Be informed – prevention is better than cure – why dentists should take their own advice

During a recent Practice Plan webinar, Head of Sales, Zoe Close, spoke to dentist and mental health advocate, Ritesh (Rick) Aggarwal, and specialist HR Solicitor, Sarah Buxton, about how Practice Owners can look after their own wellbeing while fulfilling their legal obligations as employers.

Zoe: I often get asked a lot by Principals ‘while I am busy accommodating everyone else's needs and making sure they've got someone to talk to, and they have support, how do I look after myself? Because I can't lead unless I'm well myself.’ I appreciate how that can be difficult as time is short, particularly if you are still working clinically as well. How do Principals look after themselves? There can be a lot of pressure involved in running a business. What’s your advice on that, Rick?

Rick: It is hard sometimes being a business owner and being the sole Principal can be very isolating. There are probably lots of practice Principals out there who probably do feel isolated, so it's an important point.

Everyone talks about the employee and the employee's rights, but we also must remember that the business owner is also a human. They're not just some robot working through all the legislation and providing everything they can for their employees. We also have feelings and opinions as well. So, fostering a good culture is a massively important part of any organisation, but particularly in dentistry.

In our practice we attempt to make it a two-way street. I'm quite fortunate in the fact that my team check in with me as well as me checking in with them, which is something I’m really grateful for. Being open, honest, transparent and authentic all help to build a healthy culture. It's not a sign of weakness to ask for help. So as a Principal, if you are struggling, then it’s important to communicate that and ask for help. This will foster a sense of togetherness and create that real team approach. There may be some other Principals within your locality you may be able to speak to about some of the difficulties you're experiencing. Getting a good support system around you is hugely important.  

I'm a big advocate of self-help coping strategies. These include looking at ways to become mindful and being in the present, or even just the way that we look at challenges in general. Reframing things and breaking down challenges into more manageable chunks. Big challenges can be overwhelming, but if we begin to break them down into smaller pieces and tackle these less sizeable elements, we can celebrate those little wins and work our way through the bigger challenge gradually.

Zoe: Thanks Rick. One of the additional ways we support our practices is by giving them access to subsidized Mental Health First Aid courses (https://practiceplan.co.uk/events/mental-health-first-aid-training/). Mental Health First Aiders should be there for every practice member, including the Principal. Principals are people too and there may be times when they need someone to talk to.

Sarah, I know people are busy, and flexible working can be a way to help people who are struggling. Since April this year, it’s been a day one right to make a flexible working request. So, recently I have been asked whether that’s something an employer can go back on? What are the justifications for not agreeing to this?

Practices can obviously seek help from you, but it's usually after the event when they've made some poor decisions, or they’ve got themselves into a tricky situation. Is this something they should be doing right now to get ahead of the game?

Sarah: I know dentists live by the ‘prevention is better than the cure’ mantra, so I never quite understand why they contact me after the event. I would always say prevention is better. Think about things in advance and take advice in advance of what's likely to happen. I can give the support and the advice and take them through it.

From a legal perspective, you don't have to accept a request that somebody's made. Every business is unique. They will be run differently and will have different objectives. I will always advise clients that if they have an objective, and they don't want to accept that flexible working request because it doesn't work for their business, then they don't have to. What we have to do though, is figure out how we're going to reach their objective.

So, if their objective is not to grant the request at all, then they have to appreciate that the person making the request may leave the team. Alternatively, if the request is to work three days, their objective may be to keep them still working five days, but maybe they can change the hours. Once they know what their objective is, then they go through a fair and reasonable rule procedure. I never tell people what that is because it's different every time. But once we know what the objective is, it helps in managing that individual.

Too often people think about flexible working, it’s a wellbeing or childcare issue, so they’ve got to grant it, and then when they have granted it, realise it's not right for their business. However, with flexible working, you've got to follow the procedure properly. Otherwise, you could end up in the tribunal. In addition, you could also lose staff and the respect of other team members if it's not done properly.

The Labour government has said it will change the limitation dates to bring a claim for some of these standalone claims - flexible working, unfair dismissal and so on. At the moment people have three months less one day to bring a claim in the employment tribunal from the last act or dismissal and Labour has said they will extend that period to six months. So, people will have a longer period of time to raise their dispute in the tribunal if their issues aren't dealt with correctly at the time.

