Welcome to wonderful world of a challenging workforce.  Most dentists would do anything to have an entire team of talented individuals that are passionate about what they do and who they do it for. 

 

With exponential increases in living costs and slow growing wages, fewer and fewer auxiliaries are seeking out dentistry as a primary career.  Most of them are finding dentistry as a default option or secondary career--thus shrinking the talent pool.  Finding, hiring and nurturing talented team members in dentistry is becoming more of a challenge than ever. 

 

The truth is that dentistry is not isolated in this phenomenon.  Big companies have been familiar with this perplexing challenge for quite some time.  For those of you that didn't see 60 minutes report on "The Age of Millenials" this weekend, here is a link. It is a very powerful video segment to help us understand this new generation (born between 1980-1995) emerging on the workforce.  We are going to need new skills to deal with this generation as the workplace is becoming more of a psychological battlefield.

 

There is a desperate search going on in dentistry-- the search for talent.

 

In the end, the ultimate question becomes,  "How do we find talented people?"  While placing an ad might let people know you are looking for that kind of a person, it doesn't necessarily guarantee you will find what you are looking for. The answer lies in understanding how talented team members think, and then identifying what they are looking for in an employer.

 

Here are the 4 desires that lie in heart of the most talented team members in dentistry:

 

 

 

Let me explain this one.  I'm not just referring to physical attributes.  I am referring to all the characteristics that make one person (or practice) more desirable than the next.  It is the personality, integrity, confidence, charisma, honesty, charm, leadership, passion, optimism, locale, love for people, purpose, work hours, technology, technical standards, wages, synergy of team, etc.  These are all attributes that make one attractive.

 

One of my mentors, Jim Rohn, used to say, "In order to attract attractive people, you must first become attractive."  This is a very simple law to understand in the universe.  Attractive individuals will seek out attractive opportunities.  Very much like how the most attractive high school athletic talents seek out the most attractive college programs.  Conversely, less than attractive opportunities will "settle" for less than ideal (or unattractive) people.

 

Make an effort to become a practice that you would feel compelled to attach yourself to if you were a talented team member looking for an opportunity.  Be honest about your assessment of this.  A position on your team must truly be attractive opportunity.  Without it, you could be attracting the "undesirable" or "settling" for the unattractive.

 

If you struggle with this one, get a coach.  They can often see you better than you can see yourself.

 

 

 

When you have clarity you have power.  When you have no clarity, you have no power. 

 

Make sure that before you set out to find great talent that you have a very clear picture of who this person is.  Consider their look, their personality, their attitude, and their role in your practice.  When you have this clarity it gives you power and confidence.  Confidence is attractive.  So, in turn, it will make the search, and the steps that follow in hiring much easier.

 

There is always a little charm or excitement in dating when someone says, "I've been dreaming of you my whole life."  Now this isn't dating, and heaven knows I don't want to pull dentists and team members into this topic, but the same principle applies.  Be sure that when you are searching for that perfect person for your team that you already have a clear picture of who he or she is so that when you meet them, you already know them.

 

Talented individuals want this from prospective employers.  College football recruiters believe it when they say, "We have designed an offense and we have been waiting for a talent like you to take us to a national championship." You can't play more beautiful music than this to a talented athlete's ears.

 

Really talented dental auxiliaries want to hear the same music.   They want to know that you have genuinely (and I did say GENUINELY) been preparing for their arrival. They also want to know that they are going to play a fantastic role in your plans for the future.

 

 

 

Talented team members want to be to be authentically cared for by the people they work with and work for.  They want to truly feel "loved" at work.  

 

This one is the most challenging, because if you don't have it in your heart, you can't manufacture it.  Either you’re capable of loving the people that work with you or you aren't.   When you "truly love" the people that work with you, they do amazing things you could never do.  When you put patients second, and put team members first, they will make the patients feel like they are first and serve them in ways that you never could.  This kind of caring catapults a practice to new heights.

 

On the other hand, it is hard to truly love someone who can't perform well in your practice.  It is important to understand that when people don't perform well in your practice it is first the leader's fault.  Either expectations weren't clear or compromises were made in the hiring process.  Caring for someone in this circumstance is difficult, and it can't be faked.  Try as you may, it will always be transparent. 

 

Talented team members want to be a part of something truly special.  They want to work for someone that makes them feel appreciated.  Their role has to be more significant than just a job.  Dentists are solely responsible for creating and nurturing this culture.  It is important to note that the longevity of any talented team member will be greatly influenced by the mutual authentic feelings of admiration shared with their leader.  When that feeling goes…so does the person.

 

John Maxell said it best when he said, "People quit people…not companies."

 

 

 

Quite simply, talented team members want to be surrounded by opportunities that will improve their lives.   They often make a change and refer to it as a "quality of life" issue.

 

Most talented dental axillaries are female.  And a lot of them are working mothers.  Just because they are talented at their job doesn't mean their immune from the chaos that comes with running a family.   Being a mother can sometimes be a "thankless" job.  Often times, talented auxiliaries only place of normalcy, growth, optimism and appreciation can be the workplace.

 

Great leaders in dentistry understand this.   Great leaders listen (more than talk) to cultivate a workplace in which they not only change lives of patients every day, but also positively influence the lives of each team member.  

 

Talented team members yearn for a practice in which they can see a better picture of themselves in the future.  They can see how this practice can make them better in so many ways. This just isn't limited to technical development.  Quite often it is much more that that.  It expands into every area of their lives; becoming a better mom, living a healthier life, feeling happier during the day , better utilizing their strengths, celebrating their creativity, feeling more spiritually aligned, and the list goes on forever.

 

Basically, the future picture they see of themselves is an attractive one.  They tell themselves a story about how life would be better as a result of working with you.

 

How well you understand these desires and nurture them will greatly determine your ability to create your "dream team" of the future.  My guess is that the future of hiring in dentistry isn't going to get any easier.  As a matter of fact, it is going to get a lot get harder.  The workforce of talented team members in dentistry has the advantage.  They can choose where to work.  Your challenge is going to be one of creating an attractive practice in which talent starts to choose you.

 

My very best to you and your family,