The State of Talent Management in Dental Practices

The State of Talent Management in Dental Practices

Author: Lynn Whitesell, Managing Partner, Harris Whitesell Consulting LLC

Problem: Current state is minimal to basic. Don’t know what you don’t know…

The current state of talent management in most dental practices today is minimal.  A recent article on the top 20 industry trends for dental practice growth made made no mention of the dentists and employees that are the foundation of the practice.

Many practices count themselves lucky if they have a Human Resources person. And there is confusion that having an HR person means you are managing talent.  But are you really? The answer is usually no. Even in small practices with an HR team member, the team member is focused on hiring, paying, and exiting employees.  Talent management is far more comprehensive than this.

What is Talent Management? 

Simply stated, talent management is your practice’s commitment to hire, manage, develop and retain the most talented and superior employees available in your job market. And to bring them into a constructive culture of trust and practice philosophy of talent optimization (having the right people, in the right place, doing the right things at the right time) that engages them and leads to the success of the practice. Having a well thought out talent management strategy that is aligned with your practice’s business strategy and culture will ensure that you attract top talent in competition with other practices.  Rather than a once then done process, it is a constant process that involves attracting and retaining high quality employees, developing their skills, optimizing individual and team strengths, leading change, continuously motivating them to improve their performance, and realizing collective results.

When Talent Management is Not a Priority – 6 Issues Dental Practices Experience

1. Employee un-engagement and disengagement
2. Misaligned talent in roles and responsibilities resulting in low productivity and performance
3. Dysfunctional and non-cohesive teams
4. Culture of silos and chaos
5. Lack of effective leadership
6. Decreased revenues, profits and business results

9 Benefits of Implementing Talent Management in Your Dental Practice

1. Better workforce staffing processes and experience
2. Enhanced opportunities for workforce development, training and re-skilling
3. Improved workforce planning and performance management
4. Sustained practice effectiveness
5. Boosted leadership effectiveness
6. Motivated and engaged team
7. Enhanced reputation
8. Increased customer loyalty
9. Increased revenues, profits and business results

Effective Talent Management is critical for practice growth, and will be successful only in a talent-centric culture.  High performing organizations, including dental practices, integrate and align talent management practices into the very fabric of their culture. Talent management strategy is a proven, scalable, and real-world HR framework that adds value to your practice’s bottom-line.

Harris Whitesell Consulting’s Talent Management Services provides a science-based, comprehensive solution to align your talent strategy to your business strategy – optimizing your talent and teams for value creation and better business performance for your dental practice.

Connect with Lynn on LinkedIn.