Have you suffered a loss of patient flow at your dental clinic recently? Many dental practices had to when the COVID 19 pandemic first spread across the United States. According to an American Dental Association survey of dentists conducted the week of Aug. 10, 98.9% were open, but only 47.6% reported “business as normal,” while 51.3% were open but had “lower patient volume than typical.”
Dentistry remains an ever-increasing market nonetheless. The pandemic may have affected small practices in the short-run but in the longer run, practice operations are projected to get better than ever before. The U.S. dental services market was valued at US$ 109.28 billion in 2020 and is projected to be worth around US$ 196.18 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.24% from 2021 and 2027. With resilience and a strong action plan, you can navigate through these times and grab a considerable portion of the market share.
A common misconception is that spending on marketing and paid ads can get you more patients. The truth is that you need to build several avenues to generate leads and ultimately a team who is trained and equipped to convert them. It’s not enough to pay for marketing and expect to see new patients, it is a team effort and hence working on building a team that helps you achieve your goals is the way forward.
Having a solid front-desk team can directly contribute to your revenue. According to The Mcgill Advisory, an average practice needs one full-time equivalent front desk person for every $60,000 per month of dental office production. More efficient offices can average $75,000 a month in production per full-time front desk staffer, with maximum efficiency practices around $100,000.
But, where and how do you build this dream team?
Along with affecting the consumer market, the pandemic also hit the job market severely. The turnover rates have increased and staff shortages are being witnessed nationwide. According to the 2021 Employee Engagement and Retention Report, commissioned by the Achievers Workforce Institute, 52% of employees in North America will look for a new job in the near future. Less and less workers are available and when you do find a good fit, your employee abandons you for a slightly higher wage.
Learn more about employee turnover in the dental industry here.
Introducing Remote Hiring!
It is time to break the geographical constraints of the labor market and look for your talent remotely. Remote employees can take care of your everyday front and back-end tasks without being present in the office. This innovative approach to staffing is proven to build a more efficient, talented and productive team that can help you deliver the quality it takes to increase your patient flow.
Here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to switch to remote hiring:
- Bigger Talent Pool: With no geographical constraint, you can look for well-suited employees all over the world increasing your talent pool by many folds.
- Cost- Effective: Remote employees can turn out to be more cost-effective as you explore labor markets outside the U.S.. You also save on other expenses like office space, transport allowance, local mandatory benefits etc.
- Higher Productivity: You can get more productivity out of your employees by eliminating their time spent on commute, office gossip and lateness. No more ‘bad traffic’ excuses hindering your practice’s productivity!
- Smoother Workflow: Having remote employees and managing them through quick video conferences, chats and emails can save both you and your employee a ton of valuable time. Working in an office creates an unnecessarily complicated communication system where the employee does not know who or where to ask for help or worse ends up disturbing you while you are with patients.
How can a remote team increase my patient flow?
With a dedicated remote team, you can improve your patient’s experience by many folds by making it more personal and intimate. By investing in customer satisfaction, you enjoy higher profitability.
Did you know?
- The probability of selling to an existing, satisfied customer is 60-70 percent (while the probability of converting a new customer is 5-20 percent).
- Over 33% of customers would consider switching due to unsatisfactory customer service.
- After a satisfactory customer experience, 69 percent of people would recommend the business to others, and 50 percent would use the company more frequently.
Hire With Edge!
When opting for a staffing solution, it is crucial to choose the most reliable option.
Edge is one of the leading talent sourcing organizations in the U.S. that offers remote teams to various industries. Our remote teams are pre-trained, composed exclusively of college graduates that bring experience, better productivity, and enhanced effectiveness to your operations.
Our remote employees are trained to provide high quality service to your patients so you can boost your revenue. Here are some tasks practices commonly use our remote employees for:
To get more information on how Edge can help your practice increase your patient flow, book your free discovery session today. Click to learn more about Edge! → https://onedge.co/hire/medical-and-dental/
