A crucial element to having an outstanding dental practice is outstanding team members. Many applicants may look great on paper, but will that translate to someone who will adhere to the practice vision and excellent job performance?
An ideal way to get a true sense if an applicant is suitable for the position, focus on open-ended interview questions, the working interview, orientation, training and feedback.
Powerful open-ended questions help to determine motivation, attitude and work ethic. The following questions may assist you with the interview:
• How did you schedule the Dr. in your other practice so that they were efficiently scheduled?
• How do you feel that you are a team player and why?
• Why would you think you would be a good candidate for this role in our practice?
A working interview is a great way to see how someone interacts with patients, and the team, it also provides you with an opportunity to access communication skills and problem solving skills. Make sure you assign tasks that can be performed that day, don’t have candidates sit and observe. They may answer the telephone, pull charts, confirm appointments, assist the dentist or complete a hygiene retention appointment. Delegate someone on the team to support this person on the day that they are in the office.
Orientation, training and feedback is the last step in hiring great team members but one of the most important. Consider these steps to success:
• Have a copy of your personnel manual that outlines all office protocols and boundaries for the new team member
• Develop a training strategy and delegate a buddy for the new team member.
• Regular feedback at the end of the first day, first week and first and third month will be critical in the support of this new person.
Proper selection and training of a team member will prove to be a rewarding and successful experience.
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Dr. Robertson is a founding partner and lead appraiser of The Dental Broker Team. A graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto, he has also studied with the Canadian Chartered Business Valuation program. Beyond the scope of appraising and selling practices, he has worked hard to establish solid relationships with executives at the major Canadian banks with whom he has developed the appraisal formulas used by our firm. Because of this dialogue, his reputation, and his grounded research based approach to valuation, he has been called upon by the major Canadian banks to consult on trends, predictions, and perspectives in the Ontario and Canadian dental practice marketplace. He has authored articles on the topic of practice appraisal rationale in Ontario Dentist, The Journal of The Ontario Dental Association, and presented publicly with the Canadian Dental Association on the topic. As a dentist and brokerage partner, he contributed to the development of the Career Options Initiative with the Canadian Dental Association. Dr. Robertson is the author of The Science of Opinion, a research-based paper that establishes the only known evidence-based formula specific to dental practice appraisal value. He is the author of the book, From DEBTistry to Dentistry: A Buyer’s Guide to Successful Transitions.