Get The Most Out Of DirectDental

by | Jun 27, 2022 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

I try to avoid blog posts that talk only about DirectDental.  However, all our clients have different staffing needs, and I spend a great deal of my time on the phone walking everyone through how to do things (which I love and please always call).  But, I thought a post that gave different scenarios with how to manage them would be extremely helpful. 

So here goes. 

Need a temp for a day

If you need a temp for the day.  Simply post your temp job.  Once you publish your temp job, we will show you the most active and compatible temps in your area.  You can hit the request all button (I highly recommend doing this for hygiene and dental assistants) or comb through to look at their experience and request the ones who match your needs (highly recommended for front office positions).  

Want more info on how to request a temp.  Watch this video.

Here are some basic tips for requesting a temp:

  • Temp jobs posted 4 days in advance have the best fill rate.  
  • If you post your job a week in advance and nobody has accepted or applied in the first 4 days, repost it. 
  • Basic rule: If you post a temp job and don’t include the pay rate, you are agreeing to the temps rate of pay.  If you post a temp job with a pay rate and a temp accepts, they are agreeing to your rate of pay.  
  • ALWAYS REACH OUT TO THE TEMP BEFORE THE SHIFT –  make sure you agree on the rate of pay before they show up for the shift. 
  • Make sure they fill out their paperwork before you put them to work.
  • The more temps your request the more likely you are to fill your job. 
  • Make sure to keep an eye out for applicants, they are persons you didn’t request who want to work your temp shift. 
  • Read this post for more tips.

Need a temp but not in an area where we have a lot of temps

We are rapidly growing and now have temps in 47 states.  Texas, Florida and New York seem to be our fastest growing markets for temps.  But if you find yourself needing a temp and you are not in an area where we are saturated, have no fear. 

Post a permanent job post and put in the description of the post that you are looking to hire a temp.  

Here is a template for this:

“Our office is looking for a temporary dental assistant for Tuesday, July 5th from 8AM to 5PM.  

If you are a dental assistant who can assist with all basic back office duties please apply.

Thank you!”

Your DirectDental account offers unlimited job postings.  And when you post a temporary job as a permanent job, we will send it out to all the major job boards, so you will be pulling Dental Assistants, Hygienist and Front Office Dental Personnel temps from all the major platforms.   

Need a long term temp

Oh no!  Your hygienist hurt her hand and needs 4 weeks to recover.  Here is the plan:

  1. Post several temp jobs for the most immediate shifts you need covered.  Don’t forget to ask the temps if they can take additional shifts in the future.  You might find someone who can work with you every Monday for the next 4 weeks. 
  2. Post a long term temp shift.  This will notify all our hygienists (or whatever position you need) that want to work long term assignments.  From there they can apply and you can staff your job. 
  3. Post a permanent position, this will allow you to pull some long term temps from the other job boards we post to. 

Between these 3 job posts, you should be able to fill your long term temp assignment pretty quickly.  

Need to hire permanently

Well, post your job.  That is pretty simple.  Make sure it is eye-catching and will make applicants want to apply

A lot of offices find success in hiring by utilizing our temp service.  If you have some days you could use a temp, post them on DirectDental.  If you like the temp, ask them if they are looking for work and make them an offer. 

If you are really struggling to hire, reach out to us about our staffing services.  Our Boosted and Full Service plans have a 97% success rate.  So definitely worth a shot!

Been getting applicants but they don’t show up to interviews

Yes, ghosting is, unfortunately, pretty common in the dental industry.  And without a crystal ball, there is no way to know who is going to show and who isn’t. 

The best way to get applicants to show, is to build a ton of rapport when scheduling the interview.  If they like you they are more likely to show up.  And make sure your job is extremely competitive with excellent pay and benefits and remind them of the pay and benefits after you confirm the interview time. 

Here are more tips and tricks to get your applicants to show up for the interview

Need to work with multiple people in your office to hire

We get it, dentists are busy being clinicians and business owners.  So you don’t have all the time you need to work on staffing your office.  You might need your office manager or dental consultant to be able to log into the account and view your applicants.  That is fine.  Here are your two options in making that happen. 

Option 1: Create a shared email account and sign up with that email. 

This is the easiest and most instantaneous way for everyone on your team to have access to the site.  

Make an email address that everyone on your hiring team has access to and then sign up on DirectDental with that email address.  

The biggest benefit to this, is you can see everyone’s applicant notes, so you know who has been contacted and what the outcome was. 

Option 2: Reach out to us and we can attach a 2nd account to the site.

If you already created your account and don’t want to share your log in.  No problem.  Have the person you want to have an account, create a username and password.  They must also fill out the practice location.  Then reach out to us, and we can grant them access to the site and attach them to your account. 

From there, they will get emails when someone applies and can post jobs and temp shifts.  

The only downside is that you cannot share notes on the applicants.  

Here is a great video on how to manage your applicants.  

Always be hiring

Even if you are fully staffed, this is not the job market to let off the gas.  DSOs are always hiring and private practices should be too.  Here is how

And those are my tips to get the most out of your DirectDental membership.  I hope this helps!

Smiles, 

Holli Perez
DirectDental

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