Episode 621: Hiring: Innovate or Die

The final system of 2023 is being previewed in this episode: hiring and onboarding! Join Kiera and Tiff to discover how the Dental A-Team will help improve your hiring/onboarding system in 2023. This is an easy zone to improve, especially with DAT by your side. Tune in to understand how operations manuals and advertisements and other tactics complement bringing on your new team members the best.

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Transcript:

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0:00:05.9 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast. I'm your host Kiera Dent, and I had this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, biller, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of travelling consultants where we have travelled to over 165 different offices coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental, and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress and create A Teams. Welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:00:51.2 S1: Hello Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and Tiff for our final system, labour of love podcast for you. We have gone through all 12 theme systems, today will be number 12 and Tiff, she's been holding strong with me this entire time, guys. Podcasting does take a lot of time, especially when you're trying to coordinate schedules. So massive kudos, massive thanks and appreciation to our one and only Spiffy Tiff. Tiff, welcome. How are you today?

0:01:16.8 Speaker 2: I am good. I think we have done so many and it's been so... I have so much fun doing these with you honestly. I think we've been on the phone for hours just busting these out and it just makes me happy. I'm not exhausted and I love it. I love creating with you.

0:01:31.4 S1: Likewise, and thanks for being on it. Agreed. Guys, Tiff and I, when we actually have our schedules combined, we will mass podcast and today I was like, "Tiff, what you doing?" She's like, "I'm yours all day." And so just appreciation that way, that we're able to create this for you guys. This is something that is our brains, our love, we really wanted you guys this year to be able to go through the 12 themes and systems that Tiff and I really feel every practice needs to have. The Dental A Team with Brit, Dana, Tiff, myself, we all came up with this to say what do practices really need to be focused on? So just as a quick recap, I hope you guys have gone through them every week. If not, be sure to go back. We started this in October, so we did October, November, and now December. That way you guys could have every one of these systems and overarching themes to really look at because we're gonna wrap it all up on our next podcast of exactly how do we tie this altogether. So today's the last theme and then next week we will go through like exactly how you put a pretty bow on all this.

0:02:33.2 S1: So the theme one was management, mastery and leadership, then doctor optimization, billing with ease. I hope you guys are having fun remembering all of these that we've done. I feel like I'm going through a yearbook, memoir like, "Oh, let's watch this montage." Five star patient experience, smooth sailing scheduling, maximize case acceptance, dynamite dental assistance, elevated hygiene, confident marketing, operations manual creation, practice profitability, and today is now the final one of hiring and onboarding. And this is actually one, Tiff, I pushed for this one to be added in. This was not our final theme. We originally had it as office practice hacks and we switched it to A Team hiring and onboarding. And I really feel it's so important cause I feel like if offices don't have a strong hiring and onboarding process overall outside of your ops manual, 'cause we originally had it tucked under ops manual, but I felt like it needed its own month and its own focus 'cause I feel like offices really need to have an elite onboarding hiring process especially in today's world. We have struggled so much with hiring over the last two years that I just felt this was a new one that needed to be added in. So Tiff, any thoughts on your side on hiring and onboarding before we kick this off?

0:03:46.2 S2: Yeah, I think if you had asked me three years ago how important it was, I would be like, "I think we could add it into management. It could be a little blip on the board of here are some quick tips we've got," but I would say the last two to three years have proven to us that we need a hiring and onboarding system that is flawless, something that also can almost self manage itself, so we've got all the parts and pieces put into place so easily that hiring can be easy or easier and the onboarding process can be much easier than it ever was before. I think today we are hiring and onboarding more people in every single aspect of business than we ever have before. Before we had... I worked at my practice for 13 years, people stayed forever and we struggled leaving because we felt bad or we felt like I just really love these people, and so we just didn't move around and then COVID forced us all to shut down and go home and a lot of people didn't get their jobs back even. And so we kind of realized like hey, maybe the dedication should be other places. And I think it really spiraled into a lot of hiring and onboarding and the importance became paramount. So I think it was valid that you put this in here. I think a whole month is necessary.

