Staff Retention Strategies That Actually Work

Finding good staff… this seems to be a never-ending problem for so many dental offices.  Maybe you have good staff already and don’t even know it.  Or maybe you know it, but you are just waiting for the day they leave you because “the good ones always do.”

Well, I want to help you with that! Retention is the sought-after secret of every HR Manager/Office Manager/Business Owner. After almost 20 years in HR, more than 51% of my team—comprising over 60 employees—have been with the organization for over five years, and more than 30% have stayed for over a decade.

It wasn’t always that way though. Here are my tips and hints to achieving retention with your team and YES it works for a dental office too!

Training, training, training!

This point cannot be stressed enough. So often we are so busy that we just hire, teach them the basics quickly and hope they figure the rest out.

Or assume they will train themselves. This is the biggest reason you are losing good staff. If you want to give someone their best shot, you have to prepare them for the job.

Action step: Here’s a step-by-step process you can do for every position to get going:

1. Start by creating a job description for the position. AI is your friend! Seriously, you have very little excuse today for not having basic training for your team. Open up ChatGPT (or whatever AI you are fond of), ask for a job description for a Dental Office Scheduler using (your dental software here) and you’re off. Download and edit it for your office.

2. Now make a list of the top 10 most important tasks that position is responsible for.

3. Take each one and make a quick training video. Don’t overcomplicate it. You can use AI if you’d like for this step as well.

4. Make a checklist for them to follow along with their training and keep a copy in their personnel file.

5. If you’re looking for a great way to train every member of your team, our online training platform, DDS Success, provides comprehensive, role-specific training for many key positions in your office.

This will get you started. Then you repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have created a full training manual for each position.

Once you have created the training, start the employee on it step by step. Don’t give them the whole thing and expect them to read it all at once. Have them read/watch the video for one task. Have them do it, answer their questions, and then move on to the next task. This is how we ensure they really understand it and can do it.

Yes, this process takes time but look at how much time you have spent hiring and retraining people. I’m not saying you will never hire for a position again but if you hire the right person and then put the time in to train them, I guarantee you will cut down the process significantly and your chances of success are much greater.

Look internally and promote those team members that show they are productive team players

I cannot tell you how often we find great Office Managers in the back office. Dental Assistants often get overlooked when you are trying to fill front office positions. But MANY of our very successful practices found their kick-butt Office Managers and Treatment Coordinator in the back office (DAs and even Hygienists).

Yes, you will have to replace them in the back, but the fact is that dental assisting is a high turnover position because there isn’t much room to advance.  They end up moving around office to office as a solution to increase their income. But if you give them the opportunity to grow with your practice, you retain them.

Additionally, to effectively fill the practice with patients and ensure they follow through with the care they need, you must genuinely believe in the services you provide. And what better way to build that confidence than by knowing firsthand that your back-office team delivers exceptional care every step of the way?

Action step: before you decide to place that ad for a front office position, interview your back-office team and see if you have a hidden gem already on your team.

Give your team a way to increase their income

Create a staff bonus game based on collections so that the team has a way to increase their income. Obviously, you need to look this over financially and make sure you are covering your overhead and office savings before you go dolling out money. But set a game, tell the team, make the progress towards achieving the goal each month easily seem (maybe a thermometer chart or a statistic graph) and have fun with it. Remind your team that those dollars represent patients helped towards a healthier life.

Summary

Staff retention doesn’t have to be a mystery — it’s the result of intentional leadership, thorough training, and creating real opportunities for growth. With nearly two decades of HR experience, I’ve seen firsthand how these strategies can transform a team. By investing the time to properly train your staff, recognizing talent from within, and offering clear incentives tied to performance, you can dramatically reduce turnover and build a loyal, high-performing team. Whether you’re in a dental office or any other business, retention starts with preparation, opportunity, and a culture that supports long-term success.

If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to reach out to me at AshleyF@mgeonline.com.