If you’re a practice principal you’ll no doubt be familiar with the term ‘exit strategy’. What you may not know is that your plan should be in place at least five years before you actually intend to leave. This gives you time to get all your accounts in order, identify the appropriate exit strategy and identify your personal goals for the future. Not to mention that it will help you secure a smooth exit and gain maximum return on your practice.

If you plan on selling the business as a way of securing monetary funds for retirement, then that time can be used to implement strategies that will help to maximise turnover and profits. Advertising and branding can help with this, as can having a dental practice valuation from a specialist valuations company.

As part of your exit strategy you should also decide whether you want to sell the practice outright or stay on part-time as part of a deferred consideration deal. Admittedly the eventual outcome may be outside of your control, but it’s definitely something to give thought to and plan. Especially if your intention is to depart immediately and settle for a smaller sum, as you may need to start your exit plan even earlier.

Of course, the better the planning, the more likely you are to achieve your personal and business goals. So if your heart is dead set on walking away from the practice and avoiding being tied into a part-time contract for several years after the sale, you’ll need to plan in advance to make that happen. Naturally, it’s best to contact a specialist dental acquisitions and sales agency that can help you to establish the most appropriate exit strategy that matches your objectives.

They will also be able to warn you of potential pitfalls to avoid. For instance, don't make the mistake of taking on fewer patients and reducing working hours too soon. All too often practice principals make this mistake, resulting in stagnation of growth and loss of income. As your profits decrease, so will the practice’s attractiveness to potential buyers and banks.

In regard to your staff, be sure to look at the way in which your associates are remunerated in your exit strategy to create an accurate overview of your practice’s performance and potential. Official associate agreements will be needed as well to protect the goodwill of the practice and assure potential buyers that the clinical team plans to remain with the business for the foreseeable future.

If retirement is on your mind or you’re thinking of moving on, then it may be time to start thinking about an exit strategy. Call Dental Elite for a free valuation, healthcheck and expert advice that will help you to achieve your long-term goals and realise your practice’s potential.

For more information contact Dental Elite. Visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01788 545 900

Whether you are looking to expand or replace a member in your dental team, is essential to make sure you hire the ideal person. Here are some tips to consider along the recruitment process.

Interviewing applicants

Firstly, check that the candidate has all the necessary technical or clinical qualifications and skills required to carry out the job, such as licences, professional certificates and training. First impressions are of course important as well as the applicant’s interpersonal skills and devotion to the profession. Furthermore, dentistry requires everyone to work in very close proximity and so it is vital to ensure that candidates have right attributes to work as part of a team and to make patients feel comfortable.

Checking references

It may be obvious for some but it is important to follow up on all references. Some references provide an excellent insight but others may be guarded and simply confirm dates of employment and ending salary. In this case, a good strategy is to follow up the reference with a telephone call after interviewing a candidate.

Making a start

When you have made your decision and offer an individual a position in writing, you should implement a probationary period. During this time, the new employee’s progress should be regularly reviewed at weekly or monthly one-to-one sessions.

A written appraisal system that is adhered to throughout employment, gives team members a sense of value as well as direction. It can be also be a great way to learn from team members, listen to their ideas and maybe bring to action any strategies that could improve or streamline the workflow of the practice.

Contracts

When you provide a new employee a permanent contract of employment, it is absolutely imperative that it is concisely worded to include detailed information on every aspect of the job and the practice. For example it should state the hours of work, annual leave entitlement, duties: including written protocols for HTM-01-05 and CQC compliance, protocols for sickness or long-term illness, disciplinary procedure, rules of confidentiality, details covering policies such as adverse weather conditions and the provision of uniform.

Special attention to detail

When employing practice managers or associates it is important to consider the inclusion of restrictive covenants to protect the business. These are typically clauses in a contract that prohibit an individual from poaching other members of staff, contacting patients or competing with an ex-employer for a certain period after they have left the practice.

Help is at hand

If you need help recruiting staff or advice on contracts of employment or contracts for services (for self employed staff) it is prudent to seek expert advice. The team at Dental Elite are experienced dental recruiters who work solely with the dental profession to help practices find suitable individuals to engage in locum or permanent positions. With the aim to provide all clients with such an efficient and effective service Dental Elite hopes to become the natural ‘first port of call’ for any recruitment needs. 

For more information and to find out how Dental Elite can help to recruit the most suitable members of your dental team visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or call 01788 545 900

Enacting an exit strategy can be one of the most complicated tasks you will face as a practice principal. However, with efficient planning and time management, you can eliminate a lot of the hassle and stress and ensure both you and your team benefit.

In an ideal world, you should start thinking about your exit strategy at least five years before you intend to leave. This will ensure you have sufficient time to get all your accounts in order and to showcase the best possible profits for your practice. You should also look at staffing situations, income levels and the ways in which your associates are remunerated in order to produce the most accurate and useful overview of your practice’s performance and potential.

One of the most common pitfalls principals fall into during this process, is that they start to slow down by taking on fewer patients and working fewer hours. While this is completely understandable, it can actually have a detrimental impact on the sale of the business – income will reduce but costs will remain the same, therefore profits decrease rapidly. From the bank’s perspective, a business with falling profits is a business in decline, despite the reasons for this being easily reversible. It is therefore essential to not only maintain income of the practice, but to grow it as much as possible in order to create the most appealing deal for a buyer. Reassigning work to associates and building a strong practice management team will go a long way to helping you do this without putting all the hours in yourself. Ensuring an efficient team is in place will also make the practice less contingent on you as you prepare to leave, strengthening the business as a whole.

With regards to non-financial factors, it is vital to ensure that associate dentists have entered into an official associate agreement so as to protect the goodwill of the practice. This demonstrates that your clinical team plan to remain with the business for the foreseeable future, ensuring the stability and long-term success of your practice. Protecting the goodwill in this way not only puts you in a stronger position to sell with the practice seeming more attractive to potential buyers, but it further encourages a smoother sale procedure.

The team at Dental Elite, with over a century of combined experience in the sector, have made a reputation for themselves for giving pragmatic and practical advice to dental professionals. They are in the perfect position to help ensure that planning your exit strategy will not be the complicated and stressful process it has the potential to be.

For more information and to find out how Dental Elite can value
and assist your practice sale visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01788 545 900