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Howard Speaks Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD

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Effectively Evaluating Your Team


Howard Farran, DDS
MBA, MAGD
Publisher,
Dentaltown Magazine














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Performance Evaluation forms. 		When it comes to managing a dental practice, the key components are people, time and money. Each component is important in its own right, but when I lecture, the questions I hear the most deal with people – more specifically, "How do I hire a great team?" Human relations (HR) is without a doubt the toughest aspect of every business. Finding and retaining the right team players is critical to running a successful practice. If you have the wrong person or people on your team, business always takes a turn for the worse.

At Today's Dental, we require potential applicants to schedule a two-day working interview. We have found out over the years that one day is not sufficient enough to find out if an applicant will work well in your practice. During the working interview the applicant not only observes but is required to interact with the patients and staff, "jump in" to assist the doctor in the back office and even answer phones at the front desk. Hygienists are scheduled two full days with patients but will be assisted with the computer software and our office protocol since they have not had training in those areas. We will select our new employee based on the feedback from the entire department on how well s/he performed during the working interview.

A key component to building a great team is making sure you hired the best people to stay with your business long term. Periodic evaluations of your staff are critical to be sure you have the right people in place.

When we hire someone, s/he is given two to five days training, depending on the department s/he is in. During that time we go over the new employee's job description and office procedures to ensure s/he is fully trained before starting work. Once this new employee starts working, we evaluate how s/he fits in with the rest of the staff and his/her ability to effectively carry out what s/he learned during training. If this person is performing well within the first two weeks, the next written evaluation is done after 90 days of employment. The initial training and analysis of the employee is performed by the office manager and subsequent reviews are performed by the department supervisors who work closely with him/her on a daily basis. However, if a problem occurs, our office policy is to address it immediately rather than wait until this employee's next review. In addition to the initial 90-day review, our employees receive an annual review by their department supervisors. These evaluations do not always have salary increases attached to them; they are gauges on the performance of our team. However, if you have an employee who is doing an outstanding job, s/he should be financially rewarded with a merit increase.

I have read many books on this subject over the years but the two I often recommend are The Gifted Boss by Dale Dauten and Good to Great by Jim Collins. These two books have given me priceless insight into building a great team and a successful company.

If you do not use formal written evaluations in your practice or if you want to compare what you're currently using, please take a look at the sample form we use at Today's Dental on pages 12 and 14. In order to retain excellent employees long term, I cannot stress enough how important it is to provide adequate training along with detailed job descriptions to ensure expectations are communicated. When you follow up with regular evaluations and reward those who exceed your expectations, you can sleep easier knowing you have the right team in place.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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