Over the last three years, the profession has tracked, reported, and studied the wage expectations and demands of dental workers. We acknowledge that wage requests from dental hygienists—and the competition to attract hygiene candidates and dental assistants have pressured dentists to exceed traditional budgeting practices. Many dentists are throwing up their hands and saying they can’t maintain the financial health of their practice and pay more. Many say they can’t find “good” candidates to hire, even if they could afford them.
Here are some tips to help you shift your focus towards actionable steps to consider when hiring and to help retain valuable employees.
Successive years of salary surveys by DentalPost in partnership with Dental Economics and RDH Magazine have revealed that around 5% of dental team members have not had regular annual pay raises. Until two years ago, 65-75% of team members received less than cost-of-living increases. Throughout Q3 2021 to Q3 2023, annual pay increases ranged from 5% to 16%, depending on the role, with front office employees (not hygienists) receiving the highest pay adjustment. The next survey data should be out at the beginning of January 2025.
With many job opportunities available, it’s only natural that dental workers would be on the move to improve their financial situations. DentalPost’s most recent survey indicated that 45% of dental professionals were reading job ads, even if they were not actively applying.
To put team turnover in perspective, the survey found that many job changes in 2023 were motivated by the opportunity to work closer to home or in a less stressful, more collaborative environment. Income was not the only motivation.
Simply Ask: It seems that many employers hesitate to ask their employees what they need or want to remain happy in their practice long-term, fearing that the requests will be unattainable. While this might occasionally be the case, more often than not, employees will request small changes that can easily be accommodated and significantly increase their satisfaction. Even if the request cannot be fulfilled, employees will appreciate that you asked and attempted to meet them halfway.
Articles and Surveys: Numerous resources are available to dental employers that provide insights into what attracts and retains talent. The 2024 Salary Survey Report by DentalPost and RDH Magazine revealed that many dental professionals plan to seek a better work environment in 2024. Conducting research on how to improve your work environment for your team and highlighting these improvements in your job postings can be highly effective.
Interviews: When interviewing applicants, ask them what they need or want to stay with your practice long-term. It is likely to be something small and simple, and asking this question demonstrates to the applicant that you genuinely care about your team, making them more inclined to join.
If you prefer a shortcut, here are the wants and needs I have recently identified through interviews and research.
DirectDental, a web-based staffing platform and specialized job board, has reported that job posts are not getting applicants if the posts do not include pay or if they list pay but it is not above the average rate in that area. No matter how great the listing is, potential candidates are screening job posts based on pay.
Finding the average wage in your area, adding a dollar or two, and including the wage in the job posting may increase the number of applicants. However, during the interview process, applicants also weigh several factors. Dental workers know the grass is not always greener. They want to be happier in their new job, not just earning more. If you have an amazing office team and culture, you may have room to negotiate compensation.
Once you understand what potential applicants want, your job post should clearly communicate that you offer those benefits. Highlight these advantages prominently at the top of the job description and extend your benefits list as much as possible.
Here are some additional benefits you can include:
Highlighting the benefits of working with your practice in your job post is the most effective way to attract applicants.
The American Dental Association (ADA) has actively supported initiatives to train more dental assistants and hygienists. Here are some of the recent efforts:
Although rising wages are painful for employers who must balance their budgets and make a profit, year-over-year increases in average dollars per hour will make dental jobs more attractive to people deciding on a career. Rising benefits will also help the industry compete with other sectors for new workers.
You may have built a clear and positive practice culture that aligns with your vision of practice but have taken your attention off that culture. From time to time, every practice leader must renew focus on the values, messages, and behaviors that are predominant in their practice. Team members want to make a difference not only through their duties but also through the ideas and “can do” attitudes they bring to the office. They want to be heard, their suggestions considered, and their efforts appreciated. They want to feel safe as they work and converse about what is on their minds. They don’t mind being held accountable but desire for their efforts and achievements to be recognized. They also want transparency. They fear what they don’t know more than they fear change itself.
If a dental practice culture is based on clear values and not too many of them, dental professionals readily engage in their work and are resourceful. They often independently develop their knowledge, pursue training, and thoughtfully refine their skills. In a healthy work environment, they know when they are making a difference in the lives of the patients and each other. They feel good about their contributions, and they want to make more.
Beware of team relationships. In some practices, toxicity takes hold because coworkers compete for recognition or become siloed and protective of their silo. Toxicity can creep in if one team member’s mood is negative or one or more tend to gossip or blame. Employers can offset this with increased open communication and fostering feedback—both are the antithesis of secrecy, fear of the unknown, brewing discontentment, and insecurity about the right things to do. Provide the means for employees to share their concerns safely and privately with you.
Top talent gravitates toward positivity and harmony. Top dental professionals want to work in an environment where they can do their best and know they are making a positive contribution. They want to build wonderful relationships with co-workers and the patients they serve. They won’t hang around if they are not growing and collaborating with you.
If your vision of practice is to provide the best patient experience you can and the highest level of clinical care in a caring environment, talk about it often and then openly praise and celebrate with your team whenever remarkable examples of it occur.
If you have inherited a negative culture, sense your team is drifting towards antipathy or dissatisfaction, or haven’t discovered the best ways to lead your team in helping you build your positive culture, the Smile Source community is here to help. Talk about your concerns with community members, and mentorship will naturally develop.
When establishing the values for your practice, it is beneficial to involve your team in the process. This inclusion fosters buy-in and ensures they implement these values to the best of their abilities.