Flexible working is one of these things that's in the media, and people are aware of it. You'll always have the team members that know their rights. So, if you have somebody who does make a request, make sure that it's dealt with properly.

Zoe: That’s great advice, Sarah. Keeping up with HR legislation is tough as it changes so quickly. Do you have any tips of your own about how Principals can look after their own wellbeing?

Sarah: Something that will really help practice owners, especially with mental wellbeing and dealing with all the changes to HR legislation, is to slow down and reflect on what they need for their business. We have time to deal with things in a timely manner. Sometimes people end up in situations and disputes because they've had a knee jerk reaction and haven't done what the legislation is asking us to do.

Quite often you can do anything you want for your business. Just because there are children or mental health involved, it doesn't mean you can't run the business in a way that suits you. And that's important to understand. Often people think, or they're told, ‘no, you can't do that’. Well, you can. As a practice owner knowing that you can reach your objectives is really empowering.

The government is saying they're going to bring in a piece of legislation that forces people to switch off. However, I think it's really empowering if, when you finish work at six o'clock on a Friday, you switch off your work mobile.

It’s best to have separate work and personal mobiles. Otherwise, it can get messy, especially if you have to submit calls and texts in evidence. So, have a work mobile and deal with staff issues on that phone. Switch it off when you finish work and turn it back on when you start work again. And that is really beneficial for the mental wellbeing of the manager or the employer. Sometimes I'll get people who text or WhatsApp me at nine o'clock at night, saying “I wasn't thinking straight and I told them X, Y and Z.” In which case, my first thought is “why are you on your phone at that time of night? Switch off!” It’s not good for anybody. There's nothing so urgent that you have to pick up at that time in the evening.

Zoe: Thanks Sarah. What are your thoughts, Rick?

Rick: On the point of switching off, I agree with Sarah one hundred percent. However, I run multiple businesses, so I work at really weird hours that are not your typical nine to five norms. So, I communicate to my staff that while they may get a message from me on a Sunday afternoon, I don't expect a response. I will have sent the message or email because I've remembered to do it at that time as I can be quite forgetful.

I agree it is important to switch off for sure, but it’s probably one of the hardest things for a practice Principal or business owner to do. However, if you are working odd patterns, just make sure you communicate that to your team and make sure they understand you do not expect a response there and then if it doesn't suit their working pattern.

Zoe: Really good advice, Rick. It’s not that you can't work out of hours as a business owner but make people aware there’s no expectation upon them to respond there and then. Thank you both for your valuable input.

A longer version of this conversation is available as a webinar at https://practiceplan.co.uk/events/workforce-evolution/

Practice Plan has been welcoming practices into the family since 1995, helping them to grow profitable businesses through the introduction of practice-branded membership plans.

With over 300 years’ dental experience in our field team, if you’re looking for a provider that has that family feel but knows a thing or two about dentistry… Be Practice Plan and get in touch. Call 01691 684165 or visit www.practiceplan.co.uk/be-practice-plan/

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About Zoe

Zoe Close is the Head of Sales at Practice Plan and has over 30 years’ experience in the dental sector including working as a group business manager for a corporate group, a dental nurse, a head receptionist, and a practice manager.

Zoe is passionate about supporting practices and can offer invaluable advice on how to strategically and successfully run your business.

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About Ritesh (Rick)

Ritesh Aggarwal is a practising Dentist, Practice Principal and the CEO of Psynergy Mental Health. He has been working within the mental health industry since 2017 and has a strong drive and determination to improve mental health for all.

Ritesh wants to improve the dental industry by implementing Psynergy programmes via their digital platform to measure the mental health and wellbeing culture of dental practices, creating action plans for improvement and inspiring positive, long-term behaviour change for the benefit of all within the practice.

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About Sarah

Sarah Buxton specialises in acting exclusively for dentists, dental business managers and dental practice owners in all aspects of HR and employment law and is a director and solicitor at Buxton Coates Solicitors (formerly FTA Law).

Her specialisms include drafting associate agreements and consultancy agreements, self-employed hygienist and therapist agreements, contracts of employment and staff handbooks. Sarah also advises on the day-to-day HR and employment issues that a business owner is often faced with.