Written by: Scott J. Manning, MBA
One of the fastest-growing trends in dentistry today is having associates on board with your practice. This allows you to focus more on the specialty treatments you want to perform and frees you from the “dollars-for-hours” money link. However, it’s important to bring on an associate for the right reasons.
What Are the Real Reasons You Should Hire an Associate?
1. For your convenience.
The primary reason for bringing on an associate is not profitability but convenience. You want to love the dentistry you’re doing, enjoy your workdays, and maximize your personal income potential. That’s not going to happen if a smattering of composite procedures constantly interrupts your workflow throughout the week.
Associates fit well in a fast-growing practice, a capacity-based practice that needs restructuring, or a lifestyle-based practice.
2. Because you have extra time.
Maybe you’re working two, three, or four days a week and thinking, “I want to maximize my office space. I want to bring in a doctor to work on days when I’m not here.” Perhaps you work short days and want an associate to cover evenings. However, the last thing you want to do is expand your hours before your current hours are profitable. Every time you add an hour, you add payroll. Every time you add payroll, you need to keep people busy. Every additional hour requires filling the schedule with patients.
Unless your practice is bursting at the seams, why expand your hours before perfecting the ones you already have?
Focus on optimizing your current schedule before expanding into areas that could create additional headaches.
3. Because there are things you do not want to do.
There are procedures you either can’t, don’t want to, or choose not to do. In some cases, this means bringing on a specialist for treatments you currently refer out.
Just don’t give away treatment.
There are several reasons why giving away treatment isn’t ideal. First, it’s not always best for the patient—it slows down cash flow, delays treatment acceptance, and creates barriers for procedures they may already be hesitant about.
Second, don’t give away money. While referrals can be beneficial in some cases, depending on your volume and goals, they often don’t make financial sense if you’re growing an organization. I have helped practices double in size simply by bringing in other doctors to handle additional procedures—without the owner having to lift a finger or see more patients. In some cases, they even reduce their working hours while keeping production high.
Associate-based dentistry and practice expansion should align with your personal goals and objectives. It’s a highly individualized decision.
No matter what situation you find yourself in regarding associates or specialists, there’s always a way to improve, adjust, or optimize your approach. Notice that I didn’t say, “You need to bring someone on.” Instead, I said, “You need to consider what you want and what your goals are.”
Expanding for the sake of expansion is not a good strategy. You must make it profitable from the start and create a win-win scenario for the associate you bring on board. If you truly need an associate, you should be able to fill their schedule long before they ever walk through the door—whether that’s one day a week, two days a week, or a full workweek. If your business has the capacity for increased income, it should happen naturally.
How Do Associates Fit Into Your Practice?
One key consideration is avoiding the mistake of having an associate handle all hygiene appointments or all new patients. You must actively monitor their role in your practice.
Think of an associate as a standalone business—an entity accountable to itself. Every chair, provider, and team member added due to an associate’s presence represents a separate, independent income stream. It’s crucial to understand that.
To maximize profitability, break it down by the value of each day. Determine the value of an associate’s day in your practice and schedule accordingly. A specialist’s schedule should be structured around the procedures they perform.
The number one mistake practices make is failing to properly monetize and structure an associate’s schedule.Their schedule can fall apart as quickly as anyone else’s if not managed correctly.
For example, if you bring in an orthodontist and schedule multiple ortho starts in one day, a few months later, they’ll be swamped with ortho check-ups. If not managed properly, their schedule could become diluted with post-op visits rather than high-value procedures.
You must maintain a value-based scheduling system where the most integral part of the schedule—consults, exams, and new patient starts—remains the priority. This principle applies to both specialists and general associates. Their schedules must maintain integrity, just as yours does.
Hiring an associate isn’t for everyone. Before bringing someone on board, ensure you have the appropriate scheduling and processes in place—and that you’re hiring for the right reasons.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Recognized by thousands of dentists across North America, Scott Manning is an accomplished author (his book The Dental Practice Shift is the #1 most requested in dentistry) and a highly sought-after public speaker. For nearly two decades, he has dedicated his life to inspiring and motivating dentists worldwide to build wealth and create lifestyle-based practices. When he’s not sharing his positive messages globally, he enjoys traveling and spending time with his beloved wife, Kristen, and daughter, Saylor. To learn more, visit Dental Success Today.
