The Value of a Personal Assistant for the Busy Dentist

If you were to ask a busy dentist how their personal and professional goals and tasks are achieved while battling an inbox full of unread emails, numerous voicemails from the night before, a line of people waiting to speak with them, and personal to-dos that have not been completed—you will receive many responses—including a lack of sleep. There are, however, certain systems that can be put into place, both at the Practice and in the family, to achieve those personal and professional goals while allowing for a good night’s rest.  This article discusses the personal side of the “systems,” and a later article will discuss the professional side of those systems.

As to the personal side, we strongly encourage certain dental clients to hire and work with a personal assistant.  The personal assistant can come in many shapes, sizes, and qualities depending upon the dentist’s personal needs and the facts and circumstances surrounding his family.  By investing in a personal assistant, you will not only make your personal life easier and less hectic, but you will ultimately increase the bottom-line at the office (i.e., become more profitable) by making yourself more efficient and productive.  The questions that should be asked regarding the personal assistant are: (i) can I afford a personal assistant; (ii) what type of dentist needs a personal assistant; and (iii) what type of tasks will that personal assistant complete?

Can I Afford a Personal Assistant?

For many dentists that we work with, the question is not whether the dentist can afford a personal assistant.  Rather, the question is whether the dentist can afford not to hire a personal assistant. In today’s market, we can hire a college-educated assistant starting out in the range of $35,000 to $40,000 per year.  If you take that into consideration when comparing that to the efficiencies that will be achieved by having a personal assistant, most dentists readily see the personal assistant’s value and cost effectiveness.

By freeing the dentist up to spend more quality time with his family, that dentist becomes more productive at work, resulting in a higher profitability. The dentist that properly utilizes his personal assistant will triple that $35,000 to $40,000 number in increased production throughout each year. And, in terms of the tasks that free you up for more quality time at home, those tasks are very important and difficult to place a dollar amount on. Rather, if you speak with many of our dentists that have been through a divorce, or you speak with many of our dentists that missed seeing their children grow up, they will all tell you that the expense related to that divorce, or the expense related to that missed childhood, was very expensive.

What Type of Dentist Needs a Personal Assistant?

Throughout discussions with some of our dental clients, the first thing we hear from them when discussing a personal assistant is that they are already organized and do not need someone to assist with organizing their personal lives.

But, when you start asking certain questions, it becomes apparent that they could be much more efficient with their time and could spend more quality time with the family if they had an assistant. Thus, there really is no specific test or characteristic of who needs a personal assistant.  Rather, it will depend upon numerous factors, such as:

  1. Is the spouse involved in the Practice, and does the spouse truly possess the necessary business and educational background to have a positive impact on the Practice?
  1. If the dentist is honest with himself and actually scrutinizes himself, is that particular dentist organized?
  1. Does the dentist have young children?
  1. Does the dentist have teenage children that need dropped off and picked up at numerous activities?
  1. Does the dentist participate in many activities outside of the Practice, both professionally and personally?
  1. Is the dentist looking to grow the Practice or purchase other dental practices?
  1. Is the dentist an ambitious person who always takes on more tasks than they can handle?
  1. Has the dentist’s spouse indicated that he is not being attentive to family needs or getting simple tasks completed at home?
  1. Is it more important for the dentist to attend their child’s tennis match than it is to ensure that the oil gets changed or that the dry cleaning gets picked up on time?

What Tasks Will a Personal Assistant Complete?

Every dentist will have a different comfort zone regarding what tasks a personal assistant will complete.  These tasks could be as simple as: (i) running personal errands; (ii) having the oil changed in your car; (iii) scheduling an appointment; (iv) dropping off dry-cleaning; (v) paying certain bills; (vi) returning phone calls; (vii) responding to emails; (viii) keeping your schedule; and (ix) reminding you of certain events or tasks.  Other, more personal tasks could include driving your children to practices or back and forth to school, picking up an item at the grocery store, or handling an appointment at your home, like the electrician, etc. Other dentists may decide to commingle certain personal tasks and professional tasks if they would not be able to keep the personal assistant busy. There are certain personal tasks that you should always handle yourself, like buying your spouse their birthday or anniversary gift.

But, there are other tasks that you can delegate that will free you up to spend more quality time with the family and free you up to be more efficient and productive at work. The short answer to this question is: it is absolutely up to you. We understand that placing important parts of your life into the hands of another can be a tricky task; however, this will develop with trust.

In sum, we have found that many dentists fail to realize the importance of having systems in place —both at the Practice and at home. Both are very important.  At the Practice, we advocate operating a business, not a practice.  Do not be that dentist that is paying his own bills or processing her own payroll on a Saturday morning, rather than spending time with their spouse or children, or operating more productive aspects of the business.  The same applies to the personal tasks.  If someone is available to change the oil in your car, respond to a few emails, pick up your dry cleaning, make phone calls on your behalf, meet the electrician at your home, etc., it will allow you to spend more time on the important aspects of the family. Do not underestimate the value of systems, both at work and at home.

Finally, to the extent you choose to hire a personal assistant, there are certain legal and tax requirements that must be considered.  Please ensure that you work with the appropriate professional to obtain the necessary guidance to be in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws.  Further, there are certain due diligence and insurance steps that are necessary before hiring that personal assistant.  These legal, tax, and due diligence steps are insignificant, however, when compared to the value of the personal assistant and the positive impact the personal assistant can have on your professional and personal life.