0:05:07.7 S1: And I think it also comes from our own pain throughout. Guys, I used to... We used... Tiff and I started... Do you wanna know how Tiff and I got connected? Tiff was a hire for Dental Placement Pros. Let's just do a way flashback. Tiff's name still on my phone is Tiffany Trader DPP. That is who she is 'cause it was Dental Placement Pros. We go way back to... We literally used to have a hiring company. And so I thought we're the cat's meow when it came to hiring. I thought Tiff and I would never in our wildest dreams ever be in a hiring frenzy, needing to hire, not being able to find people. I would never have bet any money that Tiff and I would be two people like, "Holy cow, hiring and onboarding needs to have a system." We were hired, guys. This is what we did for a living. That's how I met Tiff. And Tiff, that wasn't the best way for her to make an income. She surely should be a consultant, not a recruiter. But with that said, I think that we really had to take a huge dose of humility and tighten up our hiring and onboarding to where I felt Tiff and I have got this sucker under wraps.

0:06:16.9 S1: I think now I'm like bring it on. What else do you guys wanna throw out? I was like we've got a bulletproof hiring and onboarding. And if you don't feel that confident, this is a zone that I think would be a really easy one for you to improve. So Tiff, do you wanna even just start out? I think VIVAHR is relevant right now. I think it's a great one to just put out there as a resource for you guys, just as some extra value before, as we dive into pieces for your hiring and onboarding system.

0:06:42.9 S2: Yeah, for sure. VIVAHR's a company that came across my plate actually, because one of the partners in the company actually used to own... She just... I think she just sold it a couple of years ago. I think maybe even to her daughter if I'm correct, I could be making things up. But she owned a temp agency here in Phoenix that I used constantly at my practice. So anytime somebody was out sick, like Gina was my go-to person, she always had somebody for me. I could just text her and she'd have somebody for me within hours. And so I used her all the time while she came across... She emailed me one day, knowing I was no longer at the practice and was like, "Hey, I'm doing this new thing." And I looked into it and it was pretty cool. And then honestly, marketing got to me and I was like I think this might be something we can use. And we were looking for... We were looking at all of our ad spend honestly, and how much money we were racking up in just placing ads trying to hire people for our own company.

0:07:37.8 S2: And I thought, "Holy cow, this is for one position or two positions. I've got practices that are hiring a dental assistant, a hygienist and a treatment coordinator and an office manager at the same time for one office, what is their ad spend looking like? And how is that affecting their overhead?" So back in July, we decided we were going to test drive VIVAHR with our own company to see what the results would look like so that we knew if it was a product that would... Are a company that would really help our clients. And it was, it helped a ton. Our ad spend has been drastically minimized and able to be really just capped out of certain amounts. So it's helped a ton. I have a couple practices using it. And I think one of the most convenient pieces like convenient/inconvenient, right... But for me is I do have a couple practices that are using VIVAHR and it's an online platform for all of the information. And so for me, I've got a couple practices that are like, "Hey, can you help me update this?" And I can go into their online portal, their VIVA and update the ad for them.

0:08:38.9 S2: Or I had a practice that they were out on vacation for a full week at prime hiring time for this practice. And so I said, "Okay, well, let's use your coaching call this month. And I'm just going to do interviews while you're gone." And so it's cool to be able to do that because of this platform. So it's VIVA, V-I-V-A-H-R. But honestly, there's a whole link that goes along with it. So if you're interested in it, there's a discount, a severe discount that you can get. Just reach out to us and we can get that over to you.

0:09:07.0 S1: Absolutely. And I just think like these are the things, guys, Tiff did not say on here exactly how Tiff was freaking having to hire consultants and got sick of it, because we always ask every month, we asked the consultants on their one-on-ones and all team members of what is one way that you can see that Dental A Team could save money? I asked them this. It's the whole idea of the FedEx drivers realising if they made all the right-hand turns, they would save exponential money in the company and also make the lives of their team members easier. So I always ask people how can we make Dental A Team easier and save money? And Tiff said, "Stop spending so much on ads." We were spending, guys, my Indeed ad spend was $12,000 to $15,000 a year, just on ads, not hiring, just on ads. So for Tiff to find this, it has radically saved us thousands of dollars. It made Tiff's life easier. And so these are the types of things that you've got to innovate in your hiring and onboarding system. So just to quickly go over it, I would ask the question, it does link to ops manual.

