Finding and Retaining Your Ideal Dental Office Manager

You're listening to the Phil Klein Dental Podcast from VivaLearning.com. To start this episode, I want to thank everybody for listening to the show. We really enjoy what we do here, but without your support, we couldn't keep putting out these episodes. We're tracking the numbers, and the bigger the audience grows, the more able we are to bring the content to you that's relevant to helping you improve the way you practice dentistry. And we really do think it makes a difference based on the feedback we're getting from our audience. So thank you very much for being dedicated listeners. When you get a chance, spread the word to your colleagues. That's a great way to support our program. Write a review. your favorite podcast platform or rate us as well it really does help thank you so much so today we're going to be talking about hiring the right person for the job of office manager and how important that person is to your practice with the right person in this role your practice can operate efficiently your patients are more likely to have a seamless experience and your team can feel supported and organized so how do you find this person what should you pay them And once you hire someone, what is a typical training you should be giving them? So we're going to be answering some of these questions in this episode. But first, we all know that to achieve healthy, beautiful smiles, we sometimes need to align the teeth. And to do so, aligner therapy is a great option. So why not set your practice apart with 3M Clarity Aligners Flex from Solventum, formerly 3M Healthcare. Designed for comfort, Clarity Aligners Flex feature a thin, flexible design. yet they deliver excellent force persistence over a two-week period. Plus, they resist scratching and stains, and they're backed by a dedicated clinician team providing support every step of the way. With a variety of affordable case-type options, single or dual-arch, Clarity Aligners Flex offer a great value to your patients and practice. To learn more, visit 3M.com slash clarity dash aligners dash flex. So let's begin by talking about what to look for in a new office manager. What skill sets are most important? Organizational skills is key. A dental office manager needs to juggle many tasks at once. We all know that. We got scheduling, billing, patient communication, managing staff. You have inventory, talking to vendors. Emergency patients will come in and you're overbooked. All that stuff goes on all the time in the practice. And you need a good office manager to be able to handle more than one thing at once. So you want to look for someone who demonstrates strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize effectively. Another important quality is leadership and people skills because the person you're going to hire will be managing your team. So leadership skills are crucial. They need to be able to inspire, to motivate, and discipline when necessary. So you want to look for someone that has experience in managing teams. even if it's not specifically in the dental field, although that would be preferred. Another important skill set is tech savviness. With the rise of digital tools for scheduling, billing, and patient records, your office manager must be comfortable with technology. Familiarity with dental practice management software is a big plus and will certainly flatten the learning curve as your new hire is onboarded. Another very important skill set is communication skills. The role of an office manager requires constant communication with patients, staff, and vendors. So look for someone who speaks clearly, logically, they're compassionate in their tone, and professional in their interactions. An office manager who is a good communicator offers numerous benefits to the practice. Certainly, it fosters clear understanding and reduces confusion. This, of course, leads to more effective teamwork, smoother collaboration, and increased productivity. So whether your office manager is discussing details about sterilization protocol with other team members or they're resolving conflicts or negotiating with vendors, the ability to convey their thoughts clearly and listen attentively ensures that everyone is on the same page. It also helps build trust, respect, and rapport, which are essential for any healthy, harmonious, productive dental practice. So we went over some important skill sets that are really necessary for the job. Let's talk about where to find this potential candidate. You certainly can take advantage of online job boards or websites such as Indeed, I-N-D-E-E-D. LinkedIn is also helpful, as well as dental-specific job boards. There are several out there. Make sure whatever you use, you have a very detailed job description in order for you to attract the person that has the qualifications you're looking for. Now, referrals are also a great way to find people for your team. So tap into your network. Very often, the best candidates come from referrals from people you trust, other dental professionals, dental suppliers might have some names for you, or even your current staff for that matter. So referrals are a great way to find some potential candidates for the job. Also, you have the opportunity to use recruitment agencies. There are recruitment agencies that specialize in the healthcare sector, including dental practices. They can help streamline the process by vetting these candidates for you. It'll cost you a little bit extra money, but according to some dentists that I've spoken to, it's worth it