Dental practitioners are specialists in their field and are not usually trained in handling administrative or economic matters. Dental staffing solutions and recruitment can be a challenge for a practice and dental practitioners.
While the onus of finding staff will rest on the administrative team, as a dental practitioner and business owner, one must take steps to ensure that the practice can tide over any crisis when it comes to human resource issues. This applies to hiring recruits or retaining existing staff.
Across any service industry, effective handling of the team is vital for the success of any business. This also holds for any business, including a dental practice. In the case of a dental practice, dental staffing solutions can be challenging and varied. A practice needs to have a team of dentists, hygienists, and assistants. In addition, the practice also needs a team of people to handle non-core activities such as finance and administrative tasks.
The entire set-up needs to be in perfect coordination to ensure that the practice is productive and profitable. It needs to ensure that patients who come for services and procedures are happy and satisfied.
A team of motivated professionals and staff results in smooth workflows and keeps the team engaged and cohesive. A high turnover in staff can result in losses to the practice or even disgruntled patients. A few tips on finding reliable staff are as follows:
Just a social media post or a listing on a job portal will not suffice for attracting a pipeline of talent. We are living in a digital-driven society, and many youngsters are comfortable in virtual environments.
As in any business, we need to be present where our partners and customers are. Even though online hangouts are popular, there will be a potential set of youngsters who value the power of impact of in-person networking. The practice needs to identify possibilities and environments where dental professionals are visible and make plans for an outreach accordingly.
This could mean regular participation in exhibitions and conferences. The practice can seek suitable opportunities to participate in a few community events. These opportunities can be a source of tapping possible potential. The practice must always look for possibilities for recruits, even if the position is not available.
A planned and structured social media presence can help the practice attract talent and build a certain level of brand equity. Moreover, with the right plan and budget, the practice can also have talent join through these social media campaigns.
One needs to identify all possible channels for communicating the message. There are several effective choices that include social media sites, groups, forums, as well as display advertising choices. One can focus on a geographic boundary for advertising visibility.
Apart from the media selection, the practice must focus on delivering a strong message to the audience. A selection of casual photographs of the team at work, online reviews, catchy slogans, and short videos can help grab eyeballs and attention. The team can then start posting, tagging, sharing, and reposting messages, which will help create buzz and goodwill.
May times, more than words, a few photographs can help create memorable moments in the eyes of potential recruits. These photographs of the team can create a great boost on social media and be a great supplement to formal advertising.
The practice can plan a fun session outdoors with the team. It can also use the services of a professional photographer who can sync with the theme, vibe, and culture of the practice. This will not only promote a warm feeling with patients and partners, but also with possible candidates who are looking to join a dental practice.
This can help to create such a positive image and reputation within the community and network with a few strategic posts.
The practice can introduce incentive programs for its team that will benefit the practice and the team members. Cash is a great and time-tested incentive, and any addition to the compensation of the staff and team is always welcome.
An incentive program is a fabulous means of employee retention. The practice can create reward programs that are simple and easy to execute. It can have a monthly or a quarterly competition for staff who bring in the highest number of fresh patients.
Such programs motivate the team and make them excited to work as they know there is a reward that awaits them. In addition to financial rewards, it also helps boost productivity. If potential job aspirants are aware that the practice offers additional incentives to perform, they might be enticed to join. Incentive programs also work well for the staff to refer potential recruits.
Outsourcing a critical function can help the existing staff to focus better at work. Moreover, it can help to eliminate the need for certain positions. Outsourcing an RCM service to a specialist can help avoid hiring high-value roles. A practice does not need to hire an insurance coordinator, and other critical roles can save on overhead costs.
The practice can maintain a robust team of full-time and part-time staff. This can assist in providing a greater level of flexibility for staff scheduling. This can also enable the practice to handle fluctuating volumes of patients while also maintaining quality during peak demand times. It also helps the practice to stay nimble and avoid overstaffing during lean times.
An analysis of patient flow data can help optimize staff schedules. The practice can ensure adequate service quality during busy times and minimize staffing costs as needed. The practice can hire temporary employees through a reliable staffing agency that has pre-screened candidates based on the requirements of the practice, besides saving time and money.
The practice cannot control factors that affect the business, but it can take good control of the staffing requirements. A few proactive steps can help to retain the current staff as well as build the team and hire recruits as and when needed. The priority is staying profitable without compromising on service. Using a blend of social media effectively and traditional means, such as recruitment agencies, can help a practice face dental staffing challenges without any difficulty.