Onboarding new hires can be an exciting time for both the new team member and the rest of the office, or it’s a stressful disaster because there is no training plan in place, and the new team member will be expected to jump right in on day one and start working. Unfortunately, new hires in the dental field get the least amount of training and are given on their first day the awesome responsibility of having the same values as the company was built on, knowing the company philosophy, what level of service and care is provided, and well heck…. ya gotta know all the patients like the last gal did. It’s the most backward thinking that there is, and yet we continue down this historical road and fail to make changes within our onboarding and create a more predictable outcome within the company. Let’s fix that with an effective new hire training plan. Your practice should have a new hire training plan used for hiring all new team members joining your company. The purpose of a new hire training program is to establish guidelines for the new employee to follow and set expectations for the rest of your team to engage and invest and see a different result.
Let’s first look at what not to do when you onboard a new hire.
Stop saying that everyone is too busy
This is one of the worst mistakes dental practices make when hiring new team members. We get it. Everyone is busy! But that does not negate your responsibility to set clear expectations for new hires. The reality is that you can’t afford not to take time implementing effective new hire training. After all, mistakes or shortcomings by your new hire could end up costing you or your team a great deal more than time.
New Employee Training
Step 1: Define tasks and establish expectations for this position.
This can be done as a team, a department leader, a manager, or an owner. Most all practices miss the mark right here. They place all their expectations on the owner and wait for orders or guidance. Why not have a discussion as a group and come up with some basic outlines of each position in the company, the tasks associated with the position, the desired outcomes, and the attitude and training required to perform the tasks. If you do not have the positions outlined, then it’s likely that you are stabbing at a moving target in hopes that it will all work out. Once you’ve established the fact that you need to fill a particular position, clearly define that position’s roles, outline tasks, and determine what the job product should look like. Additionally, develop a skill set criteria that the candidate must fulfill before conducting interviews.
Step 2: Determine each team member’s strengths and which duties each person on your team will train on.
This will allow everyone on the team to invest quickly and train with what they are the best at. Training should be blocked up in incremental time throughout the day to ensure that each hour is well used and to plug in and out each team member throughout the day to train. Training does not have to fall on the sleeves of the manager or owner. Everyone who is invested in the company should want to invest in a new hire jumping on board to fill a position that is needed. Set your company up for success and avoid all the failures.
Step 3: Establish a timeline for performance reviews and feedback.
Once initial onboarding is completed, it’s important to block some weekly training spots in the schedule to ensure that the expectations are going to be met in the introductory period. It’s important to have a 30-60-90-day review with your new hire. This is the time to review their performance in layers and make course corrections very easily. Waiting until your new hire is three months into the job to find out how someone is progressing can surprise you in ways you are not prepared for. (Mistakes, happiness scale, parting ways, etc.) Every person learns at a different pace, and certain tasks may take longer to learn than others. Therefore, set clear expectations from the beginning, define a timeline with your new hire, and let them know how long it should take to learn tasks and make this clear from day one. Make accountability a mutually rewarding part of being in the introductory period of employment with language to your new hire that goes like this:
“(Name), we are determined to improve our initial and ongoing training with new team members. We want to ensure that you get what you want out of your career with us, as well as we get what we expect from you. Help us stay accountable to our company training. If we slack or fail you in any way, let’s have a conversation, please. We want you to be successful here.”
Then, present them with the training checklist, job expectations, onboarding plan, and 30-60-90-day review times reserved that you’ve discussed and agreed on together. This is your opportunity to create a different outcome that is far more predictable than your current one!
