The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Dental Front Office Staff

In the ever-changing sphere of dental healthcare, a dental front office staff is mandatory. The promptness with which your front office staff functions greatly influences not only patient satisfaction but also the overall success of your practice. 

Yet, many dental offices contend with a substantially higher turnover rate, which leads to not only more frequent operational challenges but also costier ones. 

This comprehensive guide navigates through the intricate process of hiring and retaining the right front office team, providing a series of solutions to streamline your processes and actionable items to better retain the front office staff you have.

Understanding the High Turnover in Dental Front Offices

The turnover of employees in dental offices is a serious problem. Recent studies tell us that: 

• 27.5% of dental assistants plan to leave their jobs in the next year; these employees have an average annual income of $36,821. Turnover in this group of employees is not caused by high wages! What is? Feeling underpaid and feeling undervalued are two grievances that dental assistants express.  (dentalpost.net)
• 32% of front office team members plan to leave for new jobs in the next year. Again, these employees express grave dissatisfaction with their compensation and the level of appreciation they receive from the dentist. (dentalpost.net)

The Financial and Operational Impact of Turnover

Disrupting everyday operations and causing serious financial damage, high turnover rates in dental practices make recruiting, training, and orienting new employees very costly. Even worse, when a practice loses an assistant to turnover, the practice loses money.

One in four practices reserves or reduces appointments when an assistant is absent. That means that practices are not fully utilizing their facilities (treating fewer patients) when they have an unequipped staff (unable to perform routine procedures).

That is a perfect way to ensure that your bottom line is not taking a hit (danb.org).

Key Challenges in Hiring Dental Front Office Staff

There are challenges you have to face in this scenario. Which ones? Staffing issues or bad practices. Let's have a look at some of the most important ones:

1. Shortage of Talent: The dental field grapples with a lack of qualified front office personnel, forcing practices to compete for the few good candidates out there.
2. Pay That Attracts: If you can't or won't offer salaries that are in line with or above industry standards, don't expect many of the good candidates to bite. Most packages offered to potential hires don't seem to reflect the skill set and experience level of the people you're trying to hire.
3. Fit to the Practice: New hires must fit the practice's culture. Otherwise, their long-term retention becomes a dicey proposition.

Strategies for Effective Hiring

Considering these problems when hiring your dental front office staff, you have to take action! To build a competent and dedicated front office team, you must always consider the following strategies:

1. Craft Comprehensive Job Descriptions

Clarify the duties, needed skills, and work specifications for the position. A clearly stated job description acts as a magnet for candidates whose abilities and ambitions match what your office can offer.

2. Leverage Multiple Recruitment Channels

Use multiple channels to access a vast candidate pool:

• Job portals: Reputable online dental job portals, such as DentalPost.net, offer a direct and effective means of reaching dental professionals across the country.
• Professional Networks: We maintain a visible presence in the dental community. Our associates regularly attend industry events, allowing us to attract top talent both before and after they enter the job market.
• Educational Institutions: We collaborate with prominent dental schools as well as training programs across the country to identify and evaluate emerging talent.

3. Implement a Rigorous Interview Process

Develop an interview strategy that allows us to systematically assess the technical know-how and soft skills of a candidate. Think about whether we want to use practical assessments that require the candidate to demonstrate (in a practical way) that they can operate the kind of software we use to manage patients and that they can do the kinds of things we need done—effectively handle patients.

4. Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits

To entice and keep high-caliber talent for dental front office staff, offer them a compensation package that encompasses the following:

• Salaries: Pay your people well. Regularly benchmark your salary offerings against industry standards to ensure they're competitive.
• Benefits: We are talking about compensation outside the base salary that helps the candidate identify with your business goals.
• Professional Development: Provide your employees with numerous chances to learn and grow. Frequent, well-structured feedback is a good place to start.

Exploring alternative Staffing solutions: Virtual Dental Assistants

An increasing number of dental practices are now looking to Reach's Virtual Dental Assistants (Learn more here) as a solution. The company's VAs offer several benefits:  

• Cost Savings: Expenses for office space, equipment, and benefits aren't an issue when you hire a VA.  
• Flexibility: Reach's VAs cover not only peak hours but also business hours after the lights are out, keeping your practice in front of patients.  
• Access to a Diverse Talent Pool: Reach practices can tap into a global network of professionals with all kinds of backgrounds and skills.  
• Enhanced Productivity: Your in-house staff can do more because they have more time to do it.

How Reach Addresses Turnover Challenges Affordably

Reach provides an all-encompassing answer to the staffing problems that dental practices face. 

• Our skilled virtual dental assistants understand the nuances of your office and can assist you in nearly every way an in-house employee can—at a fraction of the cost. 
• Cost-effective virtual assistants allow you to focus resources where they count without increasing overhead. 
• Our Dental Virtual Assistants support you. This is tailored to your practice's specific needs, enhancing efficiency and patient satisfaction.
• We prioritize quality and reliability based on your goals. We make it possible by ensuring that our VAs contribute positively to your practice's success.

Contact us! When it comes to increasing dental office efficiency, Reach has the best remote talents. We can support your practice. Schedule a call with our team today!