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Dr. Chad Duplantis: Team Mistake
59 Plays1 year ago
In a world where the revolving door in dental practices spins all too often, Dr. Duplantis shares his invaluable insight: The secret ingredient? It might just be you.
From his candid reflections on personal growth and hiring hiccups to celebrating the unmatched value of word-of-mouth in building a team that doesn't just stay but thrives - this episode is a goldmine for anyone looking to transform their practice into a place where everyone wants to be.
Discover why caring for your team goes beyond the basics, and how fostering a strong community reputation can draw the very best to your doorstep.
About the Guest:
Chad Duplantis is a seasoned restorative dentist based in Fort Worth, Texas. With a dental career beginning in 1999, Duplantis has gathered extensive experience in the field, particularly in crown and bridge work, restorative implants, and technology integration in dental practice. After graduating from dental school in San Antonio, he positioned himself at the forefront of adopting digital dental technologies. Duplantis is known for his passion for teaching and sharing knowledge with his colleagues, aiming to stay ahead of the curve in delivering quality dental care.
Key Takeaways:
- Loyalty and long tenures within a dental practice can signify a positive work environment and shared vision.
- Staff turnover, though rare, is taken personally and underscores the challenge of finding replacements that fit the established culture.
- Identifying the right personality for roles that interact with patients can be more valuable than specific dental experience.
- Word of mouth is still the most powerful tool for recruitment, especially when looking to preserve a reputable practice culture.
- Leadership and the culture it fosters within an organization directly impact employee retention and the success of the team.
Connect with Chad Duplantisl: @toothdoc_dup
Connect with Dentists in the Know: @dentistsintheknow
Connect with Ignitedds: @ignitedds
Connect with Tanya Sue Maestas: @tsmaestas.dds
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Transcript
Introduction to Dental Fuel Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Dental Fuel, the podcast that focuses on what no one else is talking about. Mistakes. The dental world is full of before and afters and no one is talking about the middle. Dental Fuel brings you the unspoken in-between.
Sponsor: 90 Day Jumpstart Program
00:00:14
Speaker
Dental Fuel is brought to you by 90 Day Jumpstart, a program to help you increase production and break free from financial stress.
00:00:22
Speaker
Building a team requires a strong culture and vision, and there could be many mistakes made along the way.
Complexities of Team Building in Dentistry
00:00:29
Speaker
Dr. Chad DePlantis shares how he helps to manage the intricacies of building a team. Building a team can be really tough. You've mentioned that you've tried to integrate your team in purchasing different pieces of technology.
00:00:44
Speaker
and in different ways in your practice. But what are some challenges that you have faced or what are some mistakes that you have faced when it comes to teamwork and team building?
00:00:54
Speaker
So, you know, our team that's with us has been with us a long time. We just, unfortunately, not to get sappy here, but we just lost an office manager in January. Well, she medically retired in January, and she passed away in July. But she had worked with my business partner for 36 years.
00:01:18
Speaker
So 36 years from right out of high school until she passed away due to breast cancer. And that's kind of the way that our team goes. It's very rare that we lose somebody that quits.
Challenges in Hiring Quality Team Members
00:01:33
Speaker
And when somebody does quit, which is going to happen,
00:01:36
Speaker
We take it very, very personally. And it's getting harder and harder, as we all know, to find quality team members. And it's especially hard to replace somebody that's been with you for as long as our team has. I mean,
00:01:56
Speaker
Going through the office, we have two people that are brand new as of this summer. We have one hygienist that medically retired and she's now our office manager, took place of our office manager that passed away. We have another hygienist that's been with us for 10 plus years and I
00:02:13
Speaker
then I think our shortest tenure is, is our third assistant. And I hate to say third, I only say third because she was the third to come into the practice, but she's been with us seven or eight years. So people come here and they stay. And, and I think it's because they, they see our vision, they believe in who we are, and they see the quality of care that we provide.
