How Do I Hire Employees for My Dental Practice?

You’ve likely made the decision to hire employees for your dental practice based on one of two reasons (though I’m sure there are a few others):

      1. You have a need for a specific skill in your practice; for instance, a treatment       coordinator.

      2. Your dental practice is experiencing some growth and you need to increase your staff in order to have an adequate number of team members to cover the influx of patients/appointments.

Dental B-School has put together a comprehensive 6 step guide to hiring employees for your dental practice.

Six Steps to Hiring Employees for Your
Dental Practice

Post the job for candidates to apply.

Field candidates that apply.

Conduct the interview process.

Screen candidates through background checks and/or references (if desired).

Send them an offer letter.

Provide a contract of employment and hire date once accepted.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into each of those six steps.

1.     Post the Job for Candidates to Apply

When setting out to create a job listing, you must first identify what it is that you need for your dental practice.  Knowing what you’re looking for can help you craft the perfect job listing.  Your job posting should include job position, the scope of work for that position, anticipated work schedule, what the physical and environmental requirements are, as well as any additional requirements that you have for the role such as education, years of experience, certifications, and so on.

2.     Field Candidates that Apply.

You’ll need to take an objective stance when fielding candidates that apply to your job posting.  It is recommended that you complete a phone interview first because it’s an easy, less time-consuming way to weed out any candidates that are not a good fit for your dental practice.

3.     Conduct the Interview Process.

This is an important topic so if you’re only skimming the article, this is the point you need to pay closer attention. 

During the interview process, it is important to not ask questions that could be seen as discriminatory.  Only ask questions that are specifically related to the job and its daily functions.  For example, a discriminatory question could be “Do you have children?”, “How old are you?”, and “Are you religious?”  In order to remain compliant, you’d need to change the wording of those questions to something like “Are you able to meet the attendance requirements of this position?”, “Are you over the age of 18?” or “Are you available on weekends?”

What did you notice about those discriminatory questions?  They’re almost beating around the bush, right?!  Try to be direct and professional to avoid conflict - unless your direct questions could in turn be discriminatory.

4.     Screen Candidates Through Background and/or 
    Reference Checks.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list, or even decided on a particular candidate, you may want to screen your final candidates through background checks and/or reference checks.  It’s best practice to have all candidates complete an employment application during the hiring process which provides their consent for reference checks.  Reference checks may provide you with better feedback than the information you’d be able to obtain through a background check.

5.     Send Your Ideal Candidate an Offer Letter

An offer letter is not a contract of employment.  Your offer letter should clearly state  that employment with your practice is at-will, as well as the details of their employment such as their schedule, who they report to, what their wages will be, their employment classification, as well as any benefits that they may be eligible for as an employee. If they are an employee that will be earning wages based on a commission, then a commission agreement should be in place which is a legal document that needs to be drafted by legal counsel. 

If you decide to conduct the background check we mentioned in the previous step, you’ll need to make sure that your offer letter states that the offer is contingent on a successful background or reference check.

Hiring employees can be stressful to say the least.  However, keeping this six-step guide in mind can help you maintain compliance and put your best foot forward in finding the perfect employee.

Dental B-School has a wealth of information and resources available to you on our website. Have a look through our free resource section for more information or get in touch with us to schedule your strategy session.