Wasted Time, Open Time, and Maximizing Your Schedule
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Release Date: 01/27/2025
Too Sick to Work? Managing the Unexpected Absentee
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Description Unexpected call-outs can throw your dental practice into chaos—but they don’t have to! In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Pardue Salisbury break down how to create an attendance culture that keeps your team accountable without being rigid. They’ll share real-world strategies for managing sick calls, setting clear attendance policies, and keeping your team engaged. What You’ll Learn: ✅ How to prevent a culture of absenteeism from spreading in your practice 🚫 ✅ The importance of direct communication about attendance expectations 🗣️...
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Interviewing for the Right Hire
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Hiring is one thing—but the interview process is where you make or break your chances of getting the right person. In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury share expert strategies to help you conduct interviews with confidence, ask the right questions, and avoid costly hiring mistakes. What you’ll learn: ✅ The difference between situational vs. behavioral interview questions—and why both matter 🎯 ✅ Why working interviews are a legal and financial risk you shouldn’t take 🚫 ✅ The must-ask questions that reveal a candidate’s true communication...
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Finding the Right Candidate
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
📢 Sponsored by: ✅ Plan Forward – The dental membership plan partner that helps your office thrive. Mention Dental Drill Bits for an exclusive offer! . 💡 Take Action Today: Don’t let hiring challenges slow down your practice growth! Take Sandy’s Challenge: ➡️ Review your current job ad—does it attract the right candidates? ➡️ Implement a phone screening process to filter applicants faster ➡️ Make your hiring process an extension of your practice culture 👍 Subscribe & Leave a Review: Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Dental Drill Bits and leave a review!...
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Front Desk Chaos to Clarity
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Front Desk Chaos to Clarity Episode Description: In this episode of The Dental Drill Bits Podcast, Sandy and Dana tackle one of the biggest front desk challenges in dental practices—how to maintain consistency and organization when multiple team members rotate through the same position. 🔄 One doctor from the Dental Drill Bits Facebook group asked: How do I streamline communication and documentation when different front desk employees work on different days? Sandy and Dana break it all down, sharing real-world strategies to bring clarity and structure to the front office. They discuss the...
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Do You Really Need an Office Manager?
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Title: Do You Really Need an Office Manager? Episode Description: In this episode of The Dental Drill Bits Podcast, Sandy and Dana tackle one of the most common dilemmas for dental practice owners—Do you really need an office manager? 🤔 Hiring an office manager can seem like the perfect solution to reducing stress and improving operations, but without a clear role definition, it can create more challenges than solutions. In this episode, they break down when an office manager is truly needed, what skills are essential for success, and whether team leaders might be a better...
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Mastering Onboarding for a Thriving Dental Practice
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Title: Mastering Onboarding for a Thriving Dental Practice Episode Description: In this episode of The Dental Drill Bits Podcast, Sandy and Dana dive into the make-or-break process of onboarding new team members in a dental practice. A strong onboarding system not only prevents turnover but also sets the stage for a thriving team culture and long-term success. 🚀 They share real-world experiences, practical strategies, and actionable steps to ensure new hires feel welcomed, supported, and set up for success from day one. Key Takeaways: ✔ The biggest onboarding mistakes that lead to...
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Wasted Time, Open Time, and Maximizing Your Schedule
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Episode Title: Wasted Time, Open Time, and Maximizing Your Schedule Episode Description: Welcome to another exciting episode of Dental Drill Bits! This week, Sandy Pardue is joined by a very special guest—Dana Pardue Salisbury, the original co-host and HR business professional. Together, they kick off the new season with a deep dive into one of the most critical topics for dental practices: managing open time in your schedule. Discover actionable tips to identify, track, and eliminate wasted time in your practice. Whether you're dealing with broken appointments, patient no-shows, or...
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Rerun Gold: How to Handle Unauthorized Overtime with Your Employees
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
This is a question Sandy Pardue gets quite often in her events, so we decided to cover it here! Here are a couple things you want to do: You need a time clock software. (Sandy recommends a software) Don’t give everyone access to change their time clock. Create a policy, and be super specific in this policy. (Sandy gives us great examples). What to say if someone still violates the policy? (Sandy provides us with what to do, a script, and how many times should we allow it). How to present the overtime policy at a team meeting.
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A to Z Job Duties of a Dynamic Manager: Office Manager Essentials Part 2
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Wondering how to ease the burden and stress off yourself as the doctor? In this week's rerun episode of Dental Drill Bits, Michael and Sandy are exploring the universe of responsibilities that come with the role of an office manager in a dynamic and demanding dental practice. They break down the essential duties that will keep your practice running smoothly without the added headache. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Understand the scope of day-to-day activities a dental office manager oversees. Discover the role an office manager plays in shaping employee and patient relations. Uncover...
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What Makes an Effective Office Manager in Your Practice? Office Manager Essentials Part 1
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
In this rerun episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy and Michael delve headfirst into the crucial role of an office manager in your dental practice. Listen as they unlock the job description of a successful manager and explore how imperative it is for dentists to identify potential talent hidden within their teams while filling this impactful role. Sandy and Michael dissect the cardinal role of duplication skills in a manager's toolbox and how this skill can set apart a thriving practice from a struggling one. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Understanding the crucial role and job description...
info_outlineEpisode Title: Wasted Time, Open Time, and Maximizing Your Schedule
Episode Description:
Welcome to another exciting episode of Dental Drill Bits! This week, Sandy Pardue is joined by a very special guest—Dana Pardue Salisbury, the original co-host and HR business professional. Together, they kick off the new season with a deep dive into one of the most critical topics for dental practices: managing open time in your schedule.
Discover actionable tips to identify, track, and eliminate wasted time in your practice. Whether you're dealing with broken appointments, patient no-shows, or underutilized slots, this episode equips you with practical strategies to improve productivity, enhance patient care, and boost your bottom line.
Plus, hear Dana’s unique perspective on the patient experience and why over-communicating about appointment changes can backfire. Stay tuned until the end for a game-changing resource that could revolutionize how you handle in-house membership plans!
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Dana Salisbury's journey back to Dental Drill Bits and her insights on training and development for dental practices.
- The real cost of open time and why tracking it is crucial.
- How to calculate daily, hourly, and per-unit production goals.
- Strategies to reduce cancellations, no-shows, and last-minute reschedules.
- The importance of maintaining a reliable call list and leveraging patient interactions.
- Patient perspective: Why excessive appointment changes can harm patient satisfaction.
- The role of team meetings in addressing missed opportunities.
- An introduction to Plan Forward—a custom dental membership platform offering tools for automated billing, patient communication, and more.
Sponsors:
Don’t just look ahead. Plan Forward. Discover the dental membership plan partner that empowers your entire office. Created by a team in your shoes. Find out more here, and be sure to mention Dental Drill Bits for a special offer! https://www.planforward.io/
Take Action Today:
Start tracking your open time and production goals now! Print out your schedules, analyze past weeks, and involve your team in finding solutions. Remember, every day is an opportunity to optimize your schedule and serve your patients better.
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