Читать книгу Creating and Updating an Employee Policy Manual: Policies for Your Practice - American Dental Association - Страница 12

If you are a new dentist just starting out, you may wonder who you should hire first. Few dentists opening new practices have the funding to hire multiple employees, so the choice between hiring a dental assistant or an office/business manager is a top priority. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to hiring either type of employee, an individual with experience in both areas, representing the “whole package,” would be ideal. Since this may not always be feasible, hiring an office/business manager who makes a great first impression can prove invaluable. After all, he or she is providing the first “window” into your practice.

You may also wish to take an inventory of your own skills to determine where you excel and where you need assistance. For example, are you a skilled clinician but lack marketing expertise or experience with practice management systems? Do you have great chairside rapport but dislike collections? It is a prudent decision to hire staff with skills that will complement or supplement your own so that the practice can support a wide variety of critical functions.

The following worksheet is designed so you can do a self-inventory of your personal skills and attributes. You are not expected to be proficient in or responsible for every item on the list, but should assign a rating to yourself anyway. The items with low ratings should identify any skills gaps in your practice, and whether it would be wise to look for these specific skills in prospective employees. Similarly, low ratings for certain personal attributes might guide you toward candidates with different personality traits that complement your own. For example, if you have an office full of gregarious employees, you may benefit from someone who is a bit more introverted and studious.

FIGURE 1.12 SAMPLE SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES INVENTORY WORKSHEET