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If you are like most dental office hiring managers, you struggle to balance your job in the midst of candidate reviews, interviews, hiring and onboarding. In short, hiring managers typically wear a multitude of diverse metaphorical “hats” in the workplace, handling:

• Candidate vetting
• The onboarding process
• Administrative duties
• Interoffice communication

The challenge lies in figuring out how to properly manage your limited time at the office while pinpointing the perfect new hires for the practice and bringing them aboard in a truly seamless manner. Let’s take a quick look at a couple helpful time-management hacks for dental office hiring managers.

Time-management Hack #1: Resist the Temptation to Multitask

If you are like most hiring managers, you ask job candidates about their ability to multitask. Though multitasking certainly has its merits in specific contexts, it is a mistake to attempt to spread yourself thin by juggling multiple projects at once as a hiring manager. Instead of attempting to handle numerous projects at the same time, it is better to square your focus on one task at a time.

Resist the temptation to multitask and you will find your work is of higher quality. The bottom line is multitasking is not an indication of especially high intelligence, talent or ability. In fact, a study conducted by the University of London shows multitasking actually lowers IQ. The moral of this story is multitasking results in low-quality work that leaves you unnecessarily stressed and frustrated.

Time-management Hack #2: Delegate Work to Others as Appropriate

If you are like most dental office hiring managers, you are swamped with work. Delegating some of your work to administrators, interns and others makes it that much easier to balance your job. If you are hesitant to remove some items from your “work plate”, consider the fact that the Harvard Business Review insists delegation is an essential business skill. The bottom line is you should feel no shame in admitting you can only do so much on your own.

As an example, consider delegating job applicant outreach efforts to administrators in the office will free you up to review resumes and cover letters in-depth, dedicate more time to substantive interviews and ultimately select the best possible candidates for open positions at your dental practice.

If you are hesitant to delegate work to others, take some time to pinpoint projects that someone else in the office is better suited for. Describe the project to that person, give them a realistic deadline and ask that he or she keeps you in the loop as the project progresses.

Time-management Hack #3: Be Proactive With Detailed Calendaring and Scheduling

Some dental office hiring managers still attempt to keep track of interviews, meetings and other appointments in their head. This approach is ineffective and unwise as myriad scheduling tools are available to enhance organization and timeliness. Even if you do not want to take the digital plunge with a high-tech scheduling tool such as Google Calendar, it will help to plan out your work, interviews, meetings and other appointments with a tangible calendar notebook.

Fail to plan out your upcoming workdays with a detailed calendar and you will inevitably be knocked off course by the seemingly endless workplace distractions including but not limited to:

• Incoming phone calls
• In-person visitors
• Emails
• Employee requests for assistance

The better approach is to block out periods of time in your schedule to work on each of these specific projects.

In particular, it will help to dedicate sections of time to specifically read and respond to:

• Voicemails
• Emails
• Text messages
• USPS mail and other forms of correspondence

Carve out these specific periods of time, you won’t be tempted to interrupt your workflow to rattle off immediate responses to each incoming communication, be it a phone call, email, text, voicemail or letter snail-mailed to your attention.

If you dread the idea of managing a calendar, delegate the work to an administrator or intern at your dental office. Delegate scheduling duties to a trusted assistant and you will have that much more time to focus on your high-priority responsibilities. You can quickly scan your calendar each morning to determine when interviews, meetings and other appointments are scheduled, plan your workday accordingly and ultimately achieve the balance you have been hoping for.

What's a time management hack you use?

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