice. Your understanding of how to schedule appointments such that patients get their ideal appointment and the schedule is maximized for maximum operating efficiencies in the practice is crucial to the satisfaction of patients and the success of the office as a business.
To help you master your role, you will be given Effective Actions (EAs) to focus on. To give some examples in no particular order, here are some 4Block tasks centered around A=Appointments that you’ll master as you work the front desk:
Schedule, move, and cancel appointments
Accommodate patient availability
Accommodate patient preferences
Maximize the schedule
Fill openings in doctor and hygienist schedules
Confirm appointments for the next day
Sample EAs:
1) Every time you fill a same-day opening in a doctor’s schedule
2) Every time you correct an incorrectly booked appointment
3) Every time you book an appointment anywhere in an associate’s schedule
4) Every time you book an owner/doc’s patient in an associate’s schedule
F=FINANCIAL
Understanding everything that needs to happen for the practice to get paid, being conscientious about having everything taken care of when it needs to be, and ensuring that patients are comfortable and happy with it, is another area of your role that impacts all patients and everyone on the team.
To help you master your role, you will be given Effective Actions (EAs) to focus on. To give some examples in no particular order, here are some 4Block tasks centered around F=Financial that you’ll master as you work the front desk:
Ensure financial/insurance limits are completed for each patient scheduled
Ensure acceptable treatment frequency for each patient scheduled
Discuss treatment costs and payment options with patients
Insurance, financing and payment knowledge
Collecting payments
Sample EAs:
1) Every time you ask a patient their preferred method of payment.
2) For every conversation you have that explains that the doctors pay the co-pays for your preventative care
3) Every time you find an insurance restriction for payment prior to patient treatment, swipe.
F=FACE TO FACE
Everyone in the practice needs to have good Face-to-face. If we connect on a human level to establish trust and open communication, we can give exceptional care to patients and support each other as a team. Working the Front Desk is no exception. Talking with patients about their time when you schedule them is delicate enough, but, because talking about money is such a sensitive situation, it requires extra understanding and finesse on your part to get on their side and ensure that patients leave these interactions happy.
To help you master your role, you will be given Effective Actions (EAs) to focus on. To give some examples in no particular order, here are some tasks centered around F=Face-to-face that you’ll master as you work the front desk:
Make patients feel welcome and comfortable with your words, voice, and body language
Smile!
Cordial staff interactions
Greet patients warmly
Connect with patients to help explain treatment, payment options, etc.
Warmly initiating patient transfers
Sample EAs:
1) Every time a patient smiles at your greeting
2) Every time you initiate a greeting with a patient using their name
3) Every time you laugh with a patient on the phone, swipe
4) Every time you sense apprehension in a patient’s voice, swipe.
F2F Tips and Tricks: Tone of Voice on the Phone
Everything is Under Control
Never sound rushed, even when it's hectic. Take a second to compose yourself, breathe in and out, and smile before speaking. It makes a noticeable difference. Using this trick can be the difference between a day where everyone you talk to seems like they’re in a bad mood, and a day when everyone seems like they’re in a good mood. The energy we bring to our interactions is very influential, whether or not it seems that way.
Holding
If you need to put someone on hold, ask for their sincere permission. As long as people are communicated with, and know where they are in the queue, they will be comfortable with this.
In the Spotlight
Part of your job is that there are eyes on you as you go about your business. Eyes and ears. You are on front stage all the time. Even as you perform your phone duties or collect payment, other patients in the office notice how you are conducting yourself. For this reason, not only must you remain aware of your presentation at all times, but you also be careful with patient confidentiality.
F2F: Talking about the Team
There are many opportunities to talk about how great the people you work with are, and patients love to hear it. From the patient's perspective, It's unpleasant to think that they "lucked out" when they got to work with the team members they were assigned this time because everyone else is second-best. Even if it's only relative, there's nothing good about causing a patient to think about a bad dental experience while they're here.
