Editor's note: This article addresses one finding from our recent comprehensive survey of DrBicuspid.com readers regarding clinician's worries about keeping dental team members.
Team retention has been one of the biggest challenges for dental practices in recent years. Practices invest heavily in hiring the right people, but keeping them long term requires more than just a paycheck.
Dayna Johnson.
Research continues to reinforce what many of us already know: Training, development, and thoughtful incentive programs are vital to retaining a strong team.
Consider this: Twenty-four percent of new hires leave within their first year if they don’t receive adequate training and development for their role. On the flip side, when practices invest in training, productivity can increase by up to 200%.
For millennials -- the largest segment of today’s workforce -- 35% rank training and development as the No. 1 thing they look for in an employer. Clearly, professional growth isn’t a perk; it’s an expectation.
That said, I’m often asked by doctors, “Should I give my team a bonus?” Incentives can absolutely be powerful, but how you structure them matters.
What I don’t recommend is rewarding only one individual based on his or her role, like front-desk scheduling or treatment plan acceptance. Singling out one person creates division rather than teamwork.
Instead, tie incentives to collective goals. One of the most effective models I’ve seen is linking bonuses to practice overhead. For example, if your overhead is 70% and your goal is to reduce it to 65%, the team works together to achieve it. If they surpass the goal, say bringing overhead down to 64%, they share in the savings. I’ve seen practices pay out thousands in bonuses this way while also building financial discipline across the entire team.
Whether you base it on overhead, production, or collections, the key is creating a shared incentive that motivates the entire team to row in the same direction. Pair that with robust training and development and you’ll not only keep your team longer, but you’ll also create a thriving, high-performing culture that patients can feel the moment they walk in the door.
Dayna Johnson is the founder of Novonee, a Dentrix online community, as well as the host of The High Performing Dental Team podcast. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
