North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 1 2019 ISSUE 1 DE | Page 12

Where Have All
the Good Ones Go ne?
We are in a variety of dental offices on a weekly basis, and
the headache of dealing with team members consistently
surfaces in our conversations. Practice owners scratch their
heads and wonder, “Where have all the good ones gone?”
We always assure them that team headaches are com-
pletely normal. However, we have noticed trends that have
negatively impacted dental practices.
1 Depleted employee market. The growth of the DFW
metroplex is stable and consistent and has, therefore, provided
a safe place for many new practices over the years. Although a
stable market is excellent news for practice owners, it also has
a downside. The dental market has grown but the attraction of
quality employees to the dental market has not grown. There-
fore, many practice owners find them-
selves in a battle with other practice
owners to get the best and most
talented candidates.
3
Generational changes. Many of the employees who
enter the dental field are younger and therefore represent gen-
erational changes. These new norms are impacting the work-
force. While there are positive generational impacts, most
practice owners are experiencing the negative impacts. Younger
employees can often have very high expectations of their new
career. They want their job to matter not only to themselves but
also to the community at large. This leaves employers in a posi-
tion of having to make their practice “worth it” to these younger
employees.
12 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
practice management
by Bethany Petty
2 Transient trends. While the DFW metroplex is constantly
growing, it is also constantly changing. People come, and people
go on a consistent basis. Most people who find themselves living
in the metroplex are transplants – meaning their hometown
and families live elsewhere. Some put down roots and remain
long term, but others are only here temporarily. At times, the
move out of the metroplex is due to familial reasons, and other
times a spouse’s job causes the need to move. Nonetheless, it
often seems that practice owners find an ideal employee, and
then discover that they have to move which is a devastating
experience for most practice owners.
4 Untapped potential.
Many times, practice owners
struggle with a particular
employee as they try to under-
stand why they cannot seem to grasp
their role and responsibilities. The employee consistently
underperforms, and practice owners are left with a difficult
decision of either keeping them on the team or releasing them
from employment. However, we have found that there are
times when an employee is simply in the wrong position or does
not fully understand the long-term growth potential that the
practice owner has in mind. Releasing an employee in a
depleted market before fully evaluating his or her untapped
potential is a mistake that many practice owners make.