When the Gods Want to Punish Us, They Answer Our Prayers

I don’t know how many times this has happened to me, and you may have even had it happen to you: I put together a very clever marketing plan. I choose just the right target audience; I find just the right incentive to encourage immediate response. I send out my mailers and like a man who dropped a stone in a well I waited to hear something.

Before long, I got a call, and then the first case. Then another, and another and another. Pretty soon we are struggling to impress our new doctors and simply meet the due dates of our existing accounts. The staff gets stressed, one person calls in sick, and dozens of cases fall off schedule. We rush to get these cases out on time, and quality begins to suffer.

The net result? We picked up three new accounts and lost four old ones for a net gain of minus one account.

Before embarking on an aggressive marketing plan, the wise laboratory owner will have already prepared for the influx of new work.

There are a number of ways to go about recruiting and romancing potential new employees. Of course the newspaper help ads come to mind, but those are generally only used when there is an urgent and immediate need, and at best will only be productive on a Sunday. I prefer to do my recruiting on a constant, on-going basis, and to have a number of prospects lined up at any given time.

Here are a few of the ways I go about attracting new employees:

Yellow Pages: As part of every interview I have conducted with potential new employees, I have asked how they heard about us, and where else they have searched for employment. Most if not all candidates indicated that they had looked in the paper, looked in the yellow pages and made inquiries with friends in the business. As a result of this, I changed our yellow page advertisement from the standard, “free pick up and delivery, custom staining available” to “Full Service Dental Laboratory, now hiring technicians.” This strategy has brought in a remarkable number of applicants, and usually guarantees me the first shot at anyone who looks there for employment.

Word of Mouth: I was never much of a gambler, so whenever possible, I go for the sure thing. When it comes to employment, that means I try and find someone with a known track record for honesty, dependability and a good work ethic. I offer a $100 reward to any employee who refers a candidate that is hired and makes it through their 90-day probationary period.

Trade Schools and Colleges: You can gain a considerable head start on your competition when it comes to hiring future graduates by establishing relationships while they are still students. This can be accomplished by volunteering to do hands-on demonstrations, slide presentations or arranging for a tour of your laboratory. While this strategy is especially applicable to dental technology programs, I have also used it successfully with dental assisting programs as well. If possible, have students sign a guest book so that you can build a database of potential employees.

Mailing Lists: You might be surprised how many technicians are living within a short distance of your laboratory. Many may be commuting to work in another city. For a very nominal fee, Dental Lab Products will sell you a mailing list of subscribers in your area. Some will be lab owners, but many more will simply be technicians who have requested a free subscription to be sent to their homes. Periodic mailings to this list will remind potential candidates that you are in the area, and position you as a proactive lab owner (be sure to buy a new list each time, as they are generally sold for one-time use only).  

Regardless of how you find your applicant, remember to send them a thank you card or note before filing their application, and adding them to your mailing list. Using these creative and different techniques will insure you have potential help waiting in the wings in the event you have an influx of new work. I have found that even though there is a shortage of qualified, trained technicians, I don’t seem to have as much trouble finding them as some of my colleagues do.

Of course offering a quality production incentive system with a respectable base pay, a good benefits/health care package and a retirement plan with matching will help improve retention, and position you as the most desirable employer in the area.

But that’s a topic for another day.