0:10:07.2 S1: So again, guys, if you have not joined us, it is end of year. Tick, tick, guys, get in that Ops Manual Intensive, time is ticking. I will not be taking you in January, period. No ifs, ands or buts. Door's closing end of this year. So when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, you will be smooching your way into the new year and this door for Ops Manual is closed. So head on over to thedentalateam.com, click on that Ops Manual Intensive. Be sure to get your spot so you can get that done because we are going to go through 30, 60, 90-day onboarding processes in our Ops Manual Intensive. So surely join us, guys. Like I said, tick-tock, like Cinderella, it will turn into a pumpkin. It will be gone and you will not be able to access it. I don't know if I'll open this back up to the public again. It might be something where in the future you have to be a client with us. I have no idea what we'll do. We will try it out. But be sure to join our first one. I think it will be a great one for you guys. So with this, do you have ads for every position ready to go? Do you have a hiring platform where you know and you are looking at it consistently? Tiff and I are freaking wizards when it comes to hiring. We don't mess around. We watch those ads like a hawk. Tiff, how often is too often to be checking an ad?

0:11:20.7 S2: Oh, there's not... Nothing is too often. We check it constantly and I feel like if you're not getting traction on it, you should be changing it. And that we're looking at it and changing it every couple of days or so realistically because if it's sitting there for a couple of days and nobody's... It's not populating anything, why keep it there?

0:11:39.0 S1: I agree. So that's number one, Tiff and I would watch this like a hawk. I hear so many offices and they say, "Oh, I placed an ad." and I'm like, "When?" And they're like, "Two weeks ago," and I'm like, "Oh, that bait is dead. That is dead in the water bait." So do you have a process of who does it? What are the questions we ask? What types of ads do we write? We have an ad for every position in the practice that we then can use and change and edit and update. Every so often we'll write new ones, but we at least have that as a foundation. We know where we post, we know when we post. We also know... Tiff, just please walk them through the sophistication of your onboarding process or your hiring process for consultants. Guys, Tiff has worked her tail off over the last several years. We've had a lot of experience interviewing consultants, but walk them through. We've got that piece to it, but then from there, our interview process is pretty intensive for our consultants, so walk them through what we even mean by a pretty elite system for hiring and onboarding.

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0:12:38.2 S1: Hello Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and you guys, how was your 2022? I want you to look back and tell me was it the year of years or was it a really hard year? Did you crush it or did it crush you? This is the time, guys, for end of year Dental A Team Platinum is welcoming you where we will physically fly to your practice. We will come and we will elevate your dreams and make them into a reality. And guys, space is limited and prices are going up. This is not a sales pitch. This is not something where I'm trying to scare you into it. I'm just facing the reality of inflation is here, flights are expensive and I want to see as many people as we possibly can and serve as many as we can. So if you wanna be part of our elite group of people, there are limited spaces 'cause our consultants can only see as many. We are taking on 10 new Platinum offices by the end of the year and that's it. That's all we have space for. So if you wanna be one of the elite 10, come join us.

0:13:40.0 S1: Be a part of our top-notch elite doctor community. Be a part of our office manager and hygiene and front office communities. Get your operations manual done and live the life that you've only been dreaming of today. Email me [email protected] and make 2023 truly a year that's unforgettable. We are a complete tax write-off. And like I said, we are only taking 10 offices. So don't get left behind. Be one of those 10 and I cannot wait to give you the biggest warmest welcome to completely and utterly changing your life for good. Welcome to the Dental A Team, I can't wait for you to join us. [email protected]. Cheers to 2023 and making you your best self yet.

0:14:26.2 S2: Yeah, for sure. We have... It's kind of like a pipeline, is what you could call it, for what the interviewees would go through. So the ad is placed and then obviously we review resumes. We call them, we try to call or reach out to them in some way. I usually will text. I'll shoot over a text and say, "Hey, received your resume," within 24 hours of receiving that. That's why we're looking constantly. I'm looking at those things every single day because people are getting hired very quickly right now and losing interest very quickly as well. So I'm reaching out to them right away and saying, "Hey, can we pop on a call at this time?" Trying to work it around obviously work hours as well knowing that they're probably working. So anyways, getting that first initial interview done. Once that's done, they go into the pipeline and we've got scenarios, we've got personality tests that they have to take. So they've got a scenarios email, so they've got to respond to different things that like we've seen in practices or things that we think are important as a dental consultant to be aware of, or marketer, whoever, whichever position it is.