00:02:37
Speaker
Um, you know, over the years, there's, there've been a couple of positions that we've had to replace a
High Turnover Rates and Internal Practice Issues
00:02:43
Speaker
couple of times. Um, and it's, it's hard. It's hard to find people, you know, uh, I always refer to the quote unquote receptionist as the director of first impressions. And, uh, I, I, I have, uh, Dr. Kirkam hired one that was a waiting tables at a restaurant that he and his wife were at. Um,
00:03:06
Speaker
I hired one who was a card attendant at the golf course, you know, and that's, that's just, I'm, I'm not necessarily looking for somebody in that position with dental experience. I'm looking for somebody with a personality and a smile.
Effective Recruitment Strategies
00:03:17
Speaker
And you know, the others, um,
00:03:22
Speaker
It's not easy. I don't know. There's been a lot of mistakes. I mean, we've hired people that have not been good fits and they've been here for a short time. But the one thing that I would say is that if you're just a revolving door for an employee or a team member
00:03:43
Speaker
The problem's not necessarily what you're paying them. If you're a revolving door and it's happening on multiple occasions, the problem's probably you and not the practice, it's probably you.
00:04:02
Speaker
Or maybe it's your influence on the practice. But you know, I don't know, I've made mistakes. But I can also say that we've made some incredible hires over the years. And I have found that over the years, your best asset is word of mouth. I don't care about all these internet postings. Yeah, we've used them.
00:04:24
Speaker
But word of mouth is always the best and you'd be amazed at what you find. You find people that are unhappy, people that are looking for exactly what you're offering. If you've got a good reputation in the community, it's easier, not easy, but easier to find people.
Maintaining Practice Culture with New Members
00:04:41
Speaker
Well, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your office manager. I know that that can be really difficult on a practice, but I mean, it is hard. It is hard when you have a culture, a culture of success, a vision that you're trying to build in your practice and to bring someone in.
00:04:57
Speaker
to hopefully add value to that, but also not break the mold. Maybe not completely shape them, but hopefully they'll add a little bit more and help grow in that vision. But it's hard. Sometimes you bring someone in and they're just not it. They bring everyone down and that can be really, really hard. Working as a team is really, really difficult at dentistry and something that I've come to learn solely is I continue to learn in dentistry.
Insights from Dion Sanders' Team Culture Building
00:05:28
Speaker
And I would say this too, for anybody who's having problems with their team or their culture, there was a great article that came out about two or three weeks ago. Actually, it was about four weeks ago because we're four weeks into the college football season, but it was about Dion Sanders. Dion Sanders hates the word culture.
00:05:49
Speaker
However, I don't even think he'll never admit it, but what he's doing, he's completely rebuilding the culture at the University of Colorado. And it's a very heartwarming story because they had a full team and he basically told them to get out. And so he not only took on new coaches, he took on new players.
00:06:09
Speaker
And he threw a product out on the field that by most standards is supposed to be 0 and 4 right now. And they're 3 and 1. And he's got, you know, he's building a great culture, if you will, at Colorado. And it's going to be great to watch that story unfold.
00:06:26
Speaker
That's interesting that he doesn't like the word. I think it's a, I think it's a good word. I think that, yeah, you built up the culture that, that you want to be surrounded by and that you want to kind of put out there for the patients that you come in, especially, you know, in our setting, obviously football's a little bit different, but it's not too far. It's not too far really. I would agree.
Conclusion and Next Week's Preview
00:06:46
Speaker
feeling overwhelmed as an associate or by your debt? There's a better way. 90 Day Jumpstart can help you break free from financial stress and skyrocket your production. Thanks for tuning into this episode of Dental Fuel. Join us next week as Chad DePlantis closes us out with our series by offering up some expert advice.
00:07:07
Speaker
If you'd like to hear more from Chad DiPlantis, you can find him on Dentist in the Know every Wednesday evening. You can also check him out on Instagram at Dentist in the Know and at toothdoc underscore dupe.