The Dentist's Network #62


	Employee Market for 2009 Workplace Bullying Claims Purchasing a Practice

Sally McKenzie, CEO
McKenzie Management
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Take Advantage Of The Employee Market

Those in charge of hiring at Federal Express likely never thought they would see the day, the day that the company would actually turn away seasonal applicants. For years, recruiters for this international courier would spend months trying to entice prospects to sign on to work those least desirable hours – evenings and overnights – during the busy holiday rush. But this year, Fed Ex, like so many other employers, turned away a multitude of well qualified candidates.

Meanwhile, those that do land jobs are eager to please. Employers report that new employees are bringing positive attitudes and strong work ethics. Many can fully appreciate the opportunity that a job offers as some have been searching for work for months and have completed literally hundreds of applications.

Certainly, the tide has shifted from years past when employers, particularly dentists, struggled to keep the ranks full. Many practitioners felt they had no other choice but to hire the first warm body to cross the threshold. Too often they settled for mediocre and ultimately regretted their hasty hires just weeks down the road. Today dentists and office managers sit like gluttons at the lunch buffet, so much potential to choose from, the challenge now is trying to narrow the list.

But just because the numbers of those looking for work have increased considerably, that’s no guarantee that you’ll hire the best candidate for your practice. It still takes careful planning and a clear strategy. Read on.

First, update or write a job description for the position and tailor it to attract the employee you need. This clarifies what skills the applicant must possess, explains what duties they will perform, and it assures that you will have a clear objective when considering each candidate’s credentials.

Next, recruit the best candidates. Your ads should hit on key specifics and highlight those things that will attract quality applicants. The headline should give the position title and the salary range, “Administrative Assistant $30,000-$35,000.” Appeal to those who may be looking for a change, but may not have worked in a dental practice before. “Are you well-organized, hard-working, and looking for a new opportunity or exciting career change?” Remember, excellent employees often come without previous dental office experience.

Pre-screen and you’ll prevent problems. Even in a market teeming with quality applicants, the fact is that most people never look better than they do on their resumes. Take a good close look at that resume you’re considering, and know exactly what you want as you review the applicants’ credentials.

Conduct phone interviews to pre-screen candidates and address your most pressing concerns. If there are gaps in employment history, now is the time to learn why. Does the applicant have a list of “must haves” for this job? Listen for tone, attitude, and grammar on the phone, particularly if the position requires handling patient calls.

Check references and work histories of those candidates you are seriously considering. Confirm beginning and ending dates of employment, job duties, job performance, if the employee would be hired again, their compliance with office policies, and their ability to work and communicate with others. You want qualitative, work-related information on the individual.

Prepare for the interview. Create a checklist that includes standard procedures for each candidate. Use a written set of specific questions and compare responses. Ask open-ended questions. For example, “Describe how you would handle a patient who arrives late.” Or, “If production drops off what would you do to try to correct the situation?” Ask follow-up questions based on the applicant’s responses.

Finally, test your top the candidates to determine who’s right for your office. McKenzie Management provides a statistically valid and scientifically based hiring assessment tool for dentists. The procedure is simple: Applicants answer a list of questions online. Just minutes later, the dentist receives a statistically reliable report enabling them to clearly determine if the candidates under consideration would be a good match for the dental practice position being filled.

Use a careful and deliberate hiring strategy and ensure that your team represents your total commitment to excellence. And always look for quality candidates even when your ranks are full.

Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management. a nationwide dental management, practice development and educational consulting firm. Working “on-site” with dentists since 1980, McKenzie Management provides knowledge, guidance and personalized solutions that have propelled thousands of general and specialty practices to realize their potential.

Interested in speaking to Sally about your practice concerns? Email her at sally@thedentistsnetwork.net or 1.877.777.6151.

Interested in having Sally speak to your dental society or study club? Click here.

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Michael Moore, Esq.
Director McKenzie
HR Solutions
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Workplace Bullying Claims

Workplace “bullying” claims are on the rise. When these claims turn into lawsuits, the results can be stunning. Now is the time to review your practice policies and procedures, and your conduct, and that of any associates or managers who work for you.

