Dental practices are getting creative when it comes to service provision during a seemingly never-ending staffing crisis. While it used to be easy and cost-effective to hire in-office, full-time employees for every office function, practices are learning that this is no longer the case. Hiring is difficult, employee turnover is high, and the costs associated with recruitment, onboarding and training, payroll and benefits can leave many practices struggling to find staff members who stay long enough to even make it worth the investment. Hence, staffing solutions that better serve budget priorities while still accommodating quality provision are urgently needed.
Those practices that anticipate the changing employment landscape and staffing negotiations tend to be the ones that minimize hiring challenges and successfully navigate crises. If other practices are not merely surviving in this economy and job market but thriving, it's because they've adapted in creative ways to maintain service quality and reduce costs. From remote solutions to restructured responsibilities, many practices have adopted new ways of thinking about staffing.
One of the simplest and most revolutionary avenues for staffing accomplishments in this new economy comes from remote support solutions that enable office functioning without on-site personnel. For example, treatment coordination, appointment scheduling, insurance pre-authorization, patient follow-up calls and out-reach efforts can all come from a professional working either from home or an off-site location.
Remote help for dental offices is not only cost-effective and more tax efficient (i.e. avoiding unnecessary salaries due to noncompliance or billing issues), but also provides specialty solutions through certified professionals who would otherwise be sitting in a dental office - likely doing a position that they have to work full-time to fill.
For example, a professional who provides part-time accounts payable for 4 different dental offices gets more business than someone in a practice looking for work part-time since their time is split - but their pay is compensated through shared hours among different companies.
Additionally, since technological capacity has exceeded expectations, remote dental help now comes with equipment not only HIPAA-compliant but sophisticated enough to ensure patient interactions are seamless with in-office staff members. Cloud-based management systems provide remote technicians the same access as those physically in an office, so much so that patients often don't realize they're talking to someone half a town away.
The beauty of remote solutions during a staffing crisis comes from reliability. If remote support goes on vacation or can't make a day because of illness, another just as qualified employee from the same company can step in with no transition or learning curve required.
What used to operate under predetermined schedules with fixed staffing levels throughout any given day has expanded into flexible scheduling setups that accommodate available staff according to patient demand instead of unnecessary requirements. Flexible scheduling solutions include compressed work week scenarios (for example, 3-10 hours instead of 5 days per week), staggered schedules (where different people overlap to extend practice hours) or part-time positions with definite hours but fewer overall hours per week.
Cross-training will also increase as all hands on deck approaches are favored to avoid costly overages; for example, if no one answers phones at the front desk because the receptionist is busy; if the dental assistant can answer basic questions or book appointments while standing by, then everyone wins.
Some practices have expanded their horizons to share professionals across different offices. A specialist in billing can help three or four offices efficiently without being tied down to any one practice. A hygienist that only works three days a week out of one office can provide services at another twice a week without inconsistency.
This works well for specialized roles (billing managers, consultants), but consultative hires and administrative specialists who are generally hired for one position can fill multiple roles across multiple locations without conflict.
The key here is logistics; the coordination may take time to work through but the professionals who become shared roles will ultimately be those with higher expertise than any practice could otherwise afford - as the costs can be shared among all involved.
Companies need not look for staff solely but instead look for ways that technology can fill in gaps and provide staffers with other means to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Digital intake forms reduce overhead time required for checking in; online scheduling, automated reminders and note systems reduce frustration time at the front desk.
Practice management software boasting in-depth reporting capabilities help practices manage needs better (i.e. why do they need more staff? Because so-and-so isn’t efficient? Or because they just don’t have enough time? Often it’s the latter).
Patient interaction tools improve basic questions without overwhelming consistent staff members who might otherwise be busy handling complicated inquiries. When technology can handle calls and emails 24/7 without requiring downtime that staff need, fewer personnel are needed at on-site operation.
Instead of hiring skilled professionals who only need minor efforts for daily assistance, some practices decide that outsourcing certain services to specialized professionals is best. This means accounting and payroll processing needs, as well as website management and marketing efforts.
Credentialing and compliance issues - for obtaining certifications - are best left with professionals, as are education initiatives relative to resuming education requirements.
As long as outsourced professionals understand how the business runs and their hired help integrates seamlessly into specific aspects of dental offices, there's no reason generic business service professionals cannot save the day where full-time professionals would require salary instead.
Retention efforts become less challenging when performance-based compensation benefits apply. Many practices implement bonus structures (i.e. if you show up every day this month you’ll receive a $100 check) just as easily as those who recoup losses through productivity efforts or patient resolutions.
Since efficiency improvements positively impact practice accessibility going forward, great-hire considerations will now factor in professional development options and career advancement paths that other practices may not have room for at this time might be tempting nonetheless.
The best hiring solutions for dental practices during a crisis regard prior planning - pay attention to what you need versus what positions must be filled on-site and go from there. Accepting what used to be customary might need a facelift for the future - but accepting mediocre standards is no way worth it.
Practices can provide quality service without overwhelming hiring needs when they think outside the box. Making accommodations that better serve practice needs (through creative solutions instead of what everyone else used to do) will most inevitably save practices money while easing tensions associated with constant hiring expectations.
In this economic crisis and challenging hiring atmosphere - now is not the time to do what's always been done; instead flexibility will reign supreme where hiring needs are concerned - and creativity and problem solving have become the new best staffing substitutes.
