Sally has been sitting at the front for 8 years. You rely on her to keep the books full. She is friendly on the phone and in person. Patients love her. Beyond that, she is great at collecting money. In short, Sally is a keeper. But Sally is leaving. She isn’t the first team member to leave, and she won’t be the last. 

Every dentist has, or will, lose a Sally or two in their career, but when it comes to employee turnover rates, what is normal? 

Most experts will tell you that an employee retention rate of 90% would be considered successful. In reality, it’s lower than that for most dental practices, and we know that in the current climate, the turnover rate is much higher than 10% for most dental teams.

Maybe you’re still telling yourself.  “So what, it doesn’t cost me much to replace my team members. and it isn’t that big of a deal.”

You will lose people, that is the reality of owning a business. Yet have you analyzed the ...

Dental Practice profitability is a top priority. Without it, you can not keep your doors open, you can not treat your patients, and you can not live the life you envisioned.

I am willing to bet that you have analyzed, and then over analyzed your website and marketing budget. You’ve invested yearly in continuing education and consistently look at adding the newest equipment and the latest technology to the practice in hopes of increasing efficiency and profitability. 

You have focused on ROI when it comes to marketing budgets and big-ticket technology items, analyzing the cost per patient gained, and the cost and time difference for the crown milled chairside.

All of this effort, with the hopes of retaining patients, growing the practice, and increasing profitability.

Let me now ask a question. How much time have you spent thinking about staff retention in terms of ROI and practice growth? If the answer is none or not much, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity.

What...

Your day has taken a turn for the worse; one of your team members quit unexpectedly. You did not see it coming, and to make matters worse, today will be their last day. Once the initial shock of their exit has passed, how do you respond?

What do you do when your dental assistant or administrative team member quits out of the blue? How do you keep the morale in the office high with the sudden loss, fill the gap that has been created, and make sure that your team isn’t overwhelmed by the added responsibilities everyone will have in the days to come?

You begin scrambling and enter panic mode. What are you going to do? How will the practice manage being one team member short? How quickly can you find a dental assistant that knows everything they need to do? Or a treatment coordinator that speaks insurance like a pro?

As you think more about it, you’re not even 100% certain what tasks this team member was responsible for!

You are not alone!

Many dental practices across the...