Building your healthcare practice from scratch also means growing your team from the ground up, from making hiring decisions to establishing a healthy workplace culture to managing payroll. Your first hires will be the backbone of your practice, so intentionally assembling and building your team can enhance your early months of ownership and lay the groundwork for your practice's long-term success. It begins with foundational work, but don't worry – we’ve outlined how to get started below.

1. Clarify roles and responsibilities.
Assembling your team begins by setting expectations for each team member. How you plan to manage your day-to-day operations should inform how you clarify each role’s responsibilities. Think bigger than just keeping the lights on. Of course, each position in your practice will require different skill sets and qualifications. For example, dental practice hygienists need an associate's degree or higher, but beyond your day-to-day operations, how will each role contribute to cultivating a supportive culture and fostering trust among your team? The highest-performing startup team members feel like the practice is theirs too, so include details like your mission, vision, and a bit about your culture and values in your job descriptions. (We’ll talk more about culture below.) And don’t forget to determine which roles will be on-site or hybrid, and whether they will be full-time or part-time. Your job descriptions set the tone for what you’ll expect from your team and what they can expect from you and your practice, so define your roles to clarify skill sets and give candidates an idea of the culture you are building.

2. Recruit effectively through the right channels.
You’re likely ready to start interviewing and hiring three months before you plan to open your doors, according to Maritza Duran, founder and CEO at MDent Consulting. This gives you time for candidate evaluation and ensures time to integrate fully as a team. But how will you find your team? And how will your team find you? An effective recruitment strategy typically involves a mix of word-of-mouth, social media, and recruiters. Platforms like Indeed, dental-specific sites like Dental Match, and remote staffing agencies like Swiss Monkey can help. Recruitment is about more than just finding candidates – it’s about making personal connections. Let your network know you’re starting your own practice and hiring via LinkedIn, in-person events, and other professional group forums.

3. Help ensure value and cultural alignment.
Identifying individuals who align with your values early on can make things smoother later. Your mission, vision, and values should be your guiding principles as you search for teammates and transition into serving patients. When you start interviewing, ask questions that solicit stories and anecdotes, allowing candidates to demonstrate alignment with your values. For example, instead of asking, “Are you empathetic?” ask, “How would you help a frustrated patient calling about a potential billing error?” You may be eager to hire quickly and tempted to make an offer to the first person who seems qualified, but resist the temptation – your culture will thank you later for taking the time to dig deep. And don’t forget to prioritize diversity and inclusivity in your hiring process. This will help ensure your workforce reflects the community you serve and that your team brings different perspectives.

4. Structure your onboarding plans before you start hiring.
Structured and detailed onboarding helps set clear expectations and streamlines the integration of new team members, minimizing disruptions and maximizing productivity. We recommend creating an onboarding checklist for yourself, in addition to detailed plans for each team member. Aside from daily operations, your onboarding should include details about your mission, vision, and values. Additionally, given the complexity of national employment laws and varying local requirements, planning for payroll, human resources procedures, and other compliance pieces are important items to build into your onboarding. Additionally, building CE into your onboarding will enhance your team's skills and foster a culture of continued learning and growth within your practice.

Having these elements in place before you start hiring will give your team the confidence and clarity they need to succeed from their first day. Plus, it can help you feel more confident and organized.

5. Be proactive about managing your administrative tasks.
As you know, there’s a lot of paperwork and other related tasks happening behind the scenes when building a startup. Tasks like budgeting and forecasting can help ensure competitive salaries and sufficient training resources. Payroll taxes and other compensations and benefits, such as bonuses, vacations, and health insurance, also require planning and paperwork. You don’t need to be an expert in these areas, but you’ll want to have a plan in place so you can pay your team. Bonus: That’s an area where we can help. Customized banking solutions can simplify practice management, including checking accounts, cash management, payroll services, and merchant services. As a division of Fifth Third Bank, Provide customers have access to a full suite of customized banking solutions that can streamline financial management, making operations more efficient.

Building a team for long-term success at your practice
When building your practice from scratch, your team is one of your biggest assets. As the owner, your mission, vision, and values can serve as guiding principles throughout the hiring process, from writing job descriptions and conducting interviews to making hiring decisions and onboarding. By intentionally taking time to do this pre-work, you can set yourself up for long-term success and create a thriving practice as you open your doors to serve your first patients.

Want a more in-depth understanding of building an elite team and launching a successful healthcare startup? Listen to episode 35 of The Path to Owning It.