Article originally posted on Group Dentistry Now.
ATTENTION: Dental Practice Owners, DSOs, and Hiring Managers!
If you’re feeling frustrated with recruiting for your dental practice, know that you’re not the only one! There has always been a huge struggle in finding quality talent when it comes to staffing a dental practice. As of late, due to the pandemic, most dental practices have gone through HUGE amounts of turnover amongst their doctors, hygienists, and staff members. Whether your practice has suffered from recent or past turnover, or are growing (like we are here at 42 North Dental!), here are some general tips as to how you should be running your interview/hiring process:
Truly Understand your Practice Needs and Requirements
Write out a list of what you’re looking for in your open position and your true deal-breakers (see below for example):
- Title of Position
- Educational Background (i.e. if it’s a dental assistant, does the state you practice in require them to be certified or allow them to take x-rays, etc.?)
- Full or Part-time (write out exactly what schedule you are looking to hire this individual for, and ALWAYS allow some flexibility on this based on your candidate talent pool)
- Skill Set (are you looking for someone with a stellar personality to connect with patients, or someone that’s introverted and more focused on keeping things organized in the practice, or someone that’s good at team building and keeping your employee morale up, etc.?)
Use your above list in writing out your job description
- Remember to be creative and write out a job description that is FUN and advertises the opportunity versus something quite tedious and boring that states the obvious of the job. Always talk about your requirements (comes from the above list.)
Be FLEXIBLE, kind and courteous to all!!!
- As you start to connect with candidates, whether they are a fit or not, be sure to always put your best foot forward. Remember to treat others the way you want to be treated, and be respectful of their time. It’s not easy for a candidate to come in for an interview (as the same for you), be grateful to them for coming in and taking the time out to meet with you.
Make QUICK hiring decisions and follow-through in the process
- Remember, this is one of the toughest markets we’ve seen in the healthcare industry, there is a huge shortage of quality talent, so keep this in mind during this hiring process (or ALWAYS in general!) Know that you are not getting quantity, and you need to make your decision solely based on quality (assessing if the candidate hits most of your “checkmarks or deal breakers,” and that they have the skill set that is most important to you about the job.)
- Do not wait longer than one week to make your decision, or else your candidate has probably taken another position by then!
- Be crystal clear with the candidate about your expectations on the role, potential start date, and timeline for interviewing and what the next steps are. Keep the candidate attuned to everything in the process so that they are aware of next steps.
Educate and Excite
- Be sure to provide the candidate with all necessary information they need to know about the position, your practice style/personality, salary information, schedule they will be working, etc.
- Allow the interview process to be casual, easy, and FUN! This is not an intense surgery in an operating room, this is an interview. Allow this to be a two-sided discussion where the candidate gets to ask as many questions as they want, and you respectfully answer to the best of your abilities. Get to know the candidate, what they like to do in their spare time (without getting into too many personal details), and talk about yourself as well. We’re all here is such a serious profession, yet we do have lives outside of work. Break the ice in an interview, and it will mull over much smoother than you would expect (on both sides!)
- The best feeling you will get is when a candidate walks away with the biggest smile on their face when they leave the interview (virtual or in-person.) The candidate should be ECSTATIC about the opportunity!
No matter which position within your dental practice you’re hiring for, candidate interviews are a crucial part of the hiring process. Without formal business training, dental practice owners especially may find themselves unprepared and anxious for the hiring process.
Written by Priyanki Amroliwala, Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition at 42 North Dental. Priyanki Amroliwala is a seasoned Talent Acquisition Leader that has been working with 42 North Dental for almost six years! She is well-known in the dental and healthcare industries, and genuinely has a true passion for what she does! She believes that recruiting is her calling, and her passion and drive make her great at what she does.
Priyanki Amroliwala does talent acquisition/doctor recruiting for 85 + practices across the New England/North East region for 42 North Dental. She focuses on Doctors and Specialists. Priyanki has 15 plus years’ experience most recently in Healthcare including the private duty home care and senior care sectors. Priyanki graduated from the University of Baltimore, Merrick School of Business, in 2006, where she holds a specialization in Marketing Communications.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her precious family, going shopping, and always trying out new foods at local restaurants! She considers one of her passions to be “at service for others”, which is why she loves recruiting where she services her clients and candidates, and she gets to entertain her family and friends at home on the weekends.