because they vet these individuals and then you don't have to spend so much time going through your list. Now, compensation, what should you pay them? Salary is a crucial part of attracting the right candidate. The amount you should offer depends on several factors, including your location, the size of your practice, and of course, the experience of the candidate. So before you identify a salary, do your market research. Look at the average salary for dental office managers in your area. In the U.S., salaries typically range from maybe $40,000 to $75,000 per year. But that can vary significantly based on location. If you have a practice on Park Avenue in New York City, you're probably going to have to pay more than if you are in a very rural area of Arkansas, for instance. That's just how it works. Urban areas or large practices will often require a higher salary to attract the candidate. Now, keep in mind, if you're hiring someone with significant experience, expect to pay on the higher end of the scale. If your candidate comes with experience managing a large team or multiple practices or is familiar with specific dental software systems, of course, their value increases. Now, also keep in mind, benefits and bonuses are important to most job applicants. So beyond the salary, think about the full package you're going to offer this person. Health insurance, retirement plans, pay time off, and performance-based bonuses. These things can make your offer more attractive and competitive than other offers the candidate is looking at. And keep in mind right now, there is a scarcity of employees available in the dental space. So it is an employee market. So those extra things in your package will help you get someone interested in the position at your practice. So let's talk about the interview process, how to assess candidates. So when it comes to interviewing, it's essential to go beyond what's in the resume. What they wrote in that resume, take it for what it's worth, but you really need to dig deeper to find out about this person. Preliminary interviews can be done online, and they should be done online, and there's nothing wrong with doing two or three of these before inviting the candidate to the office. So when talking to them online, this is your opportunity to see if they're cordial, friendly, get a feel for their overall disposition. Do they come across as genuine, someone that seems trustworthy, and empathetic. These are very important attributes to your office manager. How well does the candidate fit with your practice culture? We'll be getting right back to our episode in a second, but first, when it comes to the final step in indirect restorations, cementation is crucial. That's why thousands of top clinicians rely on TheraseM by Bisco. This dual-cured calcium and fluoride-releasing self-adhesive resin cement is ideal for looting crowns, bridges, inlays, and onlays, with no need for a primer. TheraseM forms a strong bond directly to zirconia in most dental substrates. Its easy cleanup, convenient delivery system, high radio opacity, and continuous calcium and fluoride release make TheraseM a top choice among dental cements. For cases where you choose to apply an adhesive separately, Duolink Universal Adhesive Resin Cement is the perfect solution. Compatible with all dental materials, it works seamlessly with Bisco adhesives, such as Z' Plus and Porcelain Primer, ensuring optimal strength and adhesion. It's time to get the most out of your indirect restorations with Bisco's Advanced Dental Cements. To learn more, visit bisco.com. You also want to evaluate them in terms of their leadership potential and how they might handle the pressures of a busy dental office. So feel free on that online interview, on a Zoom call, for instance, to ask them key questions that will give you insight into how they handle specific situations. For example, you can ask them, can you describe a time when you had to manage a difficult patient situation? How do you handle conflicts with your team? What steps do you take to ensure billing accuracy and timely payments? And then, of course, you can ask them some problem-solving scenarios to give you a better idea of how the candidate thinks and how they might handle problems and challenges in your practice. For example, you can ask them hypothetical questions like, what would you do if the schedule is overbooked and you have a patient emergency come in? How would you approach an issue where a team member consistently underperforms? How would you deal with a situation where a patient is disputing their bill at the reception area? And you can see that the volume of the patient's voice continues to get louder. So these are the kind of questions you can ask them and see how they answer. Another important piece of the puzzle when hiring an office manager is the cultural fit. Keep in mind the office manager is the face of your practice. It's important that their values align with yours. So ask them questions about their management style, their philosophy on patient care, and how they build team morale. If their values, attitudes, and work style align with the practice's culture, they are more likely to foster a positive atmosphere, which of course benefits both the team and the patients. For instance, if your practice emphasizes patient-centered care, hiring a manager who shares this philosophy ensures consistent communication, empathy, and service delivery across the board. A good cultural fit helps maintain a cohesive team, as staff members are more likely to follow a leader who reflects the