Dental Team Calibration

Happy Halloween!! Have fun, but don't forget to be careful around that hard, sticky candy.

I'm sure many of you know me from my years of history in our industry, from my placement agency in Phoenix established in 1997 to my current role placing personnel remotely and coaching dentists in efficient acquisition and integration of team members. Recently a very prominent periodontist in Canada was referred to me by a peer specialist who was aware of the various software projects in which my husband and I had taken part. The doctor had been researching web-based applications in hopes of finding one that could address the critical issue of the ineffective communication with her referring offices regarding mutual patient treatment. Being impressed with our history, she approached us with the idea of creating a custom program to streamline this interaction to enhance the time efficiency of both business offices. She and her colleagues have been successfully using our program for close to a year. We all felt it was time to release it universally to professionals everywhere!

And by the way, Specialists, what a great gift for your referring doctors with no cost to them. There are wins for you, your teams and especially for your mutual patients. Excited to finally let the cat out of the bag...

Welcome to!

Referral Status Web site created using create-react-app

This post is in no way related to politics be it liberals, conservatives, Republicans or Democrats. This post is addressed to those that get pleasure out of expressing themselves in the most despicable way!

It appears to me that some of my colleagues in the medical/dental industry are perhaps not recognizing the signs of illness that Joe has exhibited during Thursday evening's debate. I feel certain that he is likely suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia. So it was much more than a "poor performance", for me it confirmed what I've suspected for a while. It might have been more obvious to me in that I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about a year and a half ago.

My life has been changed as a result of PD, it has caused me to adjust the career I’ve had and loved for well over 50 years. I can no longer give seminars as my voice is weak, my mind will often drift off and I often forget my train of thought and on occasions I can't find the right words and will mumble (I'm starting speak therapy next week). With this, I have adjusted my business model to accommodate my limitations. But... I'm not running for President and he is. I strongly hope he steps down and that his family and party are able to make him "see the light" and encourage him to move on.

Whether you agree with his policies/politics or not, there is no reason for some of you to post horrific memes, sick jokes and disgusting rhetoric. Shame on those of you who are so inhumane and so insensitive to the challenges many of us must face in life.

I am not one to voice strong opinions on social media networks, but I can’t tell you how disappointed and surprised I've been to read some of your postings!! Sad to say I have lost respect for a few of you that I have looked up to and admired. My hope is that you will separate politics from basic human decency and think twice before you post.I have no doubt that there are others out there that can relate and I'm sure it hurts them as much as it does me. Please be kind.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers I've met in my long career in dentistry!! I believe we take our mothering skills and apply them to our patients, our doctors and to each other. Let's face it, we were born to nurture ❤

It's real! When we didn't think it could get worse-it did! Now more than ever before we must apply the most thorough due diligence as we possibly can. Simply locating viable hiring possibilities has become a challenge today so be totally prepared. Tighten up your hiring protocols, offer information pertaining to the position in writing, maintain clear lines of communication between you and the job seekers, don't let the best candidates slip through your fingers. Pay attention and don't lose your focus. Oh, and don't forget to create a firm "On-boarding" process, one that will continue to keep your new hire engaged and happy.

The "Right" people, with the "Right" attitude, passion and interest to learn should never be overlooked!

Hire for "Who" they are and not necessarily "What" they Hire for "Who" they are and not necessarily "What" they know~

Let me guess:

You are seeking a new employee and have your peers and friends helping by forwarding you resumes. You're also placing ads and utilizing many different hiring platforms as you accumulate resumes to review. You see a couple that appear promising (on paper) and so you or a team member reaches out and immediately schedules an in-office face-to-face interview. Sorry, this is your first mistake.

You or someone on your team sets aside anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to meet with them onsite. You have actually taken time away from caring for patients to spend time with this person and guess what--they don't show up AND didn't so much as call. What a waste of time and a loss of revenue!

Consider this:

Rather than jumping to the face-to-face interview, try slowing things down with a couple of phone calls before they are even invited to visit with you in person at your office.

Doctor, make a personal call for an initial informal phone conversation. Ask them to check your website to get an idea of your practice style and culture. As you finish your call, schedule a follow-up call to answer any questions they might have and offer you any feedback and impressions based on the contents of your website.

Here's what you've now done:

You can see if they make it to the second call if they appear to have viewed your website. Ask "what did you see on the site that interested you?" If it appears as though they have really done their homework, you then set a date for them to come in and meet you and the team and have an opportunity to learn more and get a feel for the practice.

What you've accomplished is to limit your time away from the chair, or have a team member break away from their work or perhaps stay over lunch or after work hours to interview this applicant who then doesn't show.

Slowing things down is not only the most important segment of the hiring process, but it allows you the opportunity to recognize any speed bumps or problem signs so that you can quickly move on to other candidates. Yes, it's a couple of phone calls but they will be short and not take nearly as much time as it would to have them in to meet you.

Listen closely during the phone calls, you can learn so much!

Does a team member appear disconnected? Remember, it's never too late to Calibrate!

Start creating a "healthy" employee/employer relationship at hire. Make an early statement indicating that you are supportive and appreciate their joining the team. This is one of the biggest problem areas that teammates bring to my attention all the time! It's never too soon to show appreciation!