Hosts: Guest:
Marguerite Morgan Margaret Kierans Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne
The Dental Chair: Overview
Introduction to "The Dental Chair" Podcast: Host Marguerite Morgan, Founder and Director of Irish Dental Jobs, introduces the podcast's focus on recruitment, relationship building, and industry insights within the Irish dental profession. She is joined by Marketing Manager Margaret Kierans.
Key Insights from the Dental Industry:
- Salary Comparisons: Newly qualified dental hygienists earn more than newly qualified dentists.
- Lack of Salary Increases for Support Staff: A significant portion of dental support staff haven't had salary increases in over a decade, sparking discussions on fair compensation and employee appreciation.
Guest Segment with Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne:
Sarah Jane, a long-term client, shares her experience running successful dental practices and her strategies for retaining staff. She highlights the importance of communication, aligning with team values, and flexibility in work-life balance, especially for staff with family responsibilities.
Challenges in Retaining Staff:
- Work-Life Balance and Flexibility: Sarah Jane discusses how dental practices face unique challenges in offering flexible hours due to patient demands. She tries to accommodate her team by offering options like longer days with additional days off.
- Childcare and Female-Dominated Workforce: Many dental staff are women who struggle with childcare costs and logistics, making retention challenging.
Transition to Corporate Ownership:
Dr. Dunne shares her experience selling her practice to PortmanDentex. She explains that while some adjustments were necessary, the transition has generally been positive, thanks to aligned values and supportive relationships.
Final Reflections on Recruitment:
The episode wraps up with advice on job-seeking, emphasising the importance of authenticity, open communication, and matching values between employer and employee.
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The Dental Chair Podcast: Mastering the Art of Retaining Staff
In the very first episode of The Dental Chair podcast, host Marguerite Morgan, Founder and Director of Irish Dental Jobs, takes listeners into the heart of the dental recruitment industry. With 25 years experience in the Legal and Dental arena, Marguerite has a unique approach to connecting dental practices with ideal candidates and emphasises the importance of building meaningful, long-term relationships. This episode offers listeners a glimpse into IDJ’s recently released Salary Guide/Dental Insights & Trends report, focusing on surprising salary findings, employee appreciation, and challenges around staff retention.
Marguerite is joined by her Marketing Manager, Margaret Kierans, who spearheaded the research for the report, and Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne, a dental practice owner and longtime client of Irish Dental Jobs. Together, they discuss the evolving dynamics of the dental sector in Ireland, including salary structures, staff appreciation, the importance of communication, values alignment, and work-life balance. Here’s a breakdown of the key insights from this insightful conversation.
Marguerite and Margaret: Insights from the Salary Guide and Dental Trends
In this episode, Marguerite begins by introducing Margaret Kierans, her Marketing Manager of six years, who was instrumental in compiling the data for the Salary Guide/Dental Insights & Trends report. M & M share how this guide provides valuable data on salary trends and industry dynamics, including some surprising insights about pay disparities between various dental roles and the lack of pay increases for support staff.
Surprising Salary Findings
One of the standout findings in the report was that newly qualified dental hygienists often earn more than newly qualified dentists. For instance, a newly qualified hygienist can start on a minimum hourly rate of €35, which, over a standard 37.5-hour work week, translates to an annual salary of €68,250—significantly higher than the typical starting salary for a newly qualified dentist, which is between €60,000 to €70,000 (this is providing a dentist is hired on an employee basis).
Lack of Salary Increases for Support Staff
Another notable insight was the revelation that 25% of dental support staff in Ireland have not received a salary increase in over a decade. As an employer herself, Marguerite expresses concern over this trend and emphasises the importance of showing appreciation for employees through regular pay reviews, especially for committed, long-term staff. Both hosts agree that showing appreciation for employees, even in small ways, and fair compensation can have a tremendous impact on retaining quality staff, fostering loyalty and morale.
Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne on Retaining Dental Staff: Lessons from a Successful Practice Owner
Marguerite then welcomes Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne, a long-term client of Irish Dental Jobs and successful dental practice owner in Dublin, to share her insights on staff retention. Dr. Dunne, who has been running her practice for over 20 years, shares her secrets to creating a positive work environment and building a solid team.
