The dental industry is frequently short on workers, particularly when it comes to filling in during regular employees’ vacations, sick time and maternity leave. By starting a dental temp agency, you can tap into a niche market by providing temporary placements of dental professionals, including dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. Your agency can also provide administrative and secretarial staff with special training to work in dental offices. You can bring in more profits by charging a commission when a client company wants to hire a temporary worker on a permanent basis.
Contact your local business and medical licensing authorities and find out what licenses and certification is needed for a dental temp agency. Obtain all permits needed to operate your agency. Where necessary, register with all local and state offices governing both the business and the medical aspects of your agency. Contact the IRS and comply with all business tax requirements.
Choose a location for your office near dental offices or other medical facilities. Other good locations would be those close to dental and secretarial schools. It is helpful to be visible to graduates with appropriate training who will be looking for jobs in the near future.
Recruit dental professionals who have completed all training and are ready to begin working in the field. Visit dental schools and give your business card to all upcoming graduates. Go to secretarial and accounting training programs and offer consultations to help prepare these professionals to work in dental offices.
Attend dental conferences in your area. There are usually entrance fees, but they're well worth the cost so you can network with dentists and secure more clients.
Offer incentives to the dentists for whom you provide temps. Raffle a couple of free nights in a hotel to the dental groups that use your services.
Market your dental temp agency to all dental offices in your area. Place an eye-catching advertisement for your agency in dental and medical journals and publications. Produce brochures aimed at convincing dentists to use your agency when they need to fill in for staff due to illness, jury duty, surgery or family emergencies. Mail it to all dentists’ offices in your region.
Tip
Expand your hiring potential by including clerical staff and office managers with a good understanding of working in dental offices.
Warning
Make sure all of your temporary workers have been offered the Hepatitis B vaccination, as required by OSHA regulations for healthcare workers.