Instead, reinforce with the patient how competent and caring everyone on the team is. There are opportunities when you transfer the patient, when you're informing them about what's happening next, or in the course of telling a story. "Doctor X is so great, they do my kids' teeth." "That's Susan, she's a great assistant. Her patients just love her."
Talking up your teammates is a small thing that makes a huge difference for the patient, you, and the atmosphere in the practice. We all work hard to make sure that everyone treats to the same high standard here. The more you talk about how great everyone on the team is, the more the patient gets a positive impression of the behind-the-scenes reality of the team. This gives them confidence that they will receive the best possible care no matter who their next appointment is with.
Keeping in mind the the patient only knows what they see and hear, you can see why just a little bit of attention paid to answering the unspoken questions like "Did I get a good one? Will they hurt me? Who can I trust here?" are a powerful way to help a patient feel confident and comfortable.
EXAMPLES
Seeing a new dentist in hygiene
1. "Dr. Habib will be coming in for your checkup. He has been with us for number of years and is great. Patients really like him. He has been trained by Dr. Bob and provides excellent care. Sometimes we make fun of him because he looks so young, but he is very experienced.
2. Dr. Dave is our new dentist and is a great addition to the team. He was well trained by Dr. Bob and his team, and he is eager to provide you with the same level of excellence. Patients really like him. You are in great hands with Dr. Dave.
Seeing a new hygienist
Hi Mary. I know you saw Donna for many years. [The new hygienist] has been working with Dr. Bob and alongside Donna for the past 10 years and will take very good care of you. She is well experienced and very gentle. You are in good hands, please let me know if there is anything we can help you with.
New Patient
This is your first time to our office? Wow, welcome! We have a wonderful group of dentists, hygienists and other staff who will provide you with excellent care. Before we begin, what is your main concern or priority today? What can we do to make this appointment a comfortable one? Are you more concerned about your smile or just the cleaning? Are you in any pain?
Patient Transfer
F2F establishes, builds, and maintains the connection required for the trusting relationship necessary to a good patient experience. That trust can be harmed or completely destroyed if we aren't careful when we transfer the patient from one team member to another. The final transfer from the operatory to the front desk is especially crucial. Think about it from their perspective: they have been sitting in an unnatural position for an hour or more. They may be anesthetized, uncomfortable, and a little disoriented. In a word, they are vulnerable. It's important that this vulnerability is understood, anticipated, and handled with care. It is unacceptable to send a patient down the hall to stand in line to pay unescorted, or hurriedly ushered and abandoned. Under no circumstances should the patient be unsure of whether they're in the right place or not, or be left to ask for themselves what to do next. When the patient transfer is handled correctly, it solidifies the all the warm connections the patient has made throughout their visit. If it is handled incorrectly, it will overshadow the positive aspects of their visit, and the patient may not return. The patient should experience a single unbroken chain of warm, supportive interaction. Walk with the patient back to the front desk. Make warm conversation. When the patient gets to the front desk, the assistant or hygienist will bid their warm farewell. You at front desk will have noticed the approach of the patient already, and will initiate your part of the transfer, beginning with a warm, smiling greeting by name.
By remembering how important the final patient transfer is, you preserve and build on the warm, trusting relationship each team member has worked together to build with each patient, and you ensure that our patients have a memorably pleasant experience each time they come to us for care.
P=Phone: Learning To Love Scripts
Learning to Love Scripts
Listen, we know. You know how to talk just fine. We hired you, didn’t we? Then why on earth, you ask, are we making you use a phone script? Why would we choose to have everyone say the same things to everyone who calls the office? Why do you have to say so much when you leave reactivation messages? Glad you asked. The most direct and important answer is that, believe it or not, patients want to hear things the way they are phrased in the scripts. Maketers and pollsters measure patient behavior in great detail, and they keep finding out that patients are happiest and stay most loyal to offices that use scripts. Offices that buckle down on sticking to scripts consistently flourish. It’s just a fact that patients prefer these scripts to off-the cuff interactions.
Why? Because these scripts make them feel good about their choices, answer all of their questions, and introduce them to information that opens up new possibilities they value.
