CATEGORY 102 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST A key component of any dental practice lies in its team. Not only does the core team allow the practice to run, but individuals hold practice intelligence, as well as skills that can be particularly hard to get in a tight labour market. Any practice looking to protect the value that lies in their team should consider three key strategies to creating long term security in your dental professionals: u Protect your team from poachers: The practice should have strong contractual protections in place with all staff, to ensure that if they depart, they are not able to take staff with them. u Stop them becoming your competition: Non-compete clauses can also help to deter dentists (or other staff members) from starting up their own practice either while employed or after they’ve left. Non-solicitation clauses also act as a deterrent as they ensure the departing staff member can’t leach value out of the practice by infiltrating relationships with clients, suppliers, or partners. u Stop them wanting to leave: Prevention is always easier than the cure. Stopping your staff from wanting to leave in the first place with a killer retention strategy is the other half of protecting the value in your team. While there are many ways you can enhance retention, I believe practices will need to invest significantly into providing pathways to onboard dentists as equity holders, or through other innovative approaches such as phantom share plans, or long-term incentives. Not only does this help them to look at the practice as a business, but it also creates strong encouragement for loyalty to the practice. u Be careful about how you engage them: There have been a significant number of recent cases that mean the approach of engaging dentists through service facility agreements is coming under fire. If you engage any staff in this manner, now is the time to review those arrangements to ensure you are not creating a huge risk for the future. These strategies are not only relevant to tough times. They are just a few of many key protections you should have in place in any economic environment to ensure you have locked value into your practice and are positioned well should you ever need to transfer that value. Joanna Oakey, author of Buy Grow Exit, is the founder and managing partner of the commercial legal firm, Aspect Legal and host of the successful business podcasts Talking Law & The Deal Room. She brings decades of experience-based insights from working with business owners (and their advisors) on acquisitions, exits and general commercial legal matters. Order your copy today at www.buygrowexit.com.au H2 protecting your team is essential in troubled times – and it’s not as hard as you think By Joanna Oakey Three quick axioms of truth that if learned will transform your practice. Each is true in any location, with any doctor, at any time. The truth hurts, but when you lose your excuses, you will find your results. 1. There is no way to get better at giving patients what they don’t want. If you are not growing, you are not meeting your patient’s needs. You are trying to give them something they will not buy. Dentistry is a small consumer driven business where people vote with their feet and wallet. They decide who they want to buy products and services from. Look at the number of patients referred to you by existing patients. If it is not at least 50%, you are not inspiring the ones you have. 2. Your systems are precisely designed to give you the results you’re getting. The strength of your practice systems will ultimately determine the range of patients you can attract and inspire. Every practice is working at capacity. You are where you are because of everything you do or don’t do. If you are not where you want to be, do something different. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. 3. You must precede your practice to the next level of productivity. This new level, demands another level of commitment on your part. You get what you deserve, not what you want. You must be accountable for your results regardless of all the noise and distractions you find yourself in daily. It quick and simple as 1, 2, 3, but it’s difficult to embrace. Remember that change is a constant and the winners in life understand that each day they must get up, embrace change, and adapt. The practices that will be most challenged will be those that cling to the old traditional practice of dentistry. Step up, and take back your future. abernathy2004@yahoo.com As easy as 1, 2, 3 By Dr Michael Abernathy DDS Dr Michael Abernathy SPECIAL FEATURE
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