Why Are Good Team Members So Hard To Find?

If you’ve had a practice for even 1 day, then you’ve probably had to hire a team member and if you went through that process, you’re probably already pulling your hair out.

Yes, I have team members whom I absolutely adore, but gather 10 orthodontists in a room and they will inevitably settle upon the topic of difficulty finding great team members. And the stories around the interview process are priceless.

Why is it so hard to easily find dedicated, hard working, honest, dependable, free thinking, imaginative team members? Is it too much to ask?

Well, for starters, we’re not paying $100,000/year but you could make the argument that even at an entry level position, we should be able to attract some amazingly talented folks who might outgrow us in the future.

Then perhaps it’s because it’s such a specific niche position. I mean, most folks who go into dentistry/ortho aren’t looking to parlay that into a job in other sectors eventually. So, one could make the argument that we’re pigeonholed because of our professional niche for which we are hiring.

Some would say that the shortage of good team members is because the barrier to entry for being in our field is pretty low. As long as you have a desire to work, you can find a spot anywhere in an ortho office. But again, that’s not really a fair reason for our difficulties because I’ve know more than a bunch of high school level educated workers who were amazing folks.

Is it generational? A lot of people like to blame the world’s problems on each generation that came after them, but I’ve found some great team members from Gen-X through Gen-Z.

Maybe we simply have too high expectations and need to just accept what we get? I’m not sure that’s the case. I’ve had some high standards for a while and found people who have met them, so there have to be more people like them out there, right? But why can’t we find them? Why is there always a shortage of great team members for us to choose from? How do we solve this problem?

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them!

Wishing you the best,

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GLENN KRIEGER IS AN ORTHODONTIST WITH 20 YEARS OF RESTORATIVE AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY EXPERIENCE BEFORE HE RETURNED TO ORTHODONTIC RESIDENCY. DR. KRIEGER LEARNED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WELL-DESIGNED PRACTICE POLICIES AND SYSTEMS DURING A YEAR AT THE SCHUSTER CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA, AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON GRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL’S “DENTIST AS CEO” PROGRAM. HE IS THE HOST OF “THE ORTHOPRENEURS PODCAST”, MANAGES THE ORTHOPRENEURS FACEBOOK GROUP AND RUNS THE ANNUAL ORTHOPRENEURS SUMMIT.