Not long ago, the Supreme Court of Indiana upheld a $325,000.00 jury verdict for a hospital perfusionist against a cardiovascular surgeon. The claim: a single instance of assault. The actual language of the court deserves quoting:

We find the testimony from the plaintiff that the defendant, angry at the plaintiff about reports to the hospital administration about the defendant's treatment of other perfusionists, aggressively and rapidly advanced on the plaintiff with clenched fists, piercing eyes, beet-red face, popping veins, and screaming and swearing at him. The plaintiff backed up against a wall and put his hands up, believing that the defendant was going to hit him, then the defendant suddenly stopped, turned, and stormed past the plaintiff and left the room, momentarily stopping to declare to the plaintiff "you're finished, you're history."

In upholding the verdict, the Court cited evidence produced by the plaintiff that he suffered from major depression and had been unable to return to work because of the incident. The plaintiff’s lawyer presented evidence from an expert psychologist as to the effects.

Few of us realize that, under the law, an “assault” need not involve actual physical contact. That is a battery. There have long been common law causes of action available for recovery against extreme behavior, such as that for intentional infliction of severe emotional distress. However, the evidentiary burdens are quite high – and only applicable to a very narrow class of cases. The jury in the case in fact exonerated the doctor from the intentional infliction claim. He still, however, must pay the $325,000.00.

There even exists today a “Workplace Bullying Institute” that advocates on the issue. A recently completed survey by the institute resulted in the finding that upwards of 37 percent claimed to have been bullied at work, with 45 percent of those claiming continuing effects for more than one year.

A model “Healthy Workplace Act” is now pending in thirteen states. The law draws heavily on well-recognized cases addressing sexual and other harassment, and provides a specific cause of action for the new tort. When enacted, workers will not have to rely on common law claims such as assault. Conduct that will not rise to the level of an assault will expose the doctor to liability, so long as the evidence shows the conduct was “severe” or “pervasive” and created a “hostile, abusive or intimidating” work environment.

In representing employees, I always examine the potential for an assault, battery and false imprisonment claim against an employer where there is a particularly contentious separation. This can happen where the employer blocks the employee’s exit from any area – and can happen even if the employer has no intent of stopping the employee from leaving.

The danger in any of these claims is that the testimony of a single witness – in most instances, the plaintiff – is enough to at least require the judge to submit the claims to a jury. No need to over-react – convincing juries most often requires corroborating evidence. But there are some jurisdictions where the average juror is going to lean towards the “wronged” employee and against the “rich” doctor.

How do you protect yourself against these kinds of claims? First, consider your own behavior and conduct in the office. You may not even be aware of how your actions, voice and expressions impact those who work for and with you. Second, pay careful attention to the actions and conduct of supervisors and associate doctors.

Review your policies and procedures. If your policies are “employee friendly,” that kind of documentation will go a long way to dispelling the effect of testimony from a former employee as to how bad the office environment really was.

Our policies and procedures are specifically designed to require employees to take responsibility for their own behavior in the workplace. Failing that, the documentation created by implementing our policies and using our forms creates the nearly impregnable defense to harassment claims.

For example, our “Employee Concerns” policy encourages staff to make known their complaints in formal manner. This is augmented by the “Exit Evaluation” policy that provides a vehicle for the departing employee to make known any concerns. Unfortunately there are folks who only “recognize” that they have been wronged weeks or months after they have separated from an employer. The absence of any complaints contemporaneous with the separation makes it extremely difficult for the person to get a lawyer to take a case, let alone win the case if filed.

Take a good look at those working for you, and those who you may hire. This means that your hiring process must include contacts with former employers for insights. With the availability of companies that conduct thorough background checks at a modest cost, the best defense to a possible bullying claim is to hire only those whose backgrounds and histories eliminate the potential for that happening to you.

Mike Moore is ranked among the best in employment law and has been named one of the top 10 lawyers in Ohio. As Director of McKenzie's HRSolutions, Mike is the creator of the Employment Policy and Handbook, geared to providing dentists who are unsophisticated in the legal arena with a step-by-step policy manual.