It’s a simple thought, but it’s left unsaid, that one of the simple reasons why scripts work is that patients appreciate when you go to the trouble of organizing information for them in a way that makes it clear that you want to help them have an easy, pleasant experience and that you understand their perspective and probable needs and wants.
For example, by preemptively mentioning our extended hours and explaining that you specifically cater to before- and after-work appointments, a patient who has never had a dentist with extended hours can start to think about a truly convenient dental appointment time for themselves. If you only asked them what time they’d like, they might not ever get to find out that their dream appointment of Sunday, 8am is available here. They’d never think to ask.
Giving patients experiences like that is why we are open 84 hours a week. If we don’t tell them, they’d never guess.
Talking about the team
By mentioning to patients things like “We have a great office. Our patients just love it here,” or, “She’s my favorite hygienist,” we’re giving the patient a positive feeling to attach to their blank or negative image or memory of a place they have either never seen before, or only see twice a year. Whether they are nervous about the dentist or not, it’s much more pleasant to feel that the place you’re making an appointment to be is a positive place full of happy people. More important, because of how our brains work, these positive images actually help patients feel more positive about their visit once they arrive.
Now that you’re beginning to understand the subtle nature of some of this, you can probably appreciate that, on the other hand, when we ask if patients prefer a particular hygienist, we are implying that there are “good ones” and “bad ones,” and this works against that image we’re helping them create of a happy place full of caring, skillful people.
"We love your insurance"
Similarly, the rules about being encouraging and positive about insurance are there because this way, they are hearing, perhaps for the first time, that they have nothing to worry about from their insurance. Taking away anxiety about insurance and leaving it at that makes patients feel relieved. If we miss this opportunity, how will they know we’re prepared to go to exceptional lengths to make them happy?
Avoiding Accidental Negatives
You’re probably beginning to hear a pattern. You want to help the person on the other end of the phone feel good about their decision to call you and prepare them to have a positive experience in the office by painting a positive picture with what you say and how you say it.
This is why avoiding negative language is so important, even when it’s used positively.
So, for instance, phrases like “No problem” are out because you’ve said “No” and you’ve said “problem,” when you could have said “happy to, or “my pleasure.” This might seem picky, but it’s only because when you’re talking to people on the phone, they only have your words and tone of voice to work with. You have to choose your words carefully. That’s why scripting is such a help. Tone of voice, though, is up to you.
A Congruent Tone of Voice
Helping the person on the phone put together a positive, upbeat image of our office from what you say and how you say it is a primary goal of these scripts. This is why smiling when you answer the phone is so important. If you say all these positive things, but your tone of voice is neutral or worse, this will not make sense to the person on the other end of the phone. They will be confused and have a negative impression, and you will certainly get a “red light” from any patient or secret shopper that doesn’t hear the smile in your voice. Besides, you sound smarter and more confident when you smile.
Review
Here are the takeaways:
Patients like scripts.
Scripts help you take care of patients better
Patients appreciate having their needs and wants anticipated, as they are in the scripts.
You are only able to use your words and your tone of voice when talking on the phone. So choose positive language, and smile for the way it makes you sound.
We are helping patients put together an image of happy place full of helpful, caring, competent people. Positivity and simplicity are how you communicate this, along with the specific language in the scripts.
SAMPLE EA ROLLOUT MEMO
EA 1: Booking to Benchmarks
Our first Effective Action (EA) for Front Desk is: Booking to Benchmarks.
Assigning and tracking EAs helps us organize our efforts to give patients a great experience more easily and predictably.
As you perform your tasks, keep this outcome in mind, and make a note every time it happens.
If something prevents you from booking according to benchmarks, make a note of this, too.
The point of the exercise is that we try to make the EA happen, and take inventory of anything that helps or hinders so we can make the changes necessary to make the EA happen more easily in the future.
To accomplish this EA, we’re going to focus on reviewing the booking procedure. By getting clear on the process and booking patients accurately, you can do your part to help patients get in and out on time and have a great overall experience with our office.