Your team is the second most important factor in practice success after clinical competence (and arguably equal in importance). Over 30 years of dental consulting, I’ve observed that the practices with the best teams consistently outperform those with mediocre teams. Team members directly affect patient experience, practice culture, productivity, and profitability. Yet many dentists approach hiring haphazardly, often out of desperation to fill an open position. Strategic hiring is one of the highest-impact decisions you make as a practice owner.
The challenge is that hiring the right team members is difficult. You can’t fully assess someone in an interview. New hires sometimes don’t work out. You might hire someone who seems great in the interview but doesn’t perform well once on the job. You might hire someone who creates team friction despite being individually competent.
The Cost of Hiring the Wrong Person
Understanding the true cost of a hiring mistake motivates you to invest time in hiring correctly.
The direct costs of replacing an employee include recruitment (posting positions, interviewing, background checks), training (time investment and opportunity cost), and reduced productivity while the new person learns. For many positions, this totals $5,000 to $15,000.
The indirect costs are often larger. A bad hire disrupts team dynamics. Other team members experience frustration. Your stress increases. Patient experience might suffer. You might lose good employees because they’re frustrated working with a bad hire.
If you make a bad hire, you often discover it within the first 30 to 60 days. At that point, you’ve invested money and time. You must then decide whether to coach the person, wait hoping they’ll improve, or terminate and start over. Many managers wait too long before terminating bad hires, multiplying the cost and damage.
Investing time upfront in careful hiring prevents these costs. A hire that works out saves you money and headaches.
Defining the Position Clearly
Before you start recruiting, have clarity about what you need.
Job Description
Write a detailed job description including:
- Specific responsibilities and duties
- Required skills and experience
- Required or preferred credentials or licenses
- Reporting structure and who they work with
- Hours and schedule expectations
- Growth or advancement potential
- Compensation and benefits
A clear job description helps you evaluate candidates consistently. It also helps candidates understand what they’re applying for.
Must-Haves Versus Nice-to-Haves
Distinguish between non-negotiable requirements (must-haves) and desirable qualities (nice-to-haves).
For a dental hygienist, must-haves might include a current license, relevant clinical skills, and reliable attendance. Nice-to-haves might include perio expertise, periodontal therapy experience, or ability to handle anxious patients.
For a front office person, must-haves might include reliability, good communication, and willingness to learn. Nice-to-haves might include specific software experience or bilingual capabilities.
This distinction helps you avoid over-specifying and missing good candidates. You might not find someone with every nice-to-have, but you should find someone with all must-haves.
Compensation and Benefits Expectations
Have clarity about what you can offer. What’s the salary or hourly rate range? What benefits do you offer (health insurance, retirement, continuing education allowance, paid time off)? What’s the schedule (full-time, part-time, flexible)?
Clear compensation expectations prevent you from losing good candidates to mismatched expectations.
Recruiting the Right Candidates
You can’t hire good people if you’re not attracting good candidates.
Job Posting and Outreach
Post your job on relevant platforms. For dental positions, this includes professional dental job boards, general job sites, and social media. Include a clear job description and application instructions.
Go beyond passive posting. Actively recruit by calling people you know who might be interested, reaching out to dental schools or hygiene programs, asking current team members for referrals.
Referrals from current team members are often high-quality. Current employees know what it’s like to work in your practice and refer people they believe will be good fits.
Application Review
Review applications carefully. Look for evidence of stability (person has stayed in previous jobs for reasonable periods) and relevant experience. Red flags include frequent job changes, gaps in employment without explanation, or lack of relevant experience.
Don’t eliminate candidates too quickly. Someone who doesn’t have every desired qualification might be trainable and have other strengths.
Phone Screening
Before inviting someone for an interview, do a brief phone screen. This helps you assess basic fit and saves time interviewing people who aren’t seriously interested or who lack basic requirements.
During the screen, ask about their interest in the position, their availability, and their career goals. Get a sense of their communication style and professionalism.
Interviewing Effectively
The interview is your best opportunity to assess whether someone is a good fit.
Structure Your Interview
Have a prepared list of questions you ask every candidate. This allows you to compare candidates consistently.
Start with open-ended questions that help you learn about the candidate. “Tell me about your most recent position” or “What attracted you to dentistry?” allows the candidate to share what they believe is important.
Follow with specific questions about relevant experience. “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult patient” helps you understand their problem-solving and communication skills.
Assess Beyond Technical Skills
Technical skills are important, but attitude, work ethic, and interpersonal skills often matter more. Someone with excellent technical skills but poor attitude creates problems. Someone with average technical skills but excellent attitude and work ethic often becomes a strong team member.
Listen for signs of the qualities you value. Do they take responsibility for challenges, or do they blame others? Do they ask questions about your practice, or are they only focused on the job details? Do they seem engaged and interested, or apathetic?
Explore Their Motivation
Understand why they’re interested in your practice. Are they seeking a career opportunity, or are they just looking for a job? Are they genuinely interested in your practice and culture, or are they taking any job available?
Ask: “Why are you interested in this position?” and “What are your career goals?” Their answers reveal their motivation.
Discuss Your Practice Culture
Describe your practice values and culture. Explain what you expect from team members. Some candidates will recognize that your culture isn’t a good fit and self-select out. Those who remain are more likely to be good long-term fits.
