In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Salisbury and Sandy Pardue discuss the challenges of hiring and retaining new employees in dental practices. They explore the reasons behind high turnover rates, the importance of effective onboarding, and creating a welcoming workplace culture. The conversation emphasizes the need for structured training plans and the impact of workplace bullying on employee retention. The hosts also highlight the financial costs associated with poor hiring practices and the significance of enhancing the candidate experience.

• Stop blaming the applicant and look at your own processes
• Onboarding is crucial for employee retention
• A welcoming culture can significantly impact new hires
• The cost of hiring mistakes can be substantial
• Workplace bullying can drive new employees away
• Structured training plans are essential for new hires
• Communication during the hiring process is key
• Involve existing staff in the hiring process
• Always welcome potential candidates regardless of openings
• Evaluate your practices to improve employee satisfaction

Join Sandy in Las Vegas for Front Desk Pro, a high energy, high impact training event designed to level up your front desk systems and skills.

Special Listener Discount: Save $100 with code Secret Sauce (two words, both capitalized). Beautiful CAD CAM facility, just off the Strip with nearby affordable hotels.

A big thank you to our show sponsors for helping bring Dental Drill Bits to you each week:

• Plan Forward – The membership plan experts helping practices boost revenue and patient loyalty. https://www.planforward.io/

• Mango Voice – The smart, all in one business phone system designed for dental practices. https://mangovoice.com/

• Identity Dental Marketing – Stand out, get noticed, and attract your ideal patients with custom marketing strategies. https://identitydental.com/

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, hosts Dana Salisbury and Sandy Pardue go beyond the surface of the interview process to reveal the deeper intentions that should guide your hiring conversations. Whether you are fresh out of dental school or a seasoned practice owner, this conversation will help you build a more intentional, compliant, and effective approach to interviewing.

Sandy and Dana share real world examples, cautionary tales, and the subtle cues they watch for that a resume will never reveal. They cover how to avoid common pitfalls like skipping the interview entirely, how to keep interviews consistent and bias-free, and why you should think twice about hiring family or close friends without a proper process. You will learn how to set the right tone from the very first question, uncover hidden red flags, and balance gut instinct with consistent standards.

And yes — the broccoli salad that Dana could not stop raving about makes an appearance. As promised, you can grab Sandy’s go to Broccoli Salad Recipe here: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/broccoli-salad/. It is healthy, easy, and a hit with the whole family, even the kids.

• Set a clear purpose before you ask the first interview question
• Keep the process consistent to protect your team culture and reduce bias
• Spot hidden red flags in tone, word choice, and body language
• Avoid the risks of working interviews and use skill-based tests instead

Join Sandy in Las Vegas for Front Desk Pro, a high energy, high impact training event designed to level up your front desk systems and skills.

Special Listener Discount: Save $100 with code Secret Sauce (two words, both capitalized). Beautiful CAD CAM facility, just off the Strip with nearby affordable hotels.

A big thank you to our show sponsors for helping bring Dental Drill Bits to you each week:

• Plan Forward – The membership plan experts helping practices boost revenue and patient loyalty. https://www.planforward.io/

• Mango Voice – The smart, all in one business phone system designed for dental practices. https://mangovoice.com/

• Identity Dental Marketing – Stand out, get noticed, and attract your ideal patients with custom marketing strategies. https://identitydental.com/

Episode Description:

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Salisbury and Sandy Pardue continue the Hiring Series with a proven time-saving strategy: the group interview. Sandy shares her step-by-step process for getting every qualified applicant in front of you at once, identifying the best candidates quickly, and avoiding the weeks-long cycle of one-on-one interviews. From creating the right environment, using a “plant” in the room, and testing retention skills, to gracefully dismissing non-hires, this episode is packed with actionable tips to streamline your hiring process and build a stronger team—fast.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why group interviews can save you hours and improve hiring decisions

• How to structure the perfect group interview from start to finish

• How to test candidates’ listening and retention skills on the spot

• The importance of graciously handling declined candidates

• How to narrow down your applicant pool in just 90 minutes

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again 👉 www.mangovoice.com

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert 👉 www.identitydental.com

Plan Forward The number one membership plan platform for dental practices—simple, secure, and patient friendly 👉 www.planforward.io

Exploring Dental Membership Plans: A Smarter Alternative to Insurance

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Salisbury and Sandy Pardue are joined by Meg Lohman from Plan Forward to unpack why in-house membership plans are becoming a go-to solution for dental practices looking to grow and better serve their patients. They discuss how these plans help identify patients who are overpaying for insurance, simplify preventive care, and strengthen patient loyalty. The trio also explores the power of proactive marketing and the importance of educating patients ahead of open enrollment season.

