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The current skills shortage means some dental practices are turning to offshore virtual assistants to fill the employment gap. And the trend is growing. By John Burfitt
A few months ago when Angus Pryor was a guest speaker at the Digital Dentistry & Dental Technology Conference in Sydney, he spoke of a significant shift he’s observed in dentistry over the past 12 months. That shift is the number of dental practices embracing the world of virtual assistance and business processing outsourcing. Pryor, CEO of outsourcing company Dental Stars, believes the Australian dental profession is playing a game of catch-up in the business landscape. “A year ago, very few people were inquiring about this, but at the conference, I was astounded at how many people wanted to talk about it, and asked for details of how they could access these kinds of services,” Pryor says.
“We’ve seen a new level of interest this year, and it feels like there’s a greater awareness of the benefits of doing business this way. It’s the next logical progression for the global economy, and areas like finance and general medicine in Australia are already working like this.”
Indeed, a recent report claims 25,000 Australian jobs have been outsourced to BPO companies based in the Philippines in the past year, with that number likely to double in 2024.
Dental Stars, which sets up virtual assistant relationships with offshore teams for Australian dental practices, lists 33 tasks that can be outsourced—from rescheduling patients and processing specialist referrals through to filing specialist reports.
But Pryor says the three most in-demand areas of VA support among dental practices are following up recall patients for new bookings, reminding patients to complete treatment plans, and answering telephones as a back-up for existing reception staff.
Such support, Pryor adds, can be a game changer for business.
“I’ve seen an offshore team member for one practice booking in 80 patients per month just through follow-up calls, and at another practice that had reported 129 missed inbound calls in one month, they had no missed calls the following month with the assistant,” he says.
“There was also the case of just one follow-up call that saw a patient booking in for a $30,000 treatment plan. I know some practices with half a million dollars’ worth of those on the books that no-one ever has the time to follow up. Now consider the marketing spend you’d need to attract that kind of business from new patients. It’s all about having an additional resource to better communicate with your clients.”
The costs vary for the level of service, but a VA for 40 hours a week costs around $2500 AUD a month. As for the accusation that doing business this way is taking jobs away from Aussie workers, Pryor says having this kind of support benefits the whole team.
“We’re getting help with the lower value tasks to allow the rest of the team to complete their higher paying tasks which are far more profitable, and we’ve heard staff say they feel more supported in their roles,” he says.
Caroline Turewicz, business development manager of Smile in Style’s two Melbourne practices, has been using a VA from the Philippines for almost a year.
I’ve seen an offshore team member for one practice booking in 80 patients per month just through follow-up calls, and at another practice that had reported 129 missed inbound calls in one month, they had no missed calls the following month with the assistant.
Angus Pryor, CEO, Dental Stars
“We can’t get local staff to do the work so having the offshore team member’s support has filled the gap and it has made such a difference to the team,” she explains.
“The other reason has been to support the front reception staff when they get overwhelmed, so our offshore team member deals with the overflow. That way, everyone can be productive.”
Turewicz says having their telephone calls diverted to the VA during lunchtime has also made a big difference.
“That now enables the staff to have a proper break and because they do get some respite, they’ve said they now feel they can do their job better for the rest of the day.”
Perth oral health specialist Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen has been using a VA for three years for administrative jobs such as scheduling, managing the workplace calendar and answering the telephone. The result, she says, has streamlined the patient experience offered by her practice.
“It’s provided me the time to dedicate to the tasks that only I can do, like patient care,” she says. “I knew I didn’t need someone full-time in the practice, so the flexibility of the support as well as the cost of needing someone just on a casual basis really helped out.”
Having technology in place, like a cloud-based IT system, can be important to enable the VA person to undertake a support role, while high-level telephone equipment may be necessary when a high volume of telephone work is involved.
One factor, however, is critical to the success of enlisting VA support—the standard of training they receive in the way the practice does business.
Well-documented systems that are easy to comprehend and put into action must be in order before adding VA support into the staffing mix, Angus Pryor advises.
“If you think you can just say, ‘Here’s the phone, off you go’, then you will be sorely disappointed with the results. I’ve found offshore talent are typically very willing workers, but if you have not made a committed effort to train them thoroughly, then bringing on an extra staffing resource is not going to help your business.”
Caroline Turewicz adds the adoption of a thorough approach to training in practice policies, procedures and particularly client liaison is essential. “These people are a member of your team, and just like anyone, they need comprehensive training to ensure they understand how your practice presents itself to clients,” she says.
“If you’re not prepared to put the time into training them thoroughly, then you won’t get the outcomes you want. Actually, if you’re not prepared to train staff, then you probably shouldn’t be in business in the first place.”
