How to Hire the Right People for Your Dental Practice

“Many of the practices that I have been involved with over the years, I’ve found that dentists hire fast and fire slow. What they need to do is hire slow and fire fast. I always recommend this, too: Never hire somebody that you can’t eventually fire. Forgive me now, but I see a lot of relatives being hired into the dental practice. That creates a weird kind of environment. I’d say be very careful that the people that you hire are people that you can fire.

The other thing is, I was in a dental practice — and this actually happened. It was a hiring technique. The dentist said, ‘You know, Suzie is leaving in two weeks and we need somebody to fill her place. Does anybody here have a suggestion?’ He’s asking the team, does anybody have a suggestion. This one girl raises her hand – this actually happened – and says, ‘I have a friend and she’s got a really good personality, really outgoing, and she’s really good with people, really good with dogs, and I think she’d really work out here.’ They ended up looking to hire that person.

RELATED: More Advice from Gary Zelesky

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· Dentists: Try to Find Humor in Everything

That’s not how you find people. You go after people that you believe you don’t even deserve, they’re so amazing. Most dentists hire people they believe they can afford or they deserve. Go after people that you can’t even begin to image that that you deserve, that they’re off-the-chart amazing. Make sure they have passion. Make sure they have purpose. Make sure that you call and find out where they worked before. And put them on a 30-day success track.

I’m tired of the probation thing. ‘You’re a new employee. We’re putting you on a 30-day probation.’ Isn’t probation for somebody who broke the law and now you’re watching them? Put them on a success track, a 30-day success track. If you hit this target, this target, this target, you’re going to make it, man. It’s going to be great.

Help them succeed. And most important, with a new employee, keep them away from the cynical employee that you haven’t got the courage to fire yet. Because I’ve seen this happen so many times where a new employee will come in and go, ‘This is so awesome. I’m going to change the world one smile at a time. I can’t wait.’ And then they meet this employee: ‘I used to be like that too. But I’m not now, and don’t worry, I’ll get you where I am.

Be careful, man, who you hire.”

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