Winning the Talent War in Dentistry: Strategies for Retaining Top Talent (E.124)

“What gets rewarded gets repeated.” ~Dr. Victoria Peterson

It’s no secret that the pandemic has upended the traditional workplace, with nearly 40 percent of employees leaving their positions and many shifting to virtual work. As a result, dental practices face unique challenges in retaining top talent amid a landscape rife with hazardous conditions and high turnover rates.

In this episode of Investment Grade Practices, Dr. Victoria Peterson looks at comprehensive research conducted by Productive Dentist Academy. She unveils an innovative program, Dental TQ, designed to revolutionize talent development within dental teams. Discover how your IQ, EQ, and TQ play crucial roles in creating a cohesive, motivated, and highly skilled workforce. 

Dr. Peterson explores the evolving dynamics of dental practice environments, emphasizing the importance of cultivating a positive culture and strong leadership. Learn practical strategies for recognizing and rewarding your team members, fostering growth, and building a workplace where employees thrive. From redefining your incentive plans to incorporating flexibility into your scheduling, these insights will help you navigate the new normal and ensure your practice remains competitive in the talent war.

As you listen to this episode, we want you to think about the following questions:

• How could the principles of IQ, EQ, and TQ enhance my team’s performance and cohesion?
• How does my current workplace culture align with the principles discussed in this episode?
• What actions can I take to reinforce positive behaviors and core values within my team?
• How flexible is my current work environment and what improvements can be made to accommodate my employees’ needs for work-life balance?

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Victoria Peterson: In this episode, I want to bring together the research that we’ve been doing at Productive Dentist Academy, along with the plethora of headlines that are hitting your inbox and magazines right now, employee retention. It is the number one topic on all dental threads across the board and for good reason. We lost nearly 40 percent of our employees. Hygienists are now party planners. You know, the, the pandemic really shook things up. One in two employees now work virtually. That is an uphill climb for all brick-and-mortar businesses. Health care has the added disadvantage of being a very dangerous place to work. Dentistry ranking number one for toxic chemicals and radiation and so with all of these things against you, how do we help you as an employer retain top talent? Productive Dentist Academy is preparing to roll out an amazing program. We’ve been on the drawing boards for a year now with something we call Dental TQ. Now doctor, your IQ is what makes you a great clinician. Your EQ is what makes you a great leader. Your TQ is the process for developing talent within your team and that’s what Dental TQ does. It helps you develop the talent on your team to hire, train and retain and through the last year, our research is showing that times have changed. You know, my very first book on team building was written in 1999. Tony Robbins wrote the foreword, and I thought that’s it. I wrote the book on team building. It’s the only one we’ll ever need. Well, back then the capital letters were F U N. I always thought as a team member that going to work should be fun. I loved Monday mornings, thank God for Monday. You know, I could leave the kids at preschool and I could go be with adults. I loved being a hygienist, I loved being an office manager, but today it has fundamentally shifted and the women, we’re still primarily women and the men who are in dentistry today, the pressures of parenthood. The pressures of aging parents, this is the sandwich generation where millennials and boomers are right in the mix together and we have to fundamentally shift with it.

Dr. Victoria Peterson: So in this episode of the podcast, I want to give you some things that we have discovered are working really well for our doctors. They are winning the talent war. They have filled their positions. waiting list of people who want to come and work in their offices. So first of all, let’s talk about culture and, and leadership and I’m going to start with, um, recognition and so oftentimes we try to throw money at an employee problem and that’s rarely the answer. Now, I’m not saying that you can get away with underpaying your people. Those days are probably gone to, uh, minimal wages going up. Inflation’s going up. Here in Hawaii a green pepper is 7 each. We, I definitely understand the economic needs of your employees, but set that aside for just a moment and let’s talk about the structure and the recognition.  Most people crave growth. You know, that’s human nature. We want to know that we’re doing a good job but what does a good job look like? And that to me is the number one hidden, uh, challenge within a dental practice. Doctor, when did you sit down and say, “My ideal employee has these key characteristics.” In my experience, that conversation never took place. Not in your head, not with a coach, not with anybody else. So think about that for a minute. Think about a time when you had an employee that demonstrated the exact qualities you wish you could replicate. It could be a current employee, it could be a past employee. It could be someone that’s in your imagination but what do they look like or sound like? Do they show up on time? Are they detail-oriented? Are they visionary? Do they have a sweet disposition? Do they smile? Are they empathetic listeners? You know, what is it about that person that makes your work environment work?

Dr. Victoria Peterson: And then think about that person again. And what did other people always say about them? “Oh my goodness. I just love Matt. He’s always got a smile on his face, no matter how hard the task is.” You know, get real, take 10 minutes and just think about, The team you want to build and how you want them to show up outside policy and procedure, but human to human, who do you want to work with? That’s the foundation of your culture. Once you know that, let’s say your key characteristics are, um, the ability to educate our patients that I want someone like that. I want someone who’s empathetic because we work with complex medical issues and I want someone who is a team player. These are three key characteristics. Now, each time you see a team member doing those things, you can say, “Great job, Sarah. The way you collaborated with Amy was really terrific. You know, in some dental offices, assistants and hygienists don’t work so well together. I really appreciate that you’re both team players and you collaborate.” So you can see, once you know your key characteristics, it automatically points you in the direction of reinforcing what you want. What gets rewarded gets repeated. Recognition is the number one tool in your leadership tool belt to retain top talent. It becomes like family because you have shared core values that are recognized and appreciated. Now back to the financial conversation, cause that’s the other side of the appreciation coin. Uh, if you know anything about, uh, PDA, you know, we have a robust, four-tier, uh, incentive plan from grab bags that focuses our teams daily on productivity and keeping the schedule full, uh, monthly collections above our profitability incentive points. We have merch, who doesn’t like a great new coach purse or something that’s tangible. That we can brag about with our friends and then annual trips.

Dr. Victoria Peterson: So many of our teams are going to all kinds of great places with or without their spouses. That’s totally up your team to create those game plans. So incentive plans are nice because they focus on results or activities. They’re a reward for going above and beyond but now let’s take it a step further. Let’s think about flexibility as an incentive. What if your team knew that they could, if they got a call from the school, they could leave and go pick up their child? What if they knew that they could request three weeks from now, my daughter’s ballet is at 3 p.m. and I’d really love to go and see her. Or I’d like to coach my son’s soccer team. It’s an eight week season. You know, building flexibility in your schedule, building a team that’s willing to pitch in for each other is not a luxury. It is a requirement of today’s workforce. Otherwise, they’re going to join the one out of two who are working virtually and party planting. This is where they go. Where do I have flexibility? It’s the number one driver in virtual work. So figure out a way with your team that you can create virtual, uh, environment in a brick-and-mortar setting. Number two is think creatively about your PTO and about your vacation time. Why don’t we take the first day of school off? Why not shut the office on the first day of school? So everyone who has a child can take them to the school bus with their little lunch box and be there to pick them up, ensuring that that mom and that child or that dad has a moment to bond and get off on the right foot at the beginning of the semester. They get to meet the teachers, you know. Work another day, some other time, but get creative. Think about it. This is part of your annual planning. What days are we open? What days are we going to be closed and then you set your production and collection goals around it. All of this is achievable. All of this is doable. So I wanted to give you a few ideas about recognition, reward, and incentive, maybe in a different context because this is what is required. This is part of the fundamental shift within our industry to attract, train, and retain top talent in your office.