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Think back on a time when you were relying on someone to come through for you and they didn’t. That didn’t feel great, did it?

If the people you work for and work with can’t rely on you, then the success of the office as a whole is in jeopardy, leading to many difficulties and issues over time. 

This is especially true in a dental office, as everyone must work cooperatively together to ensure that they provide the absolute best patient care and dental treatments possible. 

To be successful in your career and to earn respect from other employees, team members, and managers, people have to trust you. They have to know that you are a credible member of the team, and you will always do what’s best for the company as a whole. 

They have to know, you’re reliable. So let’s explore what that means…

What Does it Mean to Be Reliable?

Reliability is measured as how much an individual can be counted on to complete what is expected of them. 

This is extremely important within a dental office, because each action of every individual allows the office to run smoothly and efficiently. If one team member does not complete a task they are supposed to or does not follow through with their responsibilities, it can impact the other team members as well. 

This can even affect the success of the office as a whole if that task or responsibility that was not completed is largely relied on by other employees on a daily basis.

How to Be Reliable in the Dental Office

When employees, team members, and managers are reliable and trust one another, strong relationships and quality results are formed. 

Each individual within a dental office plays a big role in the success of the office, so it is important that each person completes what is expected of them, and communicates thoroughly about any questions or concerns. 

Here are four ways to ensure that you are reliable in the dental office. 

1. Manage your commitments
2. Show up on time
3. Communicate constantly
4. Be honest about mistakes

Let’s take a look at each in detail...

Manage Your Commitments

Even though it is important to do as much as you can to help out within the dental office, you can not say yes to absolutely everything, and that is okay.

 If you overestimate the amount of available time you have and take on extra work, you might not be able to follow through with everything, which will lead to people thinking that you are not reliable. It is always better to underpromise and overdeliver.

Think about the deadlines for each task that you are expected to do, and consider how much time it will take to complete each one correctly. 

If it seems as if you’ll have extra time within your workday or work week, take on extra opportunities to help out. If not, know when to say no, and be direct and clear about why you can not add any more work on.

Show Up on Time

This might be one of the more obvious ways to be reliable in the dental office, but it is one of the most important too. 

Make sure that you always arrive to work on time, and if for some reason you won’t be there right on time, be sure to actively communicate with your supervisor ahead of time. 

Also ensure that you are on time for other things too, such as meetings, appointments, and tasks that you are expected to complete.

Constantly Communicate

It is important to keep people updated with the work you are completing, especially if you are having any difficulties or might not completely finish by the due date because of an outside reason. 

Make sure that there are no surprises between you and your employees, team members, and managers. 

If you say something last minute or don’t follow through with a task you assigned or with a promise you made, the other person in the office will feel like they are not important to you, and that you are not a trustworthy and reliable employee.

Be Honest About Any Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes at some point, but it is important that you own up to your mistakes and are honest about them. 

If you do not tell the truth about your mistakes or something that you did wrong, you will not be trusted and will not be viewed as reliable. 

Address the issue clearly and as soon as possible, and be direct about what happened and what needs to be done moving forward to solve the problem. 

How do you provide reliability in your dental office? Let us know in a comment...

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