Being the Boss / Owner is NOT EASY

By far the greatest amount of negative feedback I receive in writing this blog is from staff members who do not like me talking about the dental office in terms of an employer – employee relationship. They get mad at my depiction on the staff working for the owner. They prefer to think about the office as being a perfect team / partnership relationship with each person just playing a different role on the team. In their depiction, the dentist is just an even employee with a different job.

While I am strong believer that there should be a friendly and congenial relationship amongst all those people working in a dental office, it is naive to think that a dental office is not the same as any other regular business with an owner and employees.

The dentist / owner goes to school for many years, borrows the money to start and grow the practice, and is financially responsible for all the action of the business. Ultimately the dentist hires the staff, determines the salary levels and benefits and if necessary fires the employees.

The dentist is also solely responsible for the ramifications of legal suits against the practice, regardless of which staff member may have committed the problem. The dentist /owner is financially liable for all events that occur in the office.

Staff should not be angry at the depiction of the dentist being the boss and that they work for the boss. It is not a demeaning statement to say the staff works for the dentist. It does not negate any skills the employee has or the value they contribute to the success of the office. It is not fair to the dental owner to try to tell them that they are not in fact the boss and the buck stops with them – it does.

Dr. Corey Gold
President - Advanced Continuing Education Systems
www.aces4ce.com