Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1463220
14 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW // VOL. 2022 NO. 2 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING SPONSORED BY T he labor shortage rippling through the economy is affecting all positions in the dental industry. Today's competition for top talent is forcing dental support organizations to adopt creative approaches for the recruitment and retention of top talent. To get insight into a leading DSO's practices for attracting talent in this challenging labor market, Becker's Dental + DSO Review recently spoke with Josie Martinez, senior director of talent acquisition at Heartland Dental. Heartland Dental has 20,000 employees and supports over 1,550 dental offices across 38 states. Ms. Martinez has been at Heartland Dental for more than five years and has about 20 years of experience focused specifically on talent recruitment and retention. Today's labor market: An imbalance of supply and demand While Heartland Dental has sustained growth and is experiencing increased demand for dental support services, the organization has also seen a decline in the number of organic applicants across all positions. Ms. Martinez defined organic applicants as an individual who comes to the company's website, completes an application and applies for a position. Heartland Dental provides non-clinical administrative support to over 1550 dental offices across the United States. This support includes, but is not limited, to assistance with recruiting dentists for the professional corporations and offices that it supports. In particular, Heartland Dental as well as the professional corporations and offices they support are seeing a decline in applications among experienced providers, including both dentists and hygienists. "There's a decline of organic applicants, especially as it relates to experienced providers, coupled with an increase in demand as the number of dental offices we support grows," Ms. Martinez said. That's a real math problem." However, despite increasing competition for fewer organic applicants, Ms. Martinez still sees an abundance of talent in the market. "It doesn't necessarily mean there's less available talent," she said. "It means you have to actively search and compete for talent." The importance of a data-driven approach In addition to seeking candidates based on potential, Heartland Dental is also incorporating actionable data as a key part of its recruiting process. This includes data about the labor dynamics of a particular market, such as the number of open positions and the number of candidates in a regional market. This data helps hiring managers better understand the supply and demand for a specific position within their specific market. Data is also used as part of Heartland Dental's applicant tracking system. This system is used by the organization's campus team and sourcing team to identify leads and carefully track the status of each candidate. Analysis of this data helps inform decisions about how best to allocate the organization's time, resources and money in the recruiting process. Heartland Dental also uses and plans to expand the use of various tools to collect data as candidates go through the recruiting process. This tracking data holds the potential to better understand how candidates are feeling during the recruiting process and will help Heartland Dental identify any possible gaps or shortcomings in the recruiting process and respond quickly to address these gaps. By emphasizing actionable data and by making data a key part of the recruiting process, Heartland Dental's data is evolving from an ad hoc recruiting approach to a more systematic approach that enables hiring managers to be more efficient and consistent. Focus on the candidate experience and flexibility To attract outstanding talent, Heartland Dental strives to be viewed as a top employer. How a candidate is treated during the interview process sends a strong signal about what it's like to work at Heartland Dental or one of its supported offices . As Ms. Martinez explained, a candidate's perception of Heartland Dental starts by providing "an absolutely fantastic interview experience." Facilitating a positive candidate experience requires hiring professionals to be efficient, engaging, responsive, authentic and candid. "It comes back to how you treat candidates Flexibility, personalization and actionable data: How Heartland Dental attracts top talent for consideration by hiring managers