At my seminars and other speaking engagements around the country, I talk with hundreds of dentists every year. Knowing that I’m not only a fellow dentist but also the CEO of the top live training and consulting firm in dentistry, most of these doctors have questions for me. The most frequently asked is, “Dr. Levin, where do I find great staff?”
Sometimes, I feel like saying, “Are you kidding? You don’t find them… you create them!”
Dentists have a fantasy that, if only they could learn the secret to successful hiring, they could find people who would be perfect employees on the first day. But it doesn’t work that way. Like all other businesses, practices need to find people with great potential and then develop them.
The formula is simple:
- Implement excellent, documented, step-by-step systems. Without the right systems, no practice can get anywhere close to its true potential, no matter how good the team is. Production will actually decline, and doctors will end up working many more years than they planned.
- Hire people for personality and potential. Don’t settle for one interview with promising candidates. Get to know them through several meetings… looking for a great attitude, strong work ethic, desire to learn and excel, etc. Pay new team members well. Provide comprehensive training. Give them performance targets. They’ll take personal responsibility for achieving excellent results for your practice.
- Learn to be an excellent leader. At Levin Group, we include leadership training with every management consulting program because it’s absolutely essential. While systems and smart hiring will carry the practice a long way toward success, leadership will take it over the goal line. Leading a team may be hard, but learning how to do it is easy.
Many dentists say they love their team, and some even think of them as family. But if you don’t want it to be a dysfunctional family, you have to follow the three steps I just outlined. Otherwise, you’re just kidding yourself.
Additional Resource
For more on this subject, watch “Team Training – Another Thing to Consider” by clicking here.
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