Taking on an experienced dentist can help your dental business run more smoothly and efficiently. Good hiring and selection decisions are the foundation of a successful dental practice. Yet, finding such an individual can be difficult because your business is not the only one on the market looking for candidates to hire.

You can publish a job advertisement in your local newspaper or post through job sites if you have time on your hand to interview dozens of people. But your money and time would be better invested if you employed talent assessment tools to find a candidate who meets your search criteria and has all of the necessary credentials.

For example, With HireQuotient's skill assessment tools, you can easily conduct pre-employment evaluations on candidates to learn more about their skill sets and talents before you make the important decision to choose the best pre-vetted dentists for your business. Book a demo and see it for yourself:

Before we dive into discussing more useful hiring methods in the dental industry, let's take a look at reasons why you should take your time and choose the right doctor to your team of practitioners.

“Where people aren’t having fun, they seldom produce good work.” — David Ogilvy

Hiring an experienced dentist could be a smart move for your practice!

Dentists are undeniably the healthcare industry's backbone. They are the most important cog in the machine that runs the healthcare industry; without them, it would be practically impossible for the sector to function efficiently.

Finding a dentist that is an ace when it comes to dentistry is a good investment for your healthcare facility. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, there are a few other factors that needs careful examination. Being a part of a herd is not always a bad thing, especially when you are with a group of driven individuals moving towards a common goal. But in these cases, one rotten apple could change the tides against your favour.

Whatever your purpose for hiring another dentist is, how you approach this essential choice of dental hiring will have a huge impact on your practice. It will propel you towards your personal and business goals if done effectively. However, if it is handled incorrectly, it can have major consequences both now and in the future.

Here are some guidelines to help you find and hire the best dentist for your practice.

1. Invest your time in the process:

While looking for a dentist to join their team, many people make the error of not devoting enough time to the recruitment process.

It is unlikely that the first candidate you meet or interact with during an interview will sweep you off your feet(even if they do, its good to have options!). Selecting the top individuals requires a significant amount of time and effort. Are you looking to recruit employees through the proper channels? Are the job descriptions you've provided accurate? What qualities do you seek in your next hire? Are your company's values and policies well-defined? Evaluate things from the perspective of another candidate. Keep all of this in mind before beginning your job search for a dentist.

Why should a well-respected dentist actively engage with your business if you are unable to dedicate the time to attract one?

2. Make sure your business values align.

Your hiring strategy should be aligned with your practice's philosophy. Develop a method that matches your dental clinic's mission and goals. It will be much easier to find a prospective dentist who shares your underlying values.

Remember that your new dentist will become an extension of your office and everything it represents.

3. Create high-quality and optimized job postings:

We're all aware that job postings should have a fine balance of brevity and also a thorough detail of the knowledge, credentials, and talents required to qualify for the position. Yet, marketing should be more than a shopping list of essentials. Job postings should be both inspirational and conversational. Create a list of all the employee perks that someone would receive if they joined your company; include competitive salary, work-life balance, professional advancement, the number of leaves granted, and so on.

Above all, a good job advertisement should answer the question, "Why would this company be a good fit for me?"

According to a Glassdoor survey, 60% of respondents said they consider benefits and bonuses before accepting a job offer. Glassdoor

4. Dedicate your time to creating an office policy manual:

Spend some time drafting standards that govern operating hours, holiday time, holiday pay, maternity benefits, phone use and Internet use, dress code, and other contingencies. This is your practice's first official correspondence with a new employee. The manual will establish behavior standards and describe what would happen in case those standards are not followed. It should contain the company's personnel policies and procedures for seeking any leave and other similar requests. It becomes an empowering tool if you need to reprimand an employee. The policy manual informs employees of their responsibilities and helps to eliminate any misunderstandings.

5. Recruit through referrals:

Word-of-mouth marketing is still the most effective marketing strategy accessible today. It yields more results than any other marketing strategy. Referrals contribute to 50% of DSO recruiting, according to the research.

That is why you should encourage your many employees to refer prospective employees. Your most talented employees get access to a network of industry leaders. As a result, direct them to post the job position on various social media platforms.

Also encourage referral hiring among your employees by offering incentives who refer a specified number of references, eventually leading to a job offer.

6. Make use of the applicant tracking system to reach previous candidates.

Contacting existing prospects, in addition to finding new ones, will benefit your dentistry recruitment plan. You must have advertised the position previously, and numerous dentists may have applied but were not hired.

You can always contact them, but only if you have a good applicant tracking system (ATS) in place. These people have a high conversion rate since they have already expressed an interest to work with you.