Building a Cohesive Team through Shared Values
According to Dr. Dunne, successful staff retention starts with hiring the right people. She believes that personality and values are often more important than experience alone. When interviewing candidates, she prioritises finding people whose personality, values and work ethics match the ethos of her practice. These attributes helps create a solid work environment where every employee respects and supports each other, fostering an inclusive, working environment without rigid hierarchies. Everyone on her team is valued equally, whether they’re an experienced specialist or a trainee dental nurse. This “flat structure” ensures a content and supportive environment, which she believes is crucial for long-term staff retention.
Sarah Jane also highlights the importance of maintaining open lines of communication. Dentistry, she explains, can be a very busy and isolated field, where staff are often occupied with patients for hours on end. To overcome this, she makes a concerted effort to seize opportunities for communication whenever possible, arranging regular meetings and ensuring her team knows they can approach her anytime. This open communication is key to understanding staff needs, especially as circumstances in their personal lives can change.
Challenges of Work-Life Balance and Flexibility in Dentistry
One of the main challenges Dr. Dunne faces is balancing the need for flexible work arrangements with the demands of the dental industry. Many staff members, especially those with families, seek flexible hours to maintain a better work-life balance. To accommodate this, Sarah Janes practice offers four-day work weeks with longer hours, giving employees an extra day off to manage personal responsibilities.
However, this flexibility has limits in a clinical setting where patient needs dictate the hours. Patients often want early or late appointments, which makes it difficult for practices to offer the traditional 9-to-5 schedule. Despite these constraints, Sarah Jane emphasises the importance of understanding each employee’s personal situation and being as flexible as possible.
The Impact of Childcare Costs and Female Workforce Challenges
Sarah Jane highlights a significant issue affecting the dental workforce: the high cost of childcare, which is a common barrier for many of her female employees. She explains how staff members often struggle to return to full-time work after having children due to both the cost and the logistical challenges of childcare.
With the dental sector in Ireland predominantly female (For Q1 of 2024 - 73.9% of registrations were women), the issue of affordable childcare is an industry-wide challenge. Dr. Dunne notes that many talented and experienced professionals leave the field simply because they cannot find a sustainable work arrangement that accommodates their family responsibilities.
In her experience, being sensitive to these circumstances and making adjustments wherever possible has been crucial to retaining skilled staff over the years.
Transition to Corporate Ownership: The PortmanDentex Experience
Dr. Dunne has since sold her practice to PortmanDentex, a dental corporate group. While selling her practice was a significant decision, Sarah Jane explains that it was ultimately a positive move. She describes PortmanDentex as a company that shares her values and offers support to enhance practice operations rather than disrupt them. The transition has allowed her to focus on patient care and staff well-being without the pressures of managing every operational detail independently.
Sarah Jane shares that while the practice has seen some minor changes—such as new uniforms and website support—its core values, team dynamics, and patient care remain intact. She continues to feel ownership and pride in the practice, seeing PortmanDentex as a supportive partner rather than a controlling entity. This transition has not only given her peace of mind but also enabled her practice to access resources that enhance patient and staff experiences.
Final Thoughts: The Importance of Authenticity in Recruitment
As the episode wraps up, Marguerite and Sarah Jane discuss the importance of authenticity in the recruitment process. Marguerite encourages job seekers to ask questions during interviews and ensure that the position aligns with their personal and professional values. She believes that recruitment should be a two-way process where both employer and employee feel confident that they are the right fit for each other.
Sarah Jane echoes this sentiment, emphasising that maintaining open, honest relationships with her team has been key to her success. By focusing on shared values, regular communication, and a unified approach to challenges, her practice has become a place where team members feel valued and understood. This supportive, people-centered approach not only enhances staff retention but also contributes to the overall success of the practice.
Conclusion: A Holistic Approach to Dental Recruitment
The Dental Chair’s first episode sets the stage for a podcast series that promises valuable insights into dental recruitment and industry challenges. Marguerite and her guests bring to light the often-overlooked aspects of dental practice management, from fair salaries to building a supportive work culture. Dr. Dunne’s experiences offer a roadmap for other dental practice owners looking to improve staff retention and create an environment where employees feel valued and fulfilled.
This episode encourages both employers and employees to engage in open, honest conversations and to prioritise personal values alongside professional qualifications. By focusing on relationship-building, empathy, and flexibility, dental practices can create a more positive work environment that benefits both the team and the patients they serve.
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes as The Dental Chair dives deeper into other crucial topics, including staff appreciation, recruitment strategies, and the art of finding the right people for the right roles in the dental sector.
Today's Guest: Dr. Sarah Jane Dunne, Dundrum Dental/PortmanDentex/Stepaside Dental
- Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Dundrum Dental Surgery