Month: March 2023

Whether you manage your practice’s human resources or oversee a practice manager, you are responsible as a business owner for ensuring your policies are appropriate, legal, and fair. Few practice owners are trained in HR, but some level of knowledge is important for the viability of your practice. 

Here are a few commonly asked questions regarding aspects of human resources for dental practice owners. 

What questions should I avoid during interviews? 

There are a few basic, even common questions that are never appropriate for an interview setting. Some of these include: 

● What is your marital status?

● Do you have children? 

● What is the origin of your (unusual) name? 

While such questions seem like natural ice-breakers, they are illegal. They can lead to the sharing of information about protected class status such as disability, family status, ethnic or religious heritage, sexual orientation, and others. 

Even if their answers would have no bearing on your decision, these questions can leave you open to a complaint if the position is not offered. You should always keep questions business-related. 

What should I do if an employee refuses to sign a disciplinary action form? 

If this happens, bring a witness into the room, and note the refusal to sign. Have the witness sign confirmation that the disciplinary action form was provided to the employee. Remind the employee that refusal to sign does not negate the disciplinary action and further infractions will lead to more serious consequences. 

We use software to track employee hours and the program has a function to automatically deduct meal times so employees do not need to manually clock in and out. Should we use this function? 

Before you decide to use an automatic system of this type, consider the time saved by not manually entering hours. Then compare it to the time lost by entering corrections if a team member misses lunch, returns early, or runs late. 

If your office rarely deviates from schedule, this might be beneficial. However, if you find that you are making corrections more than once or twice a week, this function could cost more time than it saves. 

Understanding the nuances of human resources is an important part of building a strong practice. As bookkeepers, tax preparers, and valuable advisors to dental practices, we can also help you create a profitable operation. Contact our office today for a free initial consultation.

Have you defined goals for your practice? Planning and achieving milestones provides a sense of personal satisfaction, inspiration to others, and often, greater profitability. Whether you want to double your patient flow, open a second office, or become a key opinion leader (KOL), your goals can be attainable if you create a strategy and work towards them systematically. 

Here are seven strategies for goal-setting: 

Define your objectives: If you only have a big-picture idea of what your goal looks like and a fuzzy vision of how to achieve it, stop and reassess. Start with the “why,” and progress to the “how.” 

Sketch or write it out, measure it, and break it down into steps. Ambitious plans are only successful if you create a detailed map to reach them. 

Take it one step at a time: It can be easy to focus on all the effort required to reach a goal and quickly become overwhelmed. Break it down into milestones that are weekly, quarterly, and

even yearly. Creating these incremental steps allows you to celebrate minor achievements and pivot quickly if a plan is not working. 

Create visual reminders: Set up a vision board or a private Pinterest page for visual inspiration. A Kanban-type board or thermometer poster can help you measure progress. 

Choose what works best for you and your type of goal. The more tangible you make your vision, the more inspired you will be to turn it into reality. 

Talk about it: Talk to your personal advisors, friends, loved ones and, if appropriate, your team about your goals. It will keep you accountable and allow others to share your inspiration. 

Map out benchmarks: Define the steps needed to achieve your dream, such as creating a new marketing plan, adding an additional team member, or a setting out on a real estate hunt. Work your plan by breaking the large steps into smaller ones. 

Don’t let setbacks defeat you: Remember the old saying, “Quitters never win and winners never quit?” The road to reaching dreams can be bumpy; expect setbacks and roll with them. Don’t allow yourself to feel discouraged or defeated. 

Show yourself kindness: Don’t work to the point of burnout. Take breaks and be as gracious to yourself as you would to a friend who is on a mission to achieve a goal. 

Through gradual and measurable goal-setting, you will likely gain the clarity needed to reach your objective. Our dental accounting team can help you create a roadmap based on our many years of experience and put the financial pieces into perspective. 

Contact us today to make an appointment for a free consultation and set your goals in motion!