Just Two Minutes: Walkouts

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

So if you've ever listened to Eric and my podcast, Just a Couple of Dentists, you'll know that my last maternity leave in 2022 turned into early retirement from clinical dentistry. That, along with selling both of our practices in 2023, has allowed me to focus on some other really cool ventures - but Eric still deals with some of the day-to-day stuff in the practices - which means, I still deal with some of the day-to-day stuff in the practices. 

So anyway, I just got a call from Eric telling me that one of the assistants at our first location, who has been there for about 1.5 months, just walked out. No warning. Just got up and left. Turns out when they approached her about some discrepancies on her I-9, she took off.  

And funny enough, this exact situation happened to me years ago. I hired an assistant who only worked for a day or two and when I reminded her about needing to get a copy of her drivers license, she said it was in her car and she would go get it. Well, after about 20 minutes, I searched the parking lot, and her car was no longer there! I was like what the hell. 

How did both of them think they weren't going to get caught? I mean I feel bad for our associate doc that trained the girl for over a month. That's a lot of hours spent teaching her the ropes, only to have to start the process all over again. 

Which brings up some thoughts on hiring practices that might help if you’re facing similar issues:

1. Screen Early, Screen Thoroughly: Making background checks a standard part of your hiring process is worth the extra effort, even for roles you might think are “less risky.” Set a policy for collecting all necessary documents before training even begins.

2. Have Clear I-9 and Documentation Protocols: Use a checklist for onboarding that includes documents like I-9s, licenses, and certifications. This can help you catch any issues before you invest time in training. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and skip steps, but a standardized checklist can save a lot of future headaches.

3. Consider a Trial Period: For new hires, having a trial period before full onboarding can help you gauge reliability before committing significant time to training. It’s especially useful when hiring for high-turnover roles like assistants.

4. Cross-Train to Cover Potential Gaps: While you can’t predict every walk-out, having team members cross-trained means you’re not completely stalled if someone suddenly leaves. Plus, it makes your team more versatile and resilient.

So yes - hire slow, fire fast, and document every damn SOP.
But know this: you still can’t control everything.
Systems help, but no system is perfect.
And when things go sideways?
That’s not failure.
That’s just business.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. I did double-check—these two assistants weren’t the same person.. But wouldn't that have made for a good story?

P.P.S. If you’d like the Hiring and Onboarding checklists I personally use, just reply back and I’ll send them over to you.