The Dentist Whisperer

“Associate” – a person who shares actively in a business or
practice and who has near equal but not full rights and responsibilities. This is the way most new dental grads get their feet wet in their chosen profession.
As a coach, I currently have one client who is about to take on a new associate and another client who has just finished an internship and is about to begin two part-time associateships. I thought that following the progress of these two situations would be valuable for any new dentists as well as for experienced dentists considering taking on an associate. I will follow the progress of both, and blog regularly about the challenges and experiences and things that come up over the course of the next year.

The first thought that comes to mind is how the first office
is preparing for their new associate. There are some things that the principle dentist (Dr. F.) and his staff are doing to welcome their new associate (Dr. M.) to the practice in order to make the initial experience a good one for everyone.

1. A well worded contract! This is a contract that protects both parties and clearly outlines expectations and responsibilities on both sides. Before any contract was signed in this case, I sat down with Dr. M. and outlined all of the promises that the principle dentist was offering, including support from the staff, shift schedule, payment details, mentorship, and a commitment to assist in building a patient base, among other things. I then asked Dr. M, the new associate, what he was willing to offer in return and what his expectations were. It was a good prelude to signing a contract and made the process very personal. A good contract should also have a clause about review and renewal periodically.
2. A friendly schedule. Tailor an initial patient schedule to ease a new associate into the routine, especially if this is a new grad. Arrange sufficient staffing, patient load and procedure mix to allow a new grad to gradually work up to a full schedule. Save the difficult patients, the op everyone hates, and the toughest cases for the principle dentist, in the beginning. Trial by fire is not good for the associate and not good for the practice!
3. Mentorship. Mentorship is a team sport. A smart principle dentist is one who is willing to mentor an associate! Why? Do you want them to consider partnership at some point? Being a mentor fosters strong relationships and increases the likelihood that an associate might want to become a permanent part of your practice. Competitiveness or being proprietary about your patients isn’t going to nurture a partnership relationship! Staff must also be mentors to a new associate; dental students aren’t used to working with much assistance and they are new to the routines of billing, ordering and team interaction. It’s not the time to feel superior, but rather to share knowledge and be sensitive to the experience. Staff must remember that this person could be their boss one day! I believe that mentorship also includes introducing a new associate to the community if they are new to the area. Dr. F. plans to make sure that every medical doctor and pharmacist in the area meets his new associate, Dr. M. personally!

These are just 3 easy, common sense ways to get a new associate relationship off to a great start! Watch for further blogs as the journey continues….

OK, so what does this have to do with dentists?!  Well…..lots. Although my primary focus is
helping dentists develop their business skills, I often speak to groups of
dentists and staff combined, which is great because the business of dentistry
affects the team – until the entire team embraces and values the business side
of dentistry, a practice cannot run like a well-oiled machine.  In order to embrace it, the team must
understand its true function and that means understanding that the business of
dentistry is experienced differently, depending upon who is doing the
experiencing!

When it is the employee’s experience, the perspective can be
quite unique. This is because the employee has way more information than the
patient, but less than the dentist!  How
so?

Seeing Only Parts of
the Big Picture: The employee sees a fragmented version of the overhead
costs (such as one supplies-invoice at a time),  and of the revenue (gross billings versus net).
They are not privy to the big picture; the financial statements. They may not
know about debt-servicing, capital investment, overall overhead, salary costs
etc.  The employee sees what labour and
materials are involved in an individual procedure, but don’t see how that fits
into the overall financial status of the practice.

Risk and
Responsibility: This I know….the person who is bearing the full weight of
risk and responsibility of a business will experience that business very
differently from anyone else. No
matter how much of a team you all are, the business owner must measure every
move, every decision, every action against risk and reward. An employee’s input
is essential and valuable and I am a huge advocate of collaboration, however,
that is a gathering of information in order to make an informed decision, not a
joint decision! An employee’s perspective is not going to be the same as your
own.

Assumption: The other side of the coin brings me to the
reason for the cartoon. An employee who interviews for a job very likely has
made a natural, reasonable, perhaps unconscious assumption; that the business-owner
who is interviewing them is in that position because of a burning desire to be
a boss – an entrepreneurial spirit, excited and capable,  with a high level of training and acumen in
business management and leadership skills. This may be somewhat unrealistic.
:-/.  Dental employees get about as much
training as the dentist – about a couple of hours!! (An exaggeration, perhaps,
but sadly not much of one!).

This unspoken
assumption and lack of awareness of the employee perspective is the root cause
of many misunderstandings and confusion. It can be completely avoided if
employees understand the situation and contribute to the learning, if dentists
take the initiative to develop their basic business skills through training and
the entire team develops their knowledge of the true function of the business
of dentistry, values it and embraces it as a catalyst to their work.

Do you hate holding interviews?

Do you hate having to perform job interviews? They usually fall at the end of your busy day; maybe you’re tired, frustrated at the annoyance of having to replace an employee or fill a new position, or you just don’t feel confident as an interviewer. You’re not alone!

They key to holding a productive interview and hiring the right candidate is to ask the right questions (this is a Coach telling you this – the Queen of Questions – so listen up!). Apart from the usual pertinent questions about skill and experience, five critical questions often don’t get asked. Not surprisingly, these questions can produce the most commonly flubbed answers! That’s because the questions and how they are answered are so important.  If a potential employee doesn’t answer these five questions satisfactorily, reconsider whether or not they are good candidates for the job…. 

Question #1 – Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?

As an employer, you are looking for a succinct synopsis of a candidate’s career to date – not details of their kids, hobbies or their dog named Boo. A keen applicant will tell you how many years of experience they have, what their education, areas of expertise and last position entailed. If you get the cocktail party version of their life, they are not focused on your business.

Question #2 – Why do you want to work here?

An applicant might feel that this question is about their desires.  It’s not. This question is about how well they have done their homework. What do they know about your practice? What stands out for them? Are there shared values? Remember….the question is not “Why do you want to work?”, it is “Why do you want to work here?” As an employer, you are looking for passion and excitement. You want to know what it about you that stands out for your applicant.

Question #3 – Why should I hire you?

Potential employees might freeze up at this one, because the question is so often misunderstood. They may choose this time to roll out their list of skills and qualifications. Take heed – this question is about what value this person will bring to your practice, what benefit you will realize by hiring them. An excellent answer is one which indicates what difference this person will make to your work, not a rehash of their skills.

Question #4 – Why did you leave your last job?

You are not prying by asking this question; rather, you are trying to determine fit. What will this person find in your employ that they did not get in their last job? You are looking for honesty without a long, drawn out explanation. Watch body language and facial expressions. The best answer is a truthful, succinct matter of fact answer that doesn’t disclose every little detail. This applies whether they quit or were fired. 

Question #5 – What are your weaknesses? What areas need development?

This a tough question, because none of us likes to admit our weaknesses. An intelligent, thoughtful interviewee will have prepared him or herself for this question. They will have made the distinction between a weakness and an over-used strength and will focus on the over-used strength (immersing themselves in work, being an over-achiever, being too much of an organizer, etc.). Hear the difference?

As far as areas of development, your keen interviewer’s ear should be listening for willingness to learn (I’m interested in upgrading my skills and would like to take an implant course, or ortho-module, or business skills training for front desk staff). 

In summary, by all means ask all the usual questions. Watch and listen for honesty and authenticity. Add these five questions to the interview and understand why you are asking them. Listen for the good, strong answers you seek; it will ensure that you choose the strongest, most valuable candidate for the job.