7. Establish a stellar reputation for yourself as an ideal employer:

A dental practice that establishes an encouraging atmosphere and work environment is more likely to attract and retain competent dental professionals for a longer period of time.

Selecting a suitable candidate is only winning half the battle. The most difficult aspect is usually retaining those employees in business for a long time.

When recruiting someone, you must do it correctly, which means executing in the most cost-effective and time-efficient manner possible. Hiring a new employee at first may appear to be a straightforward and simple process, but you have to wait until you have completely prepared before proceeding. While there is no guarantee that the person you hire will be a great hire, there are some actions you can take to attract the best candidates and precautions you can take to boost your chances of selecting a good choice.

Most dentists worry about the prospect of hiring new employees. They wish to fill open positions as soon as possible. Instead of creating a strategy to identify the ideal candidates for joining their team, they hire the first candidate who seems to be a good match and assume that they are a good hire.

When you rush through the hiring process, you risk choosing someone who isn't suitable for the position, which will cost your practice hundreds of thousands of dollars and your valuable time. Employing the correct team members is critical to the success of your practice.

Here are six common recruiting mistakes made by most dentists, as well as tips on how to avoid them.

Not providing enough information to the candidates:

Detailed job descriptions are an important element of the hiring process because they help you locate competent applicants who will prosper as team members. Utilize job descriptions to spell out exactly what you're looking for and distribute them to prospects before inviting them in for an interview.

This will provide applicants with a much clearer image of what the job post requires, including hours, benefits, and the required skill set, and will allow them to leave early if they discover the position isn't a good fit, saving everyone involved time and stress.

Not giving the resumes a proper review:

When reviewing resumes, keep in mind that they are essentially nothing more than a sales pitch. Many applicants exaggerate or outright lie on their resumes, making it even more difficult to assess who is a good fit for the position.

Instead of being impressed by resumes, check for any red flags. For instance, if a resume shows abilities, responsibilities, and accomplishments but does not provide a chronological record of work or job information, you might be dealing with someone who is job-hopping too frequently. If you observe significant gaps in employment history, the applicant is probably not someone you want in your business.

When reviewing resumes, it's also a good idea to refer to the job description. This will allow you to rapidly establish whether an applicant is qualified or not.

Not asking the right questions:

Simple yes/no questions will not reveal anything about a candidate's experience or character. Instead, ask open-ended questions during the face-to-face interview to allow them to provide more thorough responses. Candidates who respond with vague or generic descriptions should be avoided.

Using too generic job listings:

Do you wish to attract the finest and brightest to your practice? Make sure your job postings stand out. Utilize active words to describe the job opportunity, and tailor your ads to the job you're looking for. Emphasize all the relevant information that job seekers want to know, such as position status, office location, and working hours. Make sure to provide information on the pay range and remuneration—50% of prospects will ignore ads that lack compensation information.

Lastly: Don't underestimate the importance of pre-employment tests and assessments:

You cannot take applicants at their word, no matter how pleasant they may sound.

Before bringing in new team members make it a requirement to fill out an application and go through pre-employment testing just to be double-sure. HireQuotient’s skill assessment platform has a huge database of assessments for you where you can conduct pre-employment tests and skill-based assessments on candidates, so you only make the right hiring decisions for your business:

A simple skill assessment can tell you a lot about a candidate's capabilities and skill sets, ensuring that the hiring decisions you make are beneficial to your company.

If you avoid these five common pitfalls, you will not only make the process go more smoothly but you will also recruit the proper team members who understand what it takes to help your practice prosper.

Hiring a dentist necessitates expertise and attention to detail.

Employing the right people for your dental practice necessitates the establishment of a thorough interview procedure as well as the commitment to wait until you have discovered the right individual for the job.

Hiring the first person who applies for your open positions will only lead to problems down the road unless you find yourself with a fair amount of luck.

You will have significantly more success connecting with suitable dental hires for your open job posts if you take the time to build a clear hiring procedure and hunt for people through the relevant channels.

When looking to hire a new dentist for your practice, there is no substitute for patience!

Check out all of the amazing content on our website site, HireQuotient.com, for more tips and techniques to help you run a successful business.

What is HireQuotient?

HireQuotient offers a number of pre-employment assessments and virtual interviews to help your company better evaluate candidates and locate qualified personnel. HireQuotient prioritizes streamlining the recruiting and selection process for businesses by giving its customers high-quality skill-based assessments. Get in touch with our experts and explore how you can level up your hiring game like never before!

A toothy topic: why hiring a dentist is crucial for your Organizational health