Bad habits If the new employee learned a craft somewhere else, chances are he or she picked up a counterproductive technical or personal habit or two. Perhaps measuring investment liquid by eye instead of using the graduated cylinder, or carrying a sarcastic attitude adopted from a former supervisor. Both of these habits are hard—perhaps impossible—to break.

Overinflated sense of worth Have you ever hired a trained technician, only to find out they can’t do the 20 units a day as claimed? By now, you have invested time, money, and resources in this star player, and you’re probably paying way more than they are worth.

Walking unwanted A technician is “on the market” for a reason, and this should be a red flag. Once in a while you get lucky, and a well-trained technician is available or is re-entering the job market for personal reasons. But these are few and far between.

Shrinking talent pool Baby Boomers are starting to retire and are taking their skills with them; dental technology schools are closing; and the branches of the military are scaling down their Area Dental Labs. Economics 101 teaches us that with a shrinking supply comes an increased demand, and the costs associated with securing those limited resources become inflated.

Avoid the warm-body syndrome Don’t hire the first person who walks through the door. Take your time to hire the “right” person. Put skilled applicants through the same pre-hire process that unskilled people go through—a structured interview with your Human Resources representative, a technical interview with the department manager, a battery of tests to assess skills and capabilities, possibly even a personality test. If the trained person refuses to go through the process or is insulted by it, you don’t want that person working for you, anyway.

Find a team player Make sure any new employee will fit in with your group by having them tour the work environment and meet the team members. Personality issues with a new hire can be difficult to deal with.

Trust your instincts Don’t be blinded by a person’s technical abilities or the fact that the applicant graduated from your alma mater. If it doesn’t “feel right,” trust that feeling, but still have someone else involved for a second opinion.

Conduct a working interview Bring the applicant in to work on trial cases. You can tell rather quickly the quality of their work, and whether to offer them a position.

Verify application accuracy If the person has not been truthful during the pre-hire stage, just imagine what you will have to deal with after the employee is on board! Take the time to verify work and education history and contact references.

Financial investment Purchasing a training system to educate your employees represents a large capital investment. Take the time to evaluate each system and think realistically about your short- and long-term goals.

Resources investment A successful training program requires a dedicated paid facilitator and, preferably, a dedicated training area. Newly hired employees ideally go into the training area and don’t even touch real cases for at least two weeks.

Time investment It can take anywhere from six months to two years to train an unskilled person to proficiency; much longer compared to hiring a skilled technician who can produce from day one. Be realistic about how much time the training process will take and don’t give up on it. A total commitment to a training program will reap you multiple rewards.

Controlled growth You can decide what products you want to grow, then hire and train employees for that growth.

Consistent product One of the top reasons dentists cite for firing their dental labs is inconsistent product. A standardized training system will teach consistency into every step, with no allowance for “personal touches.”

Quality product Dentists also focus on the quality of the work produced when selecting a laboratory partner. By implementing a training system, you will teach each new hire how to produce a product to meet your standard of quality. There will be a higher probability that the product requested by a client will be the product delivered.

In the words of someone I have great admiration for, “It takes time and money to build a business. You need to decide which you have more of.” So the question becomes: Do you spend a lot of both on recycling the same few trained people through our industry or do you spend it on building new ones? Only you can decide what is right for you.