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Professional News Articles : FRONT DESK by Mary M. Byers, CAE : Fun-raising ideas for the office

Fun-raising ideas for the office

March 08, 2006

“The staff that plays together stays together,” goes the saying. But how is it possible to find the time for fun when you're busy seeing patients, billing insurance, answering the phones and trying to keep things running smoothly?

Fun doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive. Consider adapting some of these ideas for your office over the upcoming months:

Plan a St. Patrick's Day Potluck. Make green food the theme of this memorable in-office luncheon. Green beans. Cabbage. Spinach dip. Green eggs and ham. If it's green, it's a possibility for this wacky potluck. Give a prize for the most creative green food and you'll be talking about this St. Patrick's Day for years to come.

Easter Egg Hunt. Distribute a plastic egg to everyone in the office and ask them to put a note in it listing a gift or service they are willing to provide such as tickets to the movies, a movie rental, a batch of homemade cookies or a car wash. Set a price limit on purchased gifts so that everyone can easily participate. Place all the eggs in a basket, then pass it around at the staff meeting closest to Easter and let everyone draw an egg. Spend the week after Easter delivering the gifts identified in each egg to one another.

May Day. Instead of anonymously leaving a basket of flowers on someone's doorstep and ringing the door bell and running, why not celebrate May Day with all your patients? Buy a couple dozen carnations from the local florist and send one home with each patient you treat today.

First Day of Summer. Summer officially begins June 21. Why not reserve a spot at a local park and invite the staff and their families out for a barbecue? Ask everyone to bring a dish to share and something to play with (balls, Frisbees, Hula Hoops, etc.) and the party will be easy to plan. If you're really feeling energetic, you can run your own office Olympics with games such as three-legged races, egg toss and sack races.

Celebrate National Blueberry Month. July is National Blueberry Month—which gives you an entire month to try as many blueberry recipes as you'd like. Ask for staff volunteers to prepare a different blueberry recipe each day for a week. Then, at the end of the week, vote on the favorite.

Simplify Your Life Week. August 1-7 is National Simplify Your Life Week. Why not use this as an opportunity to also simplify your practice as well? Take time, as a staff, to brainstorm endings to this phrase: It would simplify my work life if we. . . . After you've captured all your ideas on paper, select one to begin working on as a staff right away.

Though it's necessary to maintain a professional demeanor in the office, it doesn't have to come at the expense of fun. Use the above ideas to inject a little fun and levity in your practice and you'll see why the staff that plays together stays together.

CDS presents Front Desk, a column addressing problems dentists and staff members experience in the office. Front Desk is prepared by Mary M. Byers, CAE, a professional speaker and freelance writer who previously served as director of communications and member services at the Illinois State Dental Society. New columns will appear online on a monthly basis. If you have a suggestion for topics to be covered, or any comments on this column, drop us a line, review@cds.org. Ms. Byers may also be reached at mbyers@marybyers.com or www.marybyers.com.

Copyright 2006, Chicago Dental Society