Hi Francesca,
Thank you for taking the time and agreeing to answer our questions! DentalTechTips is very excited to share some information about your new company with our readers.
To start, let’s have you tell me a little about yourself and also your role at Dentech direct Francesca.
I originally started out my career in dentistry as a dental assistant back in 1997 which really allowed me to gain a broad insight into the needs and demands of the profession. In the coming years I started to follow in many of my mentors’ footsteps in becoming a regional manager of a dental corporation. As time went on, my desire to continuously challenge myself grew stronger, so I decided to go out on my own and start a consulting company. It made sense at the time, especially based on my experiences of both working chair side and managing. Working directly with dental offices and labs throughout Ontario, I continued to build the company. Throughout this journey, I could sense there was a need and demand within the laboratory side of dentistry. The need for skilled and qualified technicians is always a factor within dental labs, especially with the fluctuation in production levels and employee absences and turn-over. After consulting with various technicians and RDT’s, it was at this point that Dentech Direct was both envisioned and brought to life! Bringing over 20 years of experience within dentistry, I plan to provide a service that will fulfill this need.
What excites you the most about your business and more specifically, your recruiting and placement methods?
What excites me most is that this is a whole different ball game for me and it is challenging me in ways that pushes me to grow forward. A lot can be accomplished when you’re working with people with common goals. Really we are all just trying to find a good and suitable job/work place, which can often be a very difficult task. This is especially an issue if you’re a part time employee, working as a free-lance technician or as a sub-contractor. I believe with Dentech Direct, it will allow us to connect to our candidates to an office and/or laboratory that is suitable for them. And vice versa from the laboratories side, we will be able to connect them with technicians that will fit their needs for that day, week or even month.
What was your inspiration/motivation for starting a recruiting business aimed at dental laboratories and technicians?
Our inspiration is from our experience in the field. Through consulting with technicians and laboratories, we are able to understand what daily problems each lab faces. We can understand the urgency of being a part time employee, freelance technician or subcontractor, and the need to keep your days filled. And we can also understand the massive issue of being understaffed at certain times, and how this can affect small businesses.
Dentech direct is a new company, this ‘jobs’ market segment is saturated with job listing companies like indeed, monster and simplyhired, classifieds from magazines, and specialty recruiters like DCS Smile Science. How does Dentech direct plan to differentiate itself and stand out in such a competitive landscape?
The difference between us and those other companies is that we can tailor to the needs of both the candidates and laboratories alike. For example, one common problem within laboratories is the fluctuation in the workflow. When production levels increase drastically, a laboratory can easily find itself short staffed with it’s current workflow. Having a placement agency to call up on an as needed basis can be a very easy and desirable solution to this. It is also no secret that employees have the right to take vacation and sick days. Being able to have technicians to cover these positions in these times will alow laboratories to continue their production seamlessly. Not having to commit to hiring an additional full or part-time employee is a huge factor in determining a labs bottom line, and also adds to the quality of life of the people within that company.
How do you expect your business to affect the dental lab industry as a whole?
I believe that our business will contribute to the dental lab industry tremendously. I look at companies in similar categories on the clinical side of things; Terri from Teledent (staffing for RDH, DA’s, etc.) was a mentor of mine, and she showed me the huge impact they can have on fulfilling dental clinics staffing needs. Being able to call up a company for staffing urgencies on an as needed basis (and also in time sensitive situations) is priceless for any small business.
What is Dentech directs’ vision for the future of the dental lab industry?
Our vision is to be able to take the hassle and ambiguity out of endless searching and posting of ads for long term, short term, or same day work demands.
What advantages does Dentech direct offer to potential clients?
Dentech Direct offers more than its competitors by not only placing candidates for long term positions, but we are also fulfilling laboratories needs for urgent staffing emergencies, and short term placements. And for our candidates, especially our part-timers and free-lance/sub-contractors, this means being able to have steady pay cheques, and not having days off work (unless that is what they require). It will give everyone involved the opportunity to maximize their efficiency and potential.
How will dental laboratories benefit from using Dentech direct?
In any scenario of being short staffed, not having to commit to hiring an additional full or part-time employee is a huge factor in determining a labs bottom line, and also adds to the quality of life of the people within that company. We pre-screen and review all candidate resumes to determine whether they’re a good fit for our company and/or placement. Having junior and senior technician candidates allows us to fulfill each labs needs individually, so that they can continue production in their workflow seamlessly.
How will dental technicians benefit from using Dentech direct?
Dental technicians and Denturists will benefit from using Dentech Direct by allowing us to take the stress out of sending numerous resumes to laboratories to try to look for work.
We are connecting our candidates with appropriate laboratories that will allow them to thrive and continuously work towards improving their skills.
How much do you expect your business to grow in the near future?
Exponentially! I see this as a niche market that is untapped and hasn’t been done before. We are also currently working towards producing a social platform for the dental community. Somewhere where all individuals within the dental field can join and interact on a daily basis. Being able to talk about new materials, technologies, techniques, showing videos or pictures of cases they’re currently working on or have completed, the possibilities really are endless. Being able to share your knowledge is a huge benefit to the industry as a whole, and ultimately the patient’s will reap the full benefits from this type of communication and education.
Is Dentech direct actively looking into opportunities and markets to expand into?
Currently Dentech Direct is focusing on dental laboratory, RDT and denturist placement within Ontario. There is definitely talk in the future to expand into all of Canada, and at some point North America, but we want to be sure to perfect this process of accurately placing candidates/labs in this market, before expanding to the national level.
How do you plan on leveraging social media?
We do have our Facebook page and LinkedIn pages but we are not focusing all of our resources on those right now. The site is first and foremost a placement agency, but we are continuously developing it into being its own social media platform. It allows the users to join and create profiles, share ideas, and blog about latest tech buzz etc. It’s pretty exciting!
About Dentech Direct:
Dentech Direct is an employment solutions agency located within the GTA. We are in the business of connecting the right people to the right solution. We aim to match our technician and denturist candidates with the laboratory that best suits their specific work needs. And likewise for laboratories, we match up their specific staffing needs with the candidates we have available for them, on an as needed basis. You can find more info here at: http://dentechdirect.com/
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