Keep your values concise and straightforward, and review them regularly with the team—perhaps once a month during the morning huddle.
If an employee or job applicant asks for more money than you can afford, these are some questions to ask that will indicate you want to pay fairly but also expect a return on your investment:
In the case of a hygienist, you might say, “Hygiene salaries are typically about 30% of their production. Walk me through how you will produce the amount required to keep you within that normal range.
*A note about benefits: DentalPost’s Q3 2023 survey found that more dental employees reported receiving some benefits in 2023 than in previous years. The most highly desired benefits such as health insurance, dental benefits, retirement benefits, and paid time off were reported by a greater percentage of private practice respondents in 2023 than in previous years. Satisfaction with benefits rose and became less of a distinguishable factor when job candidates compare DSO and private job offers.
When calling candidates who applied to your job post, it's necessary to make them excited about working with you within the first minute of the conversation. Here are some tips to achieve this:
Many dentists feel discouraged by the high rates that applicants are asking for. In many cases, it is unrealistic to provide a higher hourly rate without an increase in production. Offer production-based bonuses to increase total compensation. This encourages your team to work harder to increase their pay and your office’s production. You can also use these bonuses to attract applicants in your job postings, showing that you offer a higher pay rate than other offices in your area. It’s a win-win situation.
Additionally you could offer bonuses based on collections or new patient bookings. For example, if your front office staff completes all billing tasks and follows up on accounts receivable to reach your target percentage of collections, you might give them a quarterly bonus. If your receptionist tracks and converts a growing percentage of the high-value callers you target with your marketing, you could reward her with a periodic bonus.
For clinical staff, your hygienist could earn a percentage of the revenue generated from oral cancer screenings, SRPs, and LBRs. Some dentists pay their hygienists up to 30% of all collections beyond their daily production goal.
Some dental practices pay their team commission for selling oral health products.
Many employees are looking for more flexible work arrangements that allow them to strike a better work-life balance. For administrative team members, this may mean leveraging secure technology to work from home some hours or days per week. For hygienists, you might allow some flexibility in the hours they work. For a dental assistant, discuss what schedule might fit well with yours and allow some flexibility. Perhaps team members could have a long weekend off once per month.
Remember that many employees need a minimum of paid hours weekly to afford basic living expenses. Be sensitive in determining if this is a factor for your lowest-wage positions, and if so, you might find a way to pay them for more hours of work. Also, be flexible to hire two part-time employees instead of one full-time one. You may find some dental professionals only want part-time work or need a second shift.
DirectDental reports that most dental hygienists are not looking to work full-time, so if you can hire multiple hygienists for various days, you are more likely to get the help you need. Many of their clients started saying they needed a hygienist for specific days and hours, and after persuasion became flexible and were able to hire.
DirectDental recommends that a hygienist job post list your office hours and then say, “If you can work one or more of these days, please apply.” They also recommend that, if you can’t find candidates for your open role, you consider using temp services. If someone is a good fit, you can ask them to take the shift they are working indefinitely.
A significant desire of dental assistants and hygienists is flexibility. Many dentists have changed their schedules to accommodate this, which has increased employee retention and helped with hiring. Some examples of offering flexibility include:
“Finding temp dental staff through a talent marketplace can be a cost-effective solution compared to using traditional dental staffing agencies,” said ___________. “Utilizing talent marketplaces like GoTu (formerly TempMee) gives you access to a vast pool of pre-screened dental professionals. This means that you can quickly find qualified pros without having to sift through job boards or Facebook groups. GoTu handles the administrative tasks of hiring temporary staff, such as payroll and verifying qualifications. This allows you to focus on what matters most: patient care.”
Continue focusing on attracting the candidates you want. Dental employee expert, Sharyn Weiss, the CEO of Weiss Practice Enhancement, recently shared on the DirectDental blog, that dentists easily get sucked into thinking that they will never be able to hire or retain employees unless they agree to exorbitant salaries.
“But compensation is not just about a specific salary,” she wrote. “It encompasses all the ways employees are recognized and rewarded for their contribution. Mature, competent employees want to work in practices that boast a supportive culture and kind colleagues. Focus on attracting employees who recognize that their compensation must match their contribution. These are the people who will most likely become long-term, valuable team members.”
Concerned about the quality of the temp you hire? One of the features of GoTu is its extensive review system that allows you to see feedback from other dental offices that have previously worked with each of GoTu’s temp professionals.
Many dental offices have adopted the “Always be Hiring” method. This doesn’t mean always holding interviews and overstaffing your practice. It simply means running job posts occasionally, ensuring your front office doesn’t turn away anyone who walks in with a resume, and being open when someone mentions they know a great candidate for your practice. Communicate with your team about why you are doing this (accidents happen, people move away, etc.) so they aren’t worried about their jobs. This ensures you always have amazing resumes on hand, and should someone truly spectacular come along, you can bring them on to continue recruiting only the best.
It is getting hard and harder for private practice dentists to compete for talent in this economy which is why you need to get creative and think outside the box. Smile Source members encourage each other to stay focused on practice relationships to retain the appreciation and loyalty of their team members. With the help of partner resources like DirectDental and GoTu, Smile Source members are faring better than the majority of dentists faced with the challenges of the labor shortage and rising wages. They are receiving the encouragement, advice, and support services they need to sustain and grow a happy, thriving practice. Find out how Smile Source is connecting private practice dentists to the resources they need to succeed.