Introduction
How to Use This Book
This book is designed to assist you with developing or updating your practice’s employee policy manual. Whether you have a new practice with no employees or are part of a multi-doctor practice, you will benefit from an employee policy manual.
Step 1: Designate a point person responsible for creating and maintaining the employee policy manual.
Whether it is a practice owner, a dentist or an office manager, it is important to know who will be in charge of building the manual, conducting periodic audits of the manual, and adding, deleting, and revising policies when applicable. This person might also act as a liaison to the attorney who reviews both the policy manual in its entirety and any future updates.
Step 2: Choose which policies to include.
Review the book and decide which policies apply to your office. The checklist in this chapter is a helpful tool for determining which policies you would like to include.
Next, decide if there are any policies not listed that you would like to include in your employee policy manual. Try your hand at drafting your own policy by using the guidelines in the following section.
Step 3: Customize your policies.
Open the electronic files that accompany this book and personalize your policies accordingly. Policies are in Microsoft Word format and are listed by chapter. Note that while most chapters contain sample policies, some do not.
Step 4: Submit the manual for review.
Once your manual has been completed, have a trusted colleague review it. A second pair of eyes may catch errors that you may have overlooked. If the manual was written by someone other than the practice owner or dentist, submit it for his or her approval.
Next send the manual to an attorney for legal review to make sure your policies are legally sound. The attorney should be familiar with federal, state and local employment law in your jurisdiction.
Step 4: Distribute the manual as a hard copy and electronically.
Once the manual has passed attorney review and any necessary changes have been made, have the manual printed and bound. Distribute a copy to each staff member and have them sign the acknowledgement of employee receipt. Store the acknowledgement forms in each employee’s file. You should also post an electronic copy of the manual in a place where every employee can access it, such as the practice intranet if the practice has one.
How to Write an Office Policy
Maybe you need some guidance in crafting the perfect policy from the templates in this book. Or perhaps you require a policy that wasn’t included. In either case, you may need to draft a policy yourself. The following process to develop a policy has been adapted from recommendations by the American Medical Association1:
1. Define the issue, problem or task
2. Develop a draft of a policy
3. Review and analyze the policy draft
4. Revise the policy draft
5. Conduct a final review and make final revisions
6. Adopt and implement the policy
7. Evaluate and revise the policy on an ongoing basis
Here are some additional guidelines to keep in mind:
• Use clear, simple language. The easier it is to understand a policy, the easier it is to follow — and this gives violators fewer excuses for not adhering to office rules.
• Personalize your policies. The sample policies in this book are not “one size fits all.” Every practice is unique in its rules and culture.
• Keep policies firm but flexible. No policy will cover every possible situation, but it should cover most plausible scenarios.
• Define any terms that you use in your policy. For example, if you use the acronym “FMLA,” be sure to note that it stands for Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Seek staff input since the policies directly affect them. Once you have drafted the policy, run it by one or two trusted colleagues to ensure that it is comprehensive and fair.
• All policies should be approved by the practice owner, dentist or office manager before distribution to staff.
• Have a legal professional review any policy you add to your office manual. This is good advice for any policy, whether you have written it yourself or you used a template.
• Review and revise your employee policy manual at least once a year.
Checklist: What to Include in Your Employee Policy Manual
Use this checklist as you develop your manual to make sure that all the information you wish to include has been customized and incorporated.
Employee Acknowledgement
Office Background and Description
Diversity and Non-discrimination Policies
Office Policies