Headhunting in dentistry

Before I start, I know this is going to be controversial.

There's way of growing your business that most companies engage in on a regular basis.

They call it "headhunting".

There's a big difference between headhunters, who identify suitable candidates for a role, approach them and negotiate their acquisition - and recruiters, who advertise a role and then vet those who apply.

We haven't seen headhunters in dentistry - until now.

Post-lockdown there are many disaffected hygienists, therapists, general & specialist associates who are unhappy with either:

• the lack of communication and support they have had from their existing hosts and/or

• the prospect of returning to work in an environment they were not enjoying before lockdown.

Whilst all of these categories of people may be attractive to a practice looking to grow, the most appealing would be those specialist associates who could bring with them a cohort of referring GDPs (I am NOT endorsing stealing patients).

Before Covid. I saw some of my clients grow sales and profitability overnight by providing a home for unhappy specialist associates after the acquisition of said associates former host by a corporate with whom they did not identify.

Perhaps in the post-lockdown world, this opportunity will manifest itself on a larger scale?

So my message is to the ambitious owner who wants to grow an clinician-driven business and reduce their own clinical delivery time to focus on becoming a dental entrepreneur.

Finding new patients is a doddle, compared to finding the providers who can look after them.

Perhaps it's time to start thinking like a headhunter, making it clear that you are recruiting but also identifying key individuals in your post code and approaching them?

The innovators will see the point of this. The laggards will cry "foul!" and accuse me of encouraging poaching.

I'm not encouraging headhunting - I'm identifying it.