Whether you're new to membership plans or looking to refine your strategy, this episode offers a practical roadmap to create a win-win for both your patients and your practice.

🎯 Key Takeaways:

• Use your PMS to identify patients who may be overpaying for insurance.
• Target groups like retirees, young adults, and those with limited coverage.
• Membership plans foster loyalty by offering bundled, preventive care services.
• Promote your plan with short, clear messaging via email, text, and social media.
• Start outreach early to stay ahead of open enrollment.
• Implement systems that simplify plan management and reduce admin errors.

🛠️ Sponsored By:

• Plan Forward — Empowering dental practices with simple, automated membership plans. Start today at www.planforward.io

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury tackle one of the most underestimated tools in the hiring process—your job ad. They explain why hiring should be treated like a marketing campaign and how your job postings either attract or repel the very people you are trying to hire.

From crafting compelling headlines and utilizing creative job titles to understanding hiring psychology, Sandy and Dana share strategies to elevate your job ads and recruit with intention. They also explore the power of nontraditional hiring sources and the importance of keeping your energy positive throughout the hiring process. Whether you are actively hiring or just building your team, this conversation is packed with must-use tips to help you find and retain great talent.

Takeaways:

• If you are having trouble hiring, check your job ads first

• Always accept resumes even when you are not actively hiring

• Make sure job ads reflect your practice's values and culture

• Use creative job titles to capture attention and stand out

• Women apply when they meet 80 percent of requirements; men at 20 percent

• Treat hiring like a marketing campaign, not just an HR task

• Track where your applicants come from to measure effectiveness

• Consider nontraditional candidates from service-oriented industries

• Stay positive throughout the process—your mindset matters

• Great employees are often already employed—go find them

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again 👉 www.mangovoice.com

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert 👉 www.identitydental.com

Plan Forward The number one membership plan platform for dental practices—simple, secure, and patient friendly 👉 www.planforward.io

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury explore the often-overlooked power of a well-crafted job description. They explain why generic or outdated descriptions can set your practice up for failure—creating confusion, legal risk, and missed hiring opportunities. You’ll learn what must be included, how to stay compliant, and why being transparent about your expectations (including physical demands and performance metrics) is key to attracting the right candidates. If you're serious about improving your hiring process and retaining top talent, this conversation is a must-listen.

Takeaways:

• Job descriptions should reflect the specific needs of your practice.

• Outdated job descriptions create misalignment and confusion.

• Every job description acts as a legal agreement between employer and employee.

• Transparency in compensation, expectations, and requirements is essential.

• Include physical job requirements and measurable performance goals.

• Store and organize job descriptions properly for easy access and compliance.

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.mangovoice.com

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.identitydental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices—simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.planforward.io

In this episode, Sandy Pardue kicks off a powerful conversation about the most overlooked step in fixing front desk chaos: assessing your team’s current morale, mindset, and motivation. Before you implement new systems or pile on training, you’ve got to address the emotional temperature of your practice. Is your team ready for change? Or are they quietly resisting it?

Sandy lays out practical ways to reframe, re-energize, and reset expectations—ensuring your next move is a lasting one. If you want real ROI from your front desk, start here.

What You'll Learn:

• Why morale must be addressed before systems

• What warning signs signal a disengaged front desk

• How to rally your team around performance without creating pressure

• The conversation you should be having in your next team meeting

• A mindset shift that changes everything about your approach to training

Thank You to Our Sponsors: 🦷 Mango Voice – Mango Voice is a cloud-based phone system built for dental offices. It’s packed with smart features that help your front desk perform at its best—from call recording and routing to texting and integrations. See it in action at mangovoice.com.

💰 Plan Forward – Plan Forward makes membership plans easy. Their revolutionary platform helps you grow your dental practice, improve patient loyalty, and create predictable recurring revenue. Learn more at planforward.io.

📈 Identity Dental Marketing – Your marketing firm should tell you who’s landing on your website and what they’re doing there. Identity Dental Marketing does that—and more. From website strategy to SEO and patient attraction systems, they help you grow smart and stay visible. Explore at identitydental.com.

In this eye-opening episode, Sandy digs into one of the most overlooked contributors to rising accounts receivable (AR) in dental practices—abandoning mailed statements too soon.

You may be emailing and texting patients about balances, but do you actually know how many patients you're reaching? Sandy breaks down the data and shares real stats from dental dashboards, showing that many practices have incomplete contact info for 20–40% of their patients—and it’s costing them tens of thousands.

Whether your AR is creeping past $100,000 or you’re trying to build a smarter collection system, this episode will help you understand the risks of relying too heavily on tech—and how to create a system that actually works.

