Katrina Rees is the newest recruit to our Business Development Consultant (BDC) team, joining DPAS in March 2019. She has 25 years’ experience in retail, mainly working in sales and people management roles. Katrina is now putting the skills she learned there to good use in helping dental practices to grow their plans, and therefore their business.
Below she shares her thoughts on recruitment and retention within dentistry, creating and driving a clear vision for your practice, and the accumulation of marginal gains…
What is the most challenging experience you faced while working in dentistry?
I am probably undergoing the most challenging time right now.
Being new to the dental industry has meant an entirely new way of working and a whole lot of ‘firsts’. I have a wealth of transferable skills that I bring to the role and am also on a learning curve getting to grips with different terminologies, the practice structure, governing and regulatory bodies and their roles, etc.
I am also learning about my new role as a BDC, our processes and how the DPAS team provide such an integral part of support to a practice. Right now, for me, it’s about adding my learning to my existing skills, to ensure I can support my practices and always offer the best advice.
What are the biggest issues facing practice teams today?
I have identified quite quickly from my practice visits that there is a general lack of dentists in the South Wales area. And a lot of practices struggle to recruit and retain the staff they have.
The impact has a knock-on effect in terms of appointment availability, waiting times, workload, etc. It’s going to be an ongoing challenge and there are many external factors that will affect it. For dentists, the key has to be about recruiting the right person that ‘fits’ your practice team, rather than just focusing on clinical skills or hiring someone quickly to plug a gap.
It can be wise to consider the induction period and the on-boarding process, including setting expectations and measurable goals, and mentoring. Investing a little resource in the recruitment process can help new team members feel valued and understand the values of the practice quickly, which will increase the likelihood of retention.
What advice do you have for practices looking to grow their business?
Small changes can make big differences, there might be little things you can do in practice that will add up and have a positive impact. Simple efficiencies can be a game-changer to income with minimal effort.
Think about things like, contacting patients already on your books that have not visited in a long time, reviewing your pricing structure, whether you have a clear USP, and what the demand and need is in your area.
If you could only pick one thing that practices should be doing in order to succeed, what would it be?
Drive the vision, culture and direction for your practice from the top. Create a clear picture of what a successful practice looks like to you and how you want your team to deliver this to the patient.
What are the expectations? What does ‘good’ look like?
Communicate the goals and expectations effectively and demonstrate them in your ways of working. If your team aren’t engaged and bought into this, your patient will know and feel it.
What key business lessons have you learned from your time in dentistry?
Things are constantly changing; you need to be changing with them. Keep up-to-date with what’s new in the industry, particularly in legislation and regulation.
Also, I am learning that everyone knows everyone in the industry!
What do you enjoy most about working in dentistry?
I love my job! I wish I had been working in the industry for a lot longer, but I’m here now and plan to stay!
Every day brings a new learning, a new practice, a new relationship to develop and grow. Each visit is different, each practice has a different requirement and a different conversation.
As a BDC I feel my role is to provide the best possible knowledge, service and support to my practices and help them to meet their business goals in a reliable, efficient and professional way.
I want to build really strong relationships where a practice sees me as an extension of their team and feels they have the support they need. I want my visits to add value and when I leave a practice, I want to know I have helped to make a difference – that’s incredibly satisfying.
