You don’t lose good hires on day 365. You lose them on day 1.
In dental practices, first impressions aren’t just for patients—they’re for new hires too. A sloppy or reactive onboarding process doesn’t just frustrate your team. It chips away at trust, momentum, and morale before the real work even begins.
If you want to build a high-performing, loyal team, onboarding isn’t a checklist—it’s a journey.
Here’s how to design that journey with retention in mind.
1. Start Before Day One
Too many practices ghost their new hire after the offer is accepted.
The best onboarding starts before the start date:
- Send a welcome email from the team
- Share what to expect on Day 1
- Prep any tools, logins, and gear in advance
- Assign a buddy or mentor before they walk in
These small touches build excitement and signal that you run an intentional, high-trust practice.
2. Design a 90-Day Success Roadmap
Your new hire shouldn’t be guessing how to succeed.
Break the first 3 months into clear, confidence-building phases:
- Week 1: Culture immersion and systems walkthroughs
- Weeks 2–4: Shadowing, hands-on learning, and light responsibilities
- Month 2: Regular responsibilities with feedback loops
- Month 3: Performance check-in and long-term goal setting
Clarity creates confidence. Confidence creates momentum. Don’t keep this roadmap a secret. Share it with the new hire, their trainer, and the team with whom they work. Break training into chunks, and don’t firehose the new hire by throwing everything at them at once.
3. Make It Cultural—Not Just Procedural
Most onboarding focuses on what to do. But the why and how matter just as much.
Help them understand:
- Your values and decision-making filters
- How your team communicates and resolves issues
- What “great” looks like in your practice
Want them to act like owners? Show them how your culture works from Day 1.
4. Coach the Managers Too
Onboarding is a team sport—and office managers or lead docs are the head coaches.
Equip your leaders to:
- Host powerful Day 1 welcome conversations
- Hold weekly check-ins with new hires
- Give fast feedback and celebrate small wins
A great onboarding process dies quickly if managers aren’t aligned or engaged.
5. Track What Matters (and Improve Every Time)
Most practices “wing it” when it comes to onboarding.
Build a system you can improve:
- Survey new hires after 30, 60, and 90 days
- Debrief with managers: What worked? What didn’t?
- Document and templatize repeatable parts
The best teams improve onboarding the same way they improve clinical workflows—through iteration.
The Result: Engagement, Loyalty, and Longevity
When you nail onboarding, you don’t just train new hires—you retain them.
They show up with energy. They stay aligned with your culture. And they start contributing faster.
Hiring is hard. Losing great people is harder.
A strategic onboarding journey keeps the right people with you—for the long haul.
✅ Related Reads for Building a Stronger Team
- 5 Steps to Hire a Rockstar Dental Team
- 5 Leadership Moves to Build a Team That Acts Like Owners
- The Mid-Year Hiring Audit, Every Practice Needs
- 5 Ways to Lead Culture Without Forcing It
Need Help Designing Onboarding That Actually Works?
We’ll help you build a system that saves time, boosts retention, and gets new hires ramped up fast.