Click here to hear Mike present “7 Elements of an Effective Employment Policy.” Email Mike at mike@thedentistsnetwork.net.

Interested in having Mike speak to your dental society or study club? Click here.

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Thomas L. Snyder, DMD, MBA
Managing Partner
The Snyder Group, LLC
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Can I Afford A $700,000 Practice?

Every entrepreneur has heard the adage, “You’ve got to spend money to make money.” In the dental profession, that advice is tempered by the reality of dental school debt, which often exceeds $150,000.

It is understandable, then, that young, responsible, and prudent dental professionals are conflicted over assuming additional debt to move toward goals they set while in dental school.

But the enormous benefits of acquiring an established, high-grossing, highly profitable practice will certainly outweigh the financial risks, if the buying opportunity is good, and the value of the practice is accurate. Other factors, including interest rates, financing terms, and the purchaser’s ability to maintain the production of the Seller are additional considerations.

Viewing the purchase of a high-grossing practice as a financial burden instead of a golden opportunity is a common misperception with many recent grads. While it is true that assuming an additional large amount of debt seems imprudent when one already has substantial financial obligations, when it comes to investing in your professional future, this shortsighted thinking does not necessarily apply. If you are a high producing practitioner, and can maintain the levels of service which exist in a thriving practice, the purchase of a high grossing practice is essentially ensuring a larger income stream for you now and in the future. Of course, increased income from a busy and established practice will greatly enhance your ability to generate and accumulate wealth.

There has been a trend in recent years for more recent grads to consider a practice start up versus purchasing an existing practice. This is due to the lack of practices to purchase in a specific area or the desire of the doctor to design and equip a practice that they want to have their imprint on. If the reason to consider a start up over a practice purchase is the latter, it may be wise to reconsider that decision, as the income loss over an entire career by starting from scratch may never be recouped versus purchasing an existing practice with a solid profit history. You can always invest in an acquired practice by replacing equipment and technology, if it is not an ideal situation.

Before deciding on a “start-up” option instead of purchasing a high grossing existing practice, one must consider the cumulative potential for wealth accumulation. To illustrate this point, assume that you purchase a $700,000 practice, which realizes annual profits of 37 percent — or $259,000 a year, before debt service. Over a 20-year period, without ever considering any increases in income due to practice growth, the accumulated income would translate into over $5.1 million in earnings. Let’s assume that you paid $450,000 for this practice and the loan payments were made over ten years at an interest rate of 8.5%. That would translate into monthly payments of $5,308 over the course of the loan. So does borrowing $450,000 to purchase a potential income stream of $5.1 million appear to be a worthwhile investment versus investing $450,000 in a start up with no cash flow? The answer, of course, is “yes.”

Since many startup differentials range from $300,000 to $500,000, based on location, the investments for a start up and purchasing a higher grossing practice are not so far apart. However, if there are no patients, there is no income, and it will take a considerable number of years to approach the earning stream offered by an existing practice with the high probability of never catching up to the 20 year earning capacity that an existing practice purchase offers.

There is no question that with today’s economic climate getting financing for a practice acquisition is becoming more challenging. Good credit is paramount and approving loans is more difficult for the recent grad. In the end, finding a strong practice with great cash flow and other qualities will be even more critical than before.

When all the factors are considered, the ultimate decision about purchasing a high producing practice rests with you. Only you can decide whether it is the right time to purchase. Only you can determine how much debt and risk you feel comfortable assuming. And only you know how willing you are to meet the demands of a high producing practice. If you assess the risks, review your ultimate goals as a dental professional, consult with your financial professionals and work through the math, you will reach a conclusion you can live happily with, now and in the future.

Dr. Thomas L. Snyder is Managing Partner of The Snyder Group, LLC, a nationwide practice transition and financial management consulting firm. With more than 75 years of experience in the field, The Snyder Group can provide you a full range of services relating to practice transition matters and retirement planning. They can be reached directly at 1.800.988.5674.

If you would like additional help, email Dr. Snyder at drsnyder@thedentistsnetwork.net.

Interested in having Dr. Snyder speak to your dental society or study club? Click here.

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