You’ll learn how to:

✅ Evaluate how many patient emails and cell numbers are actually in your system ✅ Set up a multi-step system for statements that includes email, text, and physical mail ✅ Use dashboards like Practice by Numbers to track and improve your data ✅ Minimize collection delays by acting faster and smarter—not cheaper ✅ Understand the real cost of “saving 60 cents” on postage

📓 Listener Challenge: Pull your AR report. Look at your 30-, 60-, and 90-day buckets. Then audit your system—do you know how many patients are unreachable by email or text?

👉 Most practices don’t have complete contact data—and don’t realize it 👉 Text-to-pay consistently performs better than email-based statements 👉 Mailing a statement isn’t outdated—it's often necessary to get paid 👉 AR doesn’t shrink itself; assign ownership and follow a consistent process 👉 The longer you wait, the harder it is to collect—act at 30 days, not 90

📞 Mango Voice – Smart, reliable phone systems designed for dental practices. Learn more at mangovoice.com

📣 Identity Dental Marketing – Get strategic, ethical, and conversion-driven marketing from the pros who care. Visit identitydental.com

🦷 Plan Forward – Membership plans made simple for dental teams. Learn more at planforward.io

📲 Join the conversation! What’s working (or failing) in your AR process? Share your experiences inside our Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group—we’d love to hear from you, and you might be featured in a future episode!

What if your marketing isn’t the problem—but your expectations are? In this episode, Dana and Sandy welcome Grace Rizza, the powerhouse behind Identity Dental Marketing, to break down why most dental campaigns fall flat—and what actually works. From unethical agencies to underfunded ad budgets, Grace unpacks the truth most marketers won’t say out loud.

If you've ever felt burned by a marketing agency, overwhelmed as a startup, or scared to go fee-for-service—this one’s for you.

You’ll learn how to:

✅ Spot the difference between strategic marketing and expensive guesswork ✅ Avoid wasting thousands on low-quality leads and poor conversion ✅ Set realistic expectations for Google Ads and SEO ✅ Know when your marketing isn’t the problem—your front desk is ✅ Confidently budget and brand your way to sustainable growth

📓 Listener Challenge: Review your last 6 months of new patient numbers. Are you tracking the right data? Is your marketing converting—or just collecting clicks?

👉 You can’t market your way out of bad conversion. Start with honest analysis. 👉 Dabbling in ads (like $1,000/month on Google) is worse than doing nothing. 👉 Fee-for-service practices need stronger branding, not just lead generation. 👉 Your front desk is your filter—train them or waste your marketing dollars. 👉 Success starts with realistic expectations and total ownership of your results.

📣 Identity Dental Marketing – Strategic, ethical, brand-aligned marketing that works. Learn more at identitydental.com

🦷 Plan Forward – Build and grow a profitable dental membership plan with ease. Learn more at planforward.io

📲 Join the conversation! What marketing myths have you had to unlearn? Share your experience in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group—we may feature your insight in a future episode!

Hiring is never just about plugging a hole. It’s a strategic leadership move—and when rushed or mismanaged, it can quietly sabotage your entire practice.

In Part 2 of the Hiring Series, Dana and Sandy dive deep into what happens between identifying a hiring need and getting the green light to bring someone on board. From pecking orders to prep work, leadership courage to legal compliance, they unpack everything you should have in place before you hit “post job ad.”

They also share formulas and benchmarks to help you bring data—not just emotion—into your hiring decisions. Because the right people in the right seats don’t just ease stress... they build your business.

You’ll learn how to:

✅ Calculate attrition rate and turnover cost ✅ Know when leadership is lagging—and how to step up ✅ Use team dynamics and KPIs to confirm true staffing needs ✅ Spot red flags in candidates and existing team members ✅ Make confident decisions about who to keep, who to lose, and when to act fast

📓 Listener challenge: Pull out your team’s job descriptions and update them. Is everyone clear on their seat, their duties, and how success is measured?

Key takeaways:

• Hiring starts with leadership. Don’t outsource what only you can model.

• Don’t ignore the front office. Patient flow is the clearest indicator you need more hands.

• Attrition above 25% is a red flag. Act on it, don’t ignore it.

• Turnover costs average 30% of annual salary. Every rushed hire costs more than you think.

• You must always accept resumes. Train your team and stay compliant.

🔊 Special thanks to our sponsors:

📣 Identity Dental Marketing – The industry’s go-to for branding, SEO, and growth. Discover how they can elevate your practice at identitydental.com

🦷 Plan Forward – Simplify and grow your dental membership plans with ease. Learn more at planforward.io

📲 Join the conversation! What formulas or hiring benchmarks have helped you lead with confidence? Post your insights in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group. Your input might be featured in a future episode!