Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018 - 56

Staff Report

Hiring and Training
One of the biggest challenges in today's orthodontic practice is the hiring, training, and retention of high-quality employees. The key is not
only to hire the right employees, but it's also to
keep them motivated to provide the highest
quality care for your patients.

Andrea L. Cook
Orthodontic Clinical Consultant

The average length of time an orthodontic team
member stays with an office is 2.5 years. That
means that your future holds the opportunity
to hire and train multiple new team members.
The way to set them up for success as quickly as
possible is to have a good system in place for the
hiring and training process.
An evaluation of your current team may help
to determine whether you need to hire another
team member. Sometimes a restructure of positions and/or tasks makes it clear that you really
don't need another person. An evaluation period
is also a good time to make sure that your current
team members are in the position to which they
are best suited. You may have employees who
want to move to another position, which may
leave a different opening than you anticipated.
Once you have evaluated your team, and restructured if need be, it may be time to bring in a new
team member.
Before hiring a new team member:

 Develop an office manual that includes
guidelines for all team members. Establishing guidelines for areas such as work
days/hours, how absenteeism/tardiness is
managed, pay, insurance (if provided), uniforms, etc. will set the standard for the office.
These guidelines will allow you to hold everyone accountable at an equal level.
 Have a clear job description for the position.
Expectations for each position in the office
should be clearly outlined. The new employee's
job description is presented at the initial interview to allow the applicant to understand the
position they will be filling. All offices are different; a clinician with experience may have a

very different skill set depending on the office
he/she came from.
 Determine what extra duties team members
are responsible for. It is important to let applicants know what additional tasks they will be
expected to perform.
 Have a training manual prepared and ready to
give to new employees on their first day. This
should include basic orthodontic information
(tooth numbering, malocclusions, instruments,
appliances, etc.) as well as office-specific information (types of braces, procedure codes,
abbreviations used, sterilization protocol, etc.)
 Develop your training program; a "sink or
swim" policy may not be enough. A good
training program will help the new hire get
through the training process quickly and
reduce frustrations. Include a check off area
for the trainer and the trainee to ensure both
are confident with each task in the training
process.
The initial phone interview process can help
weed out candidates who are not a fit for your
practice. It may be that your hours do not fit the
applicant's daycare situation, or some other
aspect of his/her life. It is best to have this conversation before spending the time to have the
applicant come in for an in-person interview.

 Screen all applicants with a phone interview.
Explain the position, expectations, hours, etc.
before having an applicant come in for a
meeting.
 Involve the team in the hiring process. Team
members are much more proactive in training
someone when they have had a voice in the
hiring decision.
On the new employee's first day in the office:

 Have all paperwork ready for the employee to
review and sign. A copy of the office manual
and clinical training manual should be printed
for them. This should include task-specific
training on infection prevention policies and
procedures and the OSHA blood-borne pathogens standard. This training must be com-

PCSO Bulletin  Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018