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MailSeptember 2020--Growing a business is challenging under the best of circumstances. It is even harder when there is a global pandemic. Jake Puhl, CEO of the Dentist Entrepreneur Organizations, says the Dentist Entrepreneur Organization (DSO) has a great depth of experience and great wealth of tips to help emerging DSOs overcome challenges with clarity.
The Dentist Entrepreneur Organization (DEO) is a peer-to-peer membership community helping dentist-entrepreneurs scale their practice, group, or dental support organization. “Emerging DSOs entrepreneurs” can be as small as single-location dentist aspiring to add a second location all the way up to DSO owners with 30-40 locations. Our members benefit from DEO sponsored and organized mastermind sessions, coaching, and special events. Twice a year, when we are not limited by COVID-related health concerns, we host live conferences that are open to the public.
Through our in-person and online sessions, we facilitate peers learning from their peers. Entrepreneurial dentists will learn about all aspects of growing a larger group or DSO, such as executive leadership, operations, and systems, recruiting, retention, financial structure, industry trends, and how to overcome obstacles.
Entrepreneurs need clarity, so we talk about prioritization, communication, and managing talent across an organization larger than a single practice. If you participate, you will meet dentists who have already done exactly what you are trying to do, and they will help you shatter mental limitations and share best practices to go to the next level.
One Biggest Challenge Today: Hiring & Retaining Talent
One of the biggest challenges growing groups and DSOs face is hiring and retaining excellent talent. This challenge has always been there but increased during COVID-19. Potential employees shy away from exposure in setting where they need to interact personally with patients.
Some hiring and retention tips that are being shared among DEO peers are:
- Create and maintain a strong practice-business culture that employees respect and want to work for. One of our members’ DSO grew its team by 20% during COVID and attributes its success to its strong commitment to communication and culture.
- Learn how to run a dental practice more economically. Increased efficiency has given practice owners an opportunity to offer better compensation to potential hires and existing employees.
- Place people before profits. There has never been a time when focusing on people instead of profits is paying off for hiring and retention and this results in a more stable, predictable business and long-term growth potential.
- Constantly communicate with team members about decisions being made and the why behind them. Communicate your appreciation so employees know their value. Doubling and tripling down on communication between practice leaders and team members is occurring to keep everyone’s trust and engagement as high as possible.
Dentists are saying they feel their relationships with their team is higher than a year ago. They are in a better place for teamwork, a great culture, retention, and motivating prospective candidates to join their team.
#1 Tip for Leaders of Emerging DSOs
The above list of tips for meeting the recruiting challenge is just one example of the Dental Entrepreneur Organization (DEO) members sharing their experiences to help their peers. My top tip for leaders of growing DSOs is to:
- Start surrounding yourself with abundantly minded, entrepreneurial-thinking, growth-minded people.
Learning from your like-minded colleagues--your peers, is highly effective. Here are two resources to get started: the Facebook group called DSO Secrets: Dentist Entrepreneurs Growing Dental Organizations and DEOdentalgroup.com. Click here to see our upcoming events, including free webinars, the next Summit Conference, on-demand free workshops, and private member events. When you register for a Summit Conference (for example, the virtual Summit Conference on June 11-12, 2021), you can enjoy a special discount if you use the code PRISM.
Additional Resources for Scaling Your Practice, Group or DSO
Some additional Dental Practice Resources from Patient Prism will you grow your practice, group, or dental service organization during the Coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
- Is your hygiene schedule looking light? Patient Prism asked Rachel Wall, RDH, founder of Inspired Hygiene for her tips to fill the hygiene schedule this Fall. Click here to download “5 Ways to Avoid a Hygiene Schedule Nightmare.”
- For our guide to Converting More Calls During COVID-19, click here.
- For Patient Prism’s guide for Marketing Strategies During COVID-19, click here.
- For Patient Prism's guide on Teledentistry Options, click here.
- For Patient Prism's guide on Staying Safe in the Dental Practice, click here.
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