It used to be that dental offices existed as their own little island. The same five employees would stay for 20 years and personal and professional lines could become blurred. From dentists giving their employees loans to babysitting each other’s children, dental office staff interacted as an extended family unit. Dental office environments continually evolve and as technology advances, the landscape of employee and HR management needs to change. Time and time again, dentists don’t protect themselves or their practice until it’s too late and a former employee is wreaking havoc on operations.
Invest time upfront on simple procedures and documentation to ensure your dental practice has a trustworthy, accountable staff.
- Sign a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement
Create a non-disclosure for all employees, and non-compete agreement for dental associates and hygienists to review and sign. This agreement outlines that if the employee leaves the practice for any reason they (1) will not recruit patients, (2) will not tell patients why they are leaving the practice and (3) will not inform patients of their new employer. The sale of a dental practice is a common event for staff attrition to take place. With change in practice ownership, staff don’t always stay under the new dentist.
Hygienists and dental assistants take immense pride in building authentic, caring relationships with patients and often feel like they may have ownership over the relationship. Hygiene accounts for about 30 percent of a dental office’s business. Don’t allow your hygienists to reduce the selling value of your practice or impact your revenue if they leave on unhappy terms.
- Perform criminal background checks
Criminal background checks are a common hiring procedure across industries to give a comprehensive report of a candidate’s history and background. This ensures you’re hiring dependable, ethical staff members. Some dentists may feel criminal background checks are big deal or “over-the-top”, but you are ultimately protecting your practice and business.
I’ve worked with several dental practices that did not complete criminal background checks prior to hiring front office staff resulting in bad hiring decisions of former convicted felons. One red flag to be aware of is extreme gaps in employment history. This can sometimes indicate potential past criminal history. And remember, this isn’t a matter of a lack in trust, but having a low-cost solution to making smarter hiring decisions and protecting your patients, staff, and practice.
- Document all employees have received (and agree) to the dental office employee manual
A dental office employee manual outlines procedures and expectations for each employee of a dental office including, standard conduct, dress code, HIPAA and OSHA compliance, etc. To ensure compliance, each employee should receive a copy of the employee manual
and
provide a signature that they have received it. Documenting the rules and employee’s signatures of agreement will help with employee and HR relations if situations arise.
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. Perform bi-annual employee performance reviews
Performance reviews are a great procedure to open a discussion between employees and management to review their strengths, growth, professional development, and identify areas for improvement. Conducting these reviewed every six months allows employees to understand feedback and implement changes.
These dental office procedures help establish a consistent structure for employee relations and management. Find safety and comfort in having these structures and policies in place. Be confident and don’t deviate – these are the rules and are the standard for your dental practice to operate effectively and efficiently.
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