Wise-up Wednesday from Zane Benefits: 5 HR tips to make any dentist’s life easier

A new generation of human resources (HR) professionals is here. The question is, are you up to par? The truth is your dental practice does indeed need to keep up with the ever-changing world of HR if you want to remain relevant. Between technology, evolving industries, and new developments, you can’t afford to get stuck in the past.

But change can be time consuming, difficult, and stressful. So what should you do? Here are five HR tips to make your life easier and help you run a more efficient dental practice.

Tip 1: Use it or lose it – HR knowledge The times they are a changin’, and if you don’t want to lose your HR knowledge you must use it. In other words, there are many basic HR principles and practices you’ll always use as your foundation. It’s best to use this foundation to build new practices in the changing world of HR. As new laws and regulations are introduced, it’s easier for you to incorporate them if you have the basics down. Brush up often on your basics in order to keep up with the industry.

Tip 2: Expand your network
Speaking of HR knowledge, the best way to stay up to speed as a dentist or HR professional is to talk to others who are in similar positions. Plus, this is a perfect way to expand your network and even recruit new staff members for your dental practice.

One of the best ways to do this is through LinkedIn and Facebook. These social media platforms can help you find other dentists, hygienists, receptionists, office managers, etc., who are looking for a great practice to work with. You’d be surprised at the quality of professionals you can find on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Tip #3: Embrace and value feedback
Set up regular face-to-face meetings with your staff to make sure they love their time at your practice. It’s important that you understand whether or not your benefits and perks, daily routines, and tactics are effective and accepted. If there needs to be change, your staff will let you know. This way you take out the guess work and really dig deep for the solutions to problems your practice may be having.

Tip #4: Understand HR time management
This one can be difficult to grasp. Why? Running your own dental practice means you wear many hats and budgeting time for HR duties may be low on your priority list. However, keep in mind that HR is a key component of any successful business. Make time for your HR duties and schedule them in every day. If you have an office manager, make sure he or she also understands the importance of HR duties and time management.

Tip #5: Find time saving software
Though it’s important for you to schedule time for HR duties, time with your staff and patients is equally important. So, to make more time for your staff and patients you can invest in time saving software. For example, many dentists use payroll software to cut their payroll administration in half. Rather than going through the headache of offering health insurance, some dentists reimburse their employees for individual health insurance and use premium reimbursement software. The fact is there are many low-cost software solutions to HR duties that may take a large portion of your time. With many software solutions, a reasonable up-front cost will save you a lot of valuable time.

Conclusion
Because the HR industry is constantly evolving, it can seem difficult to keep up and balance your time running a dentistry practice. However, as you prioritize your HR duties, seek employee feedback, expand your knowledge network, and use time saving software, you’ll quickly see how efficient you can become as an HR professional and dentist.

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Wise-up Wednesday is presented bimonthly from the experts at Zane Benefits. One Wednesday a month features Human Resource issues, and the other Wednesday discusses health benefits. Want more HR and business development tips for your dental practice? Download the free guide “The Dental Practice's Guide to Human Resources.”