The Value of HR Skills For Your Dental Practice Manager
HR Skills For Your Dental Practice Manager
If you’re a dental practice owner, the following real-world headlines might give you some heartburn.
- U.S. Department of Labor investigation results in Tennessee dental practice paying $50,000 in back wages and liquidated damages (US Department of Labor)
- Company to pay $584,000 for firing employees who demanded overtime (Washington Post)
- Court orders the dentist to pay $85K to employee fired for safety complaint (OSHA)
- OSHA investigation finds two dental locations failed to protect employees from risks of blood-borne pathogens (OSHA)
- In 2015, the first dentist was fined for a HIPAA violation. The fine of $12,000 was for the alleged mishandling of the protected health information of 5,600 patients. (HIPAA Journal)
Do you or your practice manager have a solid grasp on areas typically handled by HR professionals?
If not, you could be putting your organization at significant risk by not providing HR skills for your dental practice manager. Does your dental clinic have documented policies and procedures and an employee handbook? If not, this should be a top priority. Someone in your clinic also needs to know how to ensure employees are actually following established policies and procedures. How about regulations governing overtime and employee classification? Are you or your practice manager up to speed on those?
So, here are the facts.
Salaried employees are exempt from overtime if they meet the federal requirements for classification as an exempt employee. They have to earn at least $913/week, and “the employee’s primary duty must be…work directly related to the management or general business operations and… include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.” (U.S. Dept of Labor) And don’t get too comfortable after you have this information under your belt. These Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules are to be updated every 3 years. The next update will be in 2020.
A small investment in staff training can
- Save you money in the long run.
- Ensure that your clinic complies with regulations
- Protect your dental practice from fines and prosecution
- Transform your practice manager into an asset
Training your practice manager with HR skills is an asset, not just in promoting compliance. Subsequently, by equipping your dental practice manager with the right skills, she can also elevate your dental employees’ performance, starting with attracting top talent in the hiring process. Then, to retain your best employees, she can cultivate a positive organizational culture―another valuable HR skill. Also, implement training programs and an employee evaluation process based on best practices to bring out the best in your staff and build their skills.
Our HR Skills for Practice Managers series consists of an introduction followed by eight micro-courses on the most critical HR skills for dental practice managers.
- HR 101 for Practice Managers: Basics
- Recruitment & Onboarding
- Training & Development
- Organizational Culture
- Policies & Manuals
- Health & Safety
- Management & Compliance
- Planning―Strategic Planning
- Planning―Change Management
About NGT Academy
We are one of the very few turnkey-Learning Management System providers that specializes in the dental industry. Currently, with a library of more than 30 courses created for dental teams, our eLearning platform is easy to use. Simultaneously, eLearning typically costs at least 30% less than conventional training, making for a truly efficient solution for your dental organization.
Do you want to learn more? Contact us for more information or schedule a demo