0:15:24.7 S2: And then also personality tests, because we really, really love to make sure that our team is based on our culture and that it's based around the people that have built that culture. And so personality tests, once they pass those two things, we also look for writing style, grammar, punctuation, just knowing the English language really cleanly, meaning you can send an email and it's gonna be easily read by someone and they're gonna be like, "Oh wow, this is super professional." So how professional are they? What does this look like? And then from there we do mock coaching call interviews. And so for our consultant interviews, you're put on the spot just as if you're consulting us, so actual consultants, actual Dental A Team, you're consulting us on an "issue" that we're having as if we're a dental practice and we are grilling you. It's intense, Kiera comes in strong as a doctor, [chuckle] comes in strong as a doctor who doesn't know her numbers, who just wants to golf, who wants to make production.

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0:16:18.3 S2: And all these pieces, she comes in super strong and I love it. And I usually come in as the office manager and we just grill these people. We've got the whole team there. We've got the hygienist, Brittany, usually we've got dental assistant, Dana, all these pieces in that mock interview. And then from there, we decide as a team, that's our team interview. We decide as a team, like is this person ready to move forward to do an in-person visit with one of our travelling consultants. And just for our consultant in general, that's what it looks like, so it's realistically from start to finish, it could be anywhere from a week to two weeks to up to a month depending on how we can get schedules coordinated with the interviewee and the consultant that they'd be travelling with. So it is intense, but it's in place for a reason because we've gotten many people to that mock interview and been like, "Okay, that was great, but not right now," or we've got many people to an in-person interview and we're like, "Well, you know what? The pieces just aren't there yet. Let's get you this training. Go do these things and then come back to us."

0:17:17.7 S2: And then we've had other people who were like dang, that was a rock star the whole way through, and they're onboarded. So it does work, but it took us a lot to dial in which part was gonna come when, which piece comes first and what's the response rate that we want on the email. So how quickly do we want that response from somebody? What are the personalities that we're looking for, that we're not looking for? What do we want as far as a rating on the interviews, all of those pieces. And then from there, onboarding has been... I love... Kiera's like labour of love words, that has been a labour of love and really figuring out what are the important pieces for them to learn first compared... 'Cause there's a lot, we're doing so much, it's like training an office manager from ground up. I'm taking an office manager, a regional manager and training them how to teach other people, so it is a lot. And it took a lot to really look at that and say what are my expectations? So you guys are looking at this, right? Where are my expectations of this position and what makes sense to learn first, second, third, fourth?

0:18:17.4 S2: So that you grow on top of what you've already learned. 'Cause I hate when it's a hard left, where they've learned something and then it's a hard left where it's not adding, it's not stacking on top of what they've learned. It's something that's completely different and has nothing to do with the last thing because guess what? They're gonna remember what was completely different and they're going to forget what that last thing was. And then you're gonna be frustrated because you're having to retrain something. But if you can build it to where it stacks on top of one another and then also build it out to utilise your team members, I've done a ton of this creation lately within the last year or so with practices and really developing like okay, these are the pieces that I want you to learn from this team member. And then to stack on top of that, you're learning how to answer the phone and schedule for my scheduling coordinator a check-in and this is his or her name, and then now that you know how to schedule, let's talk about treatment planning.

0:19:12.1 S2: So I've been putting it together where it stacks on top of each other and it's not using one person, it's using the full team. Now they know the team members, now they know the expectations of each position, they see different personalities, they see different ways to interact with the patients and they're learning all of the parts and pieces so that they can go do their job.

