Dental Practice Made Simple: Staff longevity

Dental Practice Made Simple is a video series from DrBicuspid.com and Levin Group. Tune in every Wednesday for a quick tip from Dr. Roger P. Levin to learn how to build high-powered, proven systems that lead to practice success.

Staffing will be the No. 1 challenge facing dentistry for the next five to 10 years, said Dr. Roger P. Levin in the latest episode of Dental Practice Made Simple. One of the simplest ways to address that shortage is to keep the staff you already have.

"They may not be A+ players, but the staff we have is better than no staff at all," Levin said.

For the first time in his nearly four decadelong practice management career, Levin is seeing practices struggle to meet production goals because of staffing. The issue is one reported by many dentists, according to new data from the ADA Health Policy Institute.

"We're seeing more and more practices lose production because they can't staff properly," Levin said.

To help keep your staff, Levin advised putting into place a longevity bonus at the one-year, three-year, and five-year mark. When it comes to giving staff members a bonus, you should think in terms of thousands, not hundreds.

"I know it seems like a lot, but if you pay that money and your team stays, it'll be much less expensive than turnover or hiring someone to replace someone who has left," Levin said.

Learn more about preventing staff turnover in the video below.

Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].

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