The Rationale for an Office Policy Manual

One of my core management principles is that you can’t have a great dental practice without a great staff. Assembling and keeping a talented, loyal, customer service oriented team, is probably the most difficult problem in dentistry today. It requires vision and an ongoing commitment by the doctor to find the absolute best people available. By definition, this process requires a solid and thorough understanding of how to hire and how to fire. Therefore a well-written office policy manual is a must for any dental practice.

At -will employment, discrimination, dispute resolution, and harassment, all have to be included and clearly defined. I have seen countless examples in office manuals of confusing and inconsistent language relating to these topics. I definitely support that the finished manual be outsourced to legal. You can find plenty of free stuff on the Internet to download, but in the end– in the event of a lawsuit or claim against you– you will be held responsible for the content of that manual. This is an excellent example of penny wise/pound foolish. So while there is room for personalization and individuality in your office manual, I strongly recommend the stamp of approval of an attorney.

In the litigious society in which we live, in many states a doctor without a written office policy manual will be presumed guilty in any action relating to hiring and firing. So while taking the time to draft a clear and concise manual may not be high on your “bucket list”, I think you may need to readjust your priorities. All it takes is one unfortunate situation–which almost always could have been prevented–to derail a thriving practice and cause untold financial and emotional pain. Next time–how to protect yourself  with EPLI  insurance.