CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST 91 BEST PRACTICES Q&A Dr Toni Surace the Managing Director of Momentum Management. Momentum is the premier dental practice management consultancy and training firm in Australia. Momentum has been empowering dentists in Australia and New Zealand to reach their professional, personal and financial goals for over 18 years. On average, Momentum clients increase production by 30-40% and achieve a 579% return on investment from the Momentum Practice Management Program. If you would like to learn more about Momentum Management programs, call 1300 519 000, and request a free 1-hour consultation with an experienced coach. In fact, when this system is working well, sometimes practices find that they quite like cancellations because it allows the practice to catch up on so many tasks that otherwise don’t get done. If the practice is making goal overall, the occasional cancellation can provide much-needed a bit of breathing space! This is an important factor in deciding how do use down-time. Dear Dr Toni, Do you have any hot tips for attracting staff? We can’t find anyone! Dr PB, ACT I agree completely. It’s really hard out there. I do have some ideas, although none of them come with a guarantee of results. For the first time in the Australian dental industry, I’m seeing people use signing bonuses. (I’m not sure yet if this is also happening in New Zealand). People are paying anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000 signing bonuses! You’d have to be clear about how long the person would stay in the practice, and what you’d do if they turned out to be the wrong fit, so your hiring process would need to be effective in showing whether or not they’re the right person for you. I’malso recommending getting creative in finding support staff by targeting people who have left other industries. For example, a lot of nurses have left aged care and hospitals, so ask yourself how you could create ads for DAs that target this group. I have a suspicion that people coming from other industries don’t know to look for jobs under the title Dental Assistant, so maybe include the word Nurse in the title. Similarly, think about how you could target people who might be great office coordinators after having left hospitality; what sort of search terms might they use? I have not yet developed a complete list of examples, but it’s useful to brainstorm ideas with your current team. You could even ask anyone in your patient base who’s left one of these industries what sort of search terms they use. In themeantime, training young people is the best idea if you’re looking for DAs. It can be stressful in the short term, but ultimately takes less time and stress than being understaffed while you wait to find someone experienced. u For further information on Momentum Management, visit www.momentummanagement.com.au or call 1300 510 000 for details on short courses, Momentum’s Management Program, coaching packages, short courses, in-practice visits, or other ways in which Momentum can assist you. “
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