0:19:30.9 S1: I love it. That, guys, is what I mean by sophistication of your hiring and onboarding. And guess what? We have all this documented, our onboarding is documented, so whenever we have a new consultant come in, it is copy paste, here's their checklist and we just build upon it each time. So that's really what we're trying to have is for you guys, like do you have a set process for when they come in and interview? So many treatment coordinators, when you're even interviewing them, do you have questions where you can grill them if you will? If Tiff was my TC, I would want to ask her just like we do with consultants, I wannna grill her and be like, "Hey, present me this treatment plan. I need a crown, four fillings and I'm maxed on insurance. Present it." 'Cause I wanna make sure can they actually do it? Explain to me insurance, explain to me max benefits. Do you have those questions stacked, ready to go for every position in the practice? Do you have certain things you want them to do in the practice? If I've got a biller, I'm gonna have them run my AR and tell me what they're going to do and then send a statement and make sure they know how to do it.

0:20:30.9 S1: Literally have them show me that they know what they're doing and test their skills. So for this, for you guys to do a quick checklist to see what is your final star in all 12 of these, what is it, do you have a hiring process for every position with ads written, questions to ask, and also a process for you to be able to interview them effectively and consistently every time? Do you have forms so each interview is correct and the exact same per position you're having them come in for? Do you have a working interview checklist where different team members are actually rating this person so you have a team hire? After that, do you have an onboarding process of a checklist of all the things needed to be done, like Tiff said, that's stacked in order of importance of who's helping train who with the protocols from your operations manual to make it so they actually have a smooth and easy onboarding process? This is the type of elite hiring and onboarding process that we really want you guys to rate yourself on 'cause if you don't have this sucker dialed in, guys, it's real hard to bring someone in, to find that person, get them hired and make sure that they onboard successfully.

0:21:40.2 S1: You will turn into a lot of turnover and be a hope and a wish and a prayer away from always wondering when are you gonna find this person? So guys, give yourself a number. Tiff, coming down to Dental A Team hot seat, what do you feel on a one to five and then a one to 10, how is Dental A Team's hiring and onboarding process? And I'll say as an overall, and I'm curious what your numbers are and then I've got something on my side of that I'll say to that. What do you feel like one to five and one to 10, our hiring and onboarding processes?

0:22:10.9 S2: I think processes, and not thinking about people and how tough hiring can be, but I think processes wise, I think I would like to give us... I think onboarding can always be dialed in, but I give us a 3.5, four. I feel pretty solid with a four, but 3.5 also feels good. And then probably an eight on one to 10.

0:22:36.8 S1: I would agree. I actually think I would separate them and I would say the consultant hiring and onboarding process, I feel like we're a solid 4.5 or a solid 8.59 on the consultant portion. Our marketing, our sales, our HQ crew, [chuckle] that one's a little less as robust. I think we have really great questions for all the positions, so that part I would give us higher. It's just we haven't had as many people come through that position. So I think we've got a lot of pieces there, but I don't think we have as robust of an onboarding process. So I think that agreed with you Tiff, I would do a four and an eight, four out of five and an eight out of 10 if rating us on our hiring and onboarding. I actually think this is an area we excel in the Dental A Team. Just because you have a great system doesn't mean you're gonna attract great people, guys. You've still got to deal with all the people that are in there. So rate yourselves up. What do you guys have? This is the final star and then next week Tiff and I are gonna tell you how to assess all of your stars and determine which area of your practice you can work on, how you utilize these 12 systems as our final labour of love.

0:23:44.5 S1: So Tiff, thanks for diving into that. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for making Dental A Team's onboarding process better. You literally are someone I have mad admiration for because you will always make your onboarding process better. No matter how many times you've built it, you will constantly refine it so it keeps getting better and better and better. And I think that that's why we're as high on our onboarding process as we are. So thanks for doing that, and thanks for being on the podcast today.

0:24:07.9 S2: Yeah, of course. Thank you. That's really good to hear. I appreciate that. I appreciate you.

0:24:13.1 S1: Of course. All right guys, rate your number and then be sure to join us next week for putting a pretty bow on all 12 of these themes and systems, looking at all your stars so you know how to review it, implement and execute. Guys, be sure join us for Ops Manual. Go snag that, thedentalateam.com. Tick-tock, when the clock strikes midnight, doors are closed, so don't be left out, don't be left behind. Get your onboarding and Ops Manual done. Start your year off right, guys. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:24:46.3 S1: And that wraps it up for another episode of the Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

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