Dental practice management is hard - especially when you’re first starting out. If you choose a start-up, you have to build your practice from the ground up, and starting a business is unfamiliar territory. If you choose the route of buying an existing practice you have the stress of earning trust and continuing to grow a patient base, as well as, retaining the talent in your practice. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many doctors face this ongoing challenge. So how do you attract and retain top talent to establish a successful dental practice?
Well, first off, unemployment rates are low. That’s why it’s crucial to build a pipeline that will feed you top talent, as well as, set up a system for retaining talent for years to come.
Although your focus isn’t on the end game yet (selling your dental practice), remember that what you are building now will impact your practice’s worth when you decide to sell later. How do we know this? At JPA, we guide doctors through dental practice transitions, whether they are selling or buying. We know what goes into the value of your practice and want to make sure that you follow the best practices. This way, you will learn how to attract and retain talent in your dental practice, leading to less headaches, a rockstar staff, and ultimately, a valuable practice.
To attract the right talent, look at industry benchmarks to meet candidates’ expectations. Do your research online to see what competitors are paying. There are many avenues for finding this information out. (Payscale, Glassdoor and dental sites like DentalCareersEDU, just to name a few.)
By doing this initial research, you will find the information you need to attract candidates who are worth investing in. **Quick note: If you build a great practice, your hygienists and assistants will refer other like-minded individuals to you. Therefore you get an efficient, cost effective way to find top talent in a market where it is difficult.
Finding top talent for your dental practice can be challenging. That is why it’s important to be innovative with your tactics. Ultimately, what you are trying to do is attract future employees. Just like you would try to find new patients for your dental practice, you need to market to them. This involves knowing what benefits or perks they would get at other practices, pains that they have, and what they are missing. Once you know this, provide that for them!
To understand your staff’s needs better, send out a employee satisfaction survey. Ask them what they like, don’t like, and give them opportunities to provide information on what they want moving forward.
Does the applicant have similar values and ethics? New applicants tend to have similar skill sets, therefore, you want to assess them through a values-based approach. Why is this important? By doing this, you will improve retention, increase employee engagement and form better relationships with patients. For example, if you work with pediatrics, make sure they like children.
While these tactics get the talent in the door, you need a culture that keeps your staff happy. This means creating an environment that provides room for growth, continued education, competitive compensation, and work/life balance. Here are a few areas that tend to work well for retention:
Overall, these 4 steps will allow you to attract and retain top talent at your practice. Once you have a stellar team, continue to make efforts to increase retention and improve staff happiness. Doing so will help you create an awesome culture and build a successful practice.
At JPA, we’re here to help guide you through the process of selling or buying dental practice.
Let us know if you need any help.
Sources:
https://www.cda.org/news-events/top-talent-how-to-attract-it-and-retain-it
https://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2017/03/surviving-the-new-dental-economy-staffing-to-retain-employee-and-patients.html
http://streamdental.ca/how-to-retain-top-talent-for-your-dental-practice-proper-onboarding-and-integration/
https://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/03/attracting-top-dental-talent.html