The Most Common Challenges That Multi-site Dental Compliance Managers Face and How Best to Tackle Them.
By Nikki Berryman, Corporate Implementation Manager
Our Corporate Compliance expert, Nikki Berryman, shares with us the most common challenges that multi-site compliance managers face and how best to tackle them.
Recently, we have seen an influx of inquiries coming from Dental Service Organisations (DSOs) that are keen to get on top of compliance across all their sites.
As I spend my days talking to group compliance managers, I can appreciate the pressure dental organisations are under, and whilst every DSO is different, there are some common challenges that most of them are facing.
So, I have highlighted the five most common problems of managing multi-site practice compliance and some of my best tips on how to address them.
1. Identifying At-Risk Practices
If I asked you right now, how many of your practices have completed their Health and Safety risk assessment in the last 12 months, could you answer that quickly? Most likely not.
I understand that this is probably because you are very busy managing multiple sites and all the demands that come with the job, so allocating resources to identify the practices that are falling off their compliance can require a significant amount of time that you currently don’t have. This is where iComply with its game-changing group functionality turns into a huge strength for your organisation, as you can access a group dashboard with performance reviews of all your practices at the click of a button.
So, rather than spending hour after hour assessing which of your practices are at risk, you can instead allocate the saved resource to provide more focused support for the practices that really need it.
2. Lack of Time
Group Compliance Managers can spend a significant amount of time travelling between different sites, with some reportedly spending at least two days at a time in each practice and finding that most of it is being consumed by reviewing documents. This leaves little time for the important parts of a site visit including observing decontamination procedures, carrying out training, and engaging with team members. Not to mention that as your organisation grows, this side of your business becomes resource heavy.
This inefficient use of valuable compliance managers’ time can be easily tackled with an online information hub that stores all documents for each practice in one place, accessible from anywhere. From our iComply dashboard, you can access more in-depth information about the individual practice to view their activity levels and other important stats like the status of the adoption of iComply documents.
Your compliance managers can allocate time ahead of their site visit to review key documentation and checklists, and once at the location, they can use their time on activities that can’t be done remotely like engaging with the team members and observing the site.
3. Inconsistent Policies
This one can really make the role of a compliance manager for multiple sites feel like mission impossible. Juggling multiple spreadsheets and trackers on a group level, whilst also trying to audit and compare individual practices that use different policies isn’t likely to yield any reliable results.
When it comes to compliance, consistency and accuracy are the key to efficiency and with iComply’s group functionality, you can streamline all your policies and procedures to ensure that all your practices are using the same documentation.
4. Insufficient Reporting
Reporting with low quality and quantity of data essentially means that business owners or compliance leads are flying blind when it comes to the progress of their organisation. A lack of a cohesive approach to reporting can impact different parts of your organisation, from not being able to allocate resources effectively, to having little awareness of those ‘at risk’ practices, which can cost you a lot of stress, money and time.
iComply’s group dashboard has all the information and stats needed, giving you instant oversight of your whole estate and allowing you to effectively plan and assess the status of each practice accurately.
5. Reactive Rather than Proactive
We hear more and more that compliance has become reactive in nature, especially when it comes to CQC inspections. Even with the tightest Head Office systems in place, if they are paper-based, they are time-consuming and resource-heavy which often causes panic when a CQC visit is announced.
Having that oversight and the ability to view and control workflows from your group dashboard gives you an extra layer of security so that all your practices are keeping up to date with their compliance activities. In return, you’ll gain peace of mind knowing that all your sites achieve a consistently high level of compliance and are always ready for inspection.
Overall, group compliance can be an absolute minefield for you and your team if you are not taking advantage of modern software like Agilio iComply. There is a huge benefit to relying on technology, especially if it is backed up by the leading experts in both compliance and practice management who understand the pressure dental organisations are under.
So, my best advice, of course, would be to become an Agilio iComply member and make the most of our 40 years of experience, a team of dedicated compliance professionals, and the latest technology that is tailored to your needs.
About Nikki
Nikki Berryman, Corporate Implementation Manager, has worked in the dental industry for 30 years, starting as a trainee dental nurse and progressing into practice management and business development roles. She is driven by a passion for first-class customer service through coaching, team building and leadership. In Nikki’s current role, she works in tandem with dental group and Dental Service Organisation (DSO) clients to ensure they are maximising their investment in Agilio’s products and services.
To find out how iComply can ensure your compliance is simple and stress-free, book a demo today.
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