core values of the practice. On the flip side, a poor cultural fit can create friction and negatively impact the practice no doubt if the office manager's approach to leadership or patient care clashes with your team's established values it can lead to misunderstandings staff dissatisfaction and even higher turnover rates and many studies have shown that team members quit resign from a dental practice predominantly because they don't like working for their boss they just don't like their office manager so they leave so We don't want that to happen when you hire a new office manager. So we talked about skill sets that were important before, but there are some tests that you can actually present to the candidate before making a final decision. Tests that help assess whether candidates possess the necessary competencies for the role. So, for instance, you can do a software proficiency test, which tests their familiarity with dental practice management software, such as Dentrix, EagleSoft, and so forth. So you're going to provide a scenario simulating their ability to schedule appointments, enter patient data, or even generate reports. This will assess their comfort with digital tools and ensure they can manage the technology essential to your office's operations. Now, an office manager needs to understand billing and insurance. They have to have some knowledge of this, of course. So create a mock scenario where the candidate has to handle insurance claims. process billing codes, or manage patient payments. This evaluates their understanding of dental billing procedures, insurance protocols, and their ability to ensure timely, accurate payment processing. Another great thing to do is a role-playing test, specifically conflict resolution. So provide a role-playing scenario where the candidate must mediate a conflict between staff members or handle a disgruntled patient. This test can gauge their leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills under pressure. To measure their organizational skill, you can do something where you ask them to prioritize a list of tasks, such as a busy day of patient scheduling, overseeing staff, responding to billing issues, and managing an emergency patient. So this will test their organizational skills, ability to prioritize, and of course multitask effectively. There's not a single dental office manager in the world who's really good that can't multitask. That's just part of the job. So your dental office manager should also be able to provide superb, superior customer service. So to get information on that, present a hypothetical situation where a patient is dissatisfied with their treatment or bill. Ask the candidate to walk through how they would handle the situation to ensure the patient leaves satisfied. This kind of simulation test measures their interpersonal skills, empathy, and ability to maintain patient satisfaction. So these skill tests can help you determine how well the candidate can perform the critical tasks of a dental office manager. This could all be done online before you even see them in person. And it helps you understand how they respond to real-world challenges specific to the role. So let's fast forward where you are at the point where you think you've identified a top candidate. What do you do now? First of all, you need to check references. So you want to contact the previous employers and ask about the candidate's work ethic, leadership style, reliability is a big thing, and any areas where they might have struggled. And try to ask open-ended questions. That's going to give you the most information. For example, can you describe how they handle difficult situations with patients? Or how did they contribute to team morale? If you just say, did they contribute to team morale? They'll say, yeah, sure they did. So keep the questions open. Let them talk about this person and give you as much information as possible. So once you get through the references, you certainly want to do a criminal background check. Since the office manager will be handling sensitive patient information and finances, it's essential to perform a criminal background check on this person. You want to ensure that the candidate has no history of fraud, theft, or other red flags that could jeopardize your practice's security. And I think it's a good idea to run a credit check. Because they're going to be in a role, most likely, that involves handling billing and financial operations. And someone with a poor credit history might indicate potential issues with financial responsibility. And you should know about that before you hire them. Now, there's also personality and behavioral assessment tests. Some dentists choose to do this before they hire somebody. These tools, for instance, like DISC assessment, DISC, or the Myers-Briggs test can help you understand more about the candidate's personality type and how they might handle team dynamics, leadership, and conflict resolution. They're not definitive, but they can offer insights into how they'll fit. within your practice's culture and manage team relationships. So you might decide to do some personality and behavioral tests. These are professional tests that you pay for, and they do have some value. So before making the final decision, you want to meet with a candidate one last time to discuss mutual expectations. Talk about your vision. Share your vision for the practice and how the office manager will play a key role in achieving these goals. This can include growth plans, patient care objectives, and team leadership. Talk about their