Hygienist/Therapist remuneration
Chris | November 11, 2009I am exploring all the different ways of utilizing my spare surgery space and looking after an extra list of patients.
I either do a cull or get some help.
I am interested in the hygienist therapist route and want to get my head round the different ways of renumeration.
Salary. Salary + target bonus, Salary + % gross ???? + others?
Whats your experience? What works? What doesn’t work?
Morning
A reply worthy of a blog post methinks.
Firstly, let me say that there is no hard and fast rule.
The “variables” in the equation are:
how tight a ship you are running (full book guaranteed?)
what your price list looks like
what you are trying to achieve with the service
which demographics are represented in your patient list
what type of dentist you are
the attitude, skill and knowledge (ASK) of your candidates
Choices could include:
Salary
Basic salary plus performance bonus
Percentage (35-40%?)
Sliding scale percentage
Hourly rate
Hourly rate plus performance bonus
The approach I favour is to NOT HAVE any fixed ideas as to the remuneration package and to offer ALL of the choices to the candidate.
The right person will ask the first set of questions and choose from the list of remuneration packages.
The wrong person will sit there with wide eyes and suggest that they don’t know the answer.
Its all about engaging the candidate in a good conversation – a conversation which actually becomes the interview itself. The mutual design of a win-win contract.
Hi Chris
You’re right, remuneration is a many and varied thing. One thing I can suggest (and you may have it in your list but worded differently) and that is to tie some level of remuneration/bonus to business objectives.
My better half is an office manager at a local podiatrist and she has gone from office girl/receptionist to business/office manager. She frequently acts as sounding board and ideas generator to her boss all with the view of improving the business at large.
She then reaps part of that reward only as the business grows (which it does!)
Just a thought.
Bill
I would strongly urge you to consider using both a hygienist and a therapist. The right person in both posts can free up your time, increase profitability and enable you to keep all your patients. I have a part time therapist ( Salaried) who carries out all childrens treatment for our child only NHS contract, does my simple fills to free up my time and offer patients earlier appointments, organises our in house clinical governance and does marketing visits to local schools and nurseries. My full time hygienist has a full book, but also carries out all our tooth whitening ( under prescription) on our whitening wednesdays. As she is on a lower hourly rate this has enabled us to offer a much reduced price which maintains profitability but is drawing large numbers in.
regards
John Lewis