Get Specific About Expectations
Be clear about schedule, commitment expectations, and performance standards. If you expect team members to be punctual, engaged, and customer-focused, say so. If you have flexible scheduling or other accommodations, mention those.
Clear expectations prevent future conflicts about what you expect versus what the employee believes you expect.
Checking References and Background
Reference checks sometimes feel like a formality, but they often provide valuable information.
When calling references, ask specific questions: “What were this person’s greatest strengths?” “What areas would they develop if they were still working with you?” “Would you rehire them?” “Was attendance and punctuality reliable?”
Be cautious about overly positive references. References provided by the candidate are often positive; previous employers who weren’t happy are less likely to be provided. Call previous employers if possible.
For positions where accuracy and integrity are critical, consider background checks. These verify employment history, check for criminal history, and sometimes check driving records or credit history (depending on legal requirements in your jurisdiction).
Trial Period Evaluation
The first 30 to 60 days are crucial. During this trial period, assess whether the new hire is working out.
Provide clear feedback. If performance is strong, acknowledge it. If there are concerns, address them directly and specifically. Give the person opportunity to improve.
At the end of the trial period, make a decision. Is this person working out? Do you want them to continue? If not, terminate early rather than waiting and hoping they improve.
Early termination is difficult but far better than keeping a poor fit for years.
Onboarding and Training
Even strong hires need proper onboarding and training.
Structured Onboarding
Have a structured onboarding plan for new hires. This includes orientation to the practice (office location, hours, parking), introduction to team members, review of policies and procedures, and training on practice systems.
The first day should not be overwhelming. Plan to cover essential information the first day and additional detail over the first week.
Role-Specific Training
Provide training on specific job responsibilities. A new dental assistant needs training on your clinical procedures, instrument setup, and patient flow. A new front office person needs training on your practice management software, patient communication expectations, and office procedures.
Pair new hires with experienced team members for training. Have the experienced person show them how things are done and explain why you do things that way.
Clear Expectations and Metrics
Be clear about what success looks like in the role. What are the performance expectations? How do you measure success? When will you evaluate their progress?
For a hygienist, success might be meeting production targets, maintaining 85 percent recall compliance, and receiving positive patient feedback. For a front office person, success might include accurate patient scheduling, timely insurance processing, and professional phone communication.
Ongoing Feedback and Development
Don’t wait until formal evaluation time to provide feedback. Give regular informal feedback. “That phone interaction with the patient was excellent” or “I noticed some scheduling conflicts this week; let’s review the scheduling process together.”
Regular feedback helps people improve and shows you’re invested in their development.
Building Team Culture and Stability
Once you’ve hired the right people, focus on building a culture where they want to stay.
Team Cohesion and Communication
Strong teams communicate well and support each other. Foster team cohesion through regular team meetings, team-building activities, and open communication channels.
Address conflicts quickly. Don’t let interpersonal issues fester. When team members have conflict, facilitate resolution.
Recognition and Appreciation
Acknowledge and appreciate team members’ contributions. Thank them for their hard work. Recognize milestone achievements. Celebrate team successes.
People want to feel valued. Showing genuine appreciation costs nothing but creates enormous goodwill.
Fair Compensation and Benefits
Pay competitively for your market. If you underpay, you’ll lose good people to practices that pay more. Offer benefits that team members value.
Regularly review whether your compensation remains competitive. As the cost of living increases, you need to increase compensation to maintain purchasing power.
Opportunity for Growth and Development
People want to feel they’re developing professionally. Offer continuing education opportunities. Create career paths. Recognize when people master their current role and look for growth opportunities.
A hygienist might develop expertise in perio therapy. An assistant might develop interest in front office work and transition to that role. A front office person might develop interest in business management.
Clear Expectations and Accountability
People perform better when they know what’s expected. Have clear performance standards and hold people accountable to them. If someone is underperforming, address it directly and specifically.
“Your production has been averaging $900 daily, and we target $1,200. Let’s discuss what’s getting in the way and how we can support you in reaching that target.”
Clear accountability, combined with support, helps people improve.
Red Flags in Hiring
Some red flags suggest someone might not be a good fit:
- Frequent job changes with vague reasons for leaving
- Defensive or blame-focused responses when asked about challenges
- Lack of interest in learning about your practice
- Unrealistic expectations about compensation or schedule
- Poor communication or professionalism during the interview process
- Unwillingness to commit to consistent schedule
- Attitude of entitlement rather than gratitude for opportunity
These red flags don’t necessarily disqualify someone, but they warrant careful consideration.
The Payoff of Getting It Right
When you hire the right people, the payoff is significant. You build a strong team that delivers excellent patient care, creates positive work environment, and drives practice growth. Team members stay longer, reducing turnover and training costs. Patients are happier because they’re served by engaged, competent team members.
Strong teams become self-perpetuating. Good team members attract other good people. Poor team members (or problematic dynamics) drive away good people.
Investing time in careful hiring, training, and team development is one of the best investments you can make as a practice owner.
Contact JoAnne to discuss your team and your hiring strategy. With 30+ years of practice consulting and expertise in building high-performing teams, JoAnne helps dentists develop hiring processes that attract the right people and build teams that drive practice success.