goals. Ask the candidate about their career goals and how they see themselves growing within the practice. This will help you gauge their long-term commitment and whether the role aligns with their personal ambitions. Now, once you've decided this is the right person and you want to hire them, you want to extend a formal offer. And that offer needs to include details on salary, benefits, job responsibilities, and any incentive programs that you might be offering. Make sure the offer letter is clear on expectations regarding work hours, leadership duties, and any probationary period. And you really need to be open to negotiation, particularly around compensation and benefits because of the scarcity of talented help that's available for the dental practices these days. We are in a, as I mentioned, an employee market right now. So it favors the employee over the employer. So now you've hired your office manager. Congratulations. But keep in mind, once you've made your hire, don't just throw them into the deep end. A structured training process will help them succeed in their new role and integrate smoothly with your team. And the more organized your training is, the more they will respect the practice they're about to work in. So the first few weeks are crucial. in the onboarding process provide comprehensive training on your practices policies procedures software and any unique systems you use for instance if you are doing a lot of airway services for obstructive sleep apnea you may be using a completely different software for those services because they're billed through medical insurance you need to make sure they're trained on all these details and all these nuances So if possible, pair them up with a mentor or senior staff member who can guide them through all the nuances of your practice. Have your new office manager shadow different team members, including dental assistants, hygienists, and front desk staff. This will give them a better understanding of how all the moving parts in your practice fit together. You also could look into third-party leadership training. Consider sending them to a leadership course or workshop. This will help them develop skills in conflict resolution, team motivation, and effective communication. And remember, training doesn't stop after the first few months. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions will help them stay on track and give them the opportunity to voice any concerns they have or something they don't understand. And of course, they can ask you that on a daily basis, but it would be nice to have a more structured environment for ongoing training. new hire has been working in your practice for a while, you have to start thinking about incentives to retain your office manager. A great office manager is a long-term investment and keeping them happy is key to maintaining the smooth operation of your practice. So here are some incentive recommendations that can help retain your office manager. You can offer performance bonuses. Bonuses tied to specific metrics such as patient satisfaction scores. or reduce patient wait times, or increase revenue. This not only motivates them, but also aligns their goals with the success of your practice. Professional development is another one. Offer opportunities for them to attend industry conferences, workshops, or certifications. This not only improves their skills, but also shows them you're interested in their growth. And you want to make sure they have a work-life balance, meaning you're giving them flexibility in working hours, the ability to occasionally Work from home, if applicable, or additional pay time off can go a long way in preventing burnout. Health and wellness benefits offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance, dental care, and wellness programs. These kinds of things can make your practice a more attractive place to work, and they'll stay longer. It's also important to recognize your dental office manager's hard work, and that means publicly during team meetings. positive feedback, and offer pathways for growth. If your office manager excels, you may want to involve them in higher level decision-making within the practice. Another thing you might offer is profit sharing. Some practices choose to offer profit sharing options for their office manager, giving them a stake in the financial success of the business. This can serve certainly as a powerful incentive for retention and performance. So in conclusion, hiring the right office manager for your dental practice is one of the most important decisions you'll make for your practice. This person will be a key player in ensuring that the day-to-day operations run smoothly. Your patients have positive experiences. Your life becomes easier because they've taken a lot of the burden off of you as the dental owner, and they handle those things for you. And your staff remains motivated and organized. So by knowing what to look for, the skills that we talked about, how to interview, and how to properly compensate and train your office manager, you set the stage for a long-term partnership that benefits your entire practice. So take the time to hire wisely and don't rush the process. The right office manager is not just another employee. They're the backbone of your practice's success. With the right leadership, structure, and incentives, you can build a team that grows with you, making your practice more efficient, profitable, and a great place to work. Thanks for tuning in and good luck in your search for the perfect dental practice office manager.