I have written about this many times before but it's worth a tiny little bit of history before I start.
When I qualified in 1994 I worked for three years in the Hospital services as a House Officer and Senior House Officer before I moved to do vocational training in 1997.
From 1997 until 2008 I was an Associate for a husband and wife team and from 2008-2009, I was an Associate for a Specialist in Periodontology.
It means even as I write this blog, I’ve been an Associate for more of my career than I’ve been a Principle, so at least I have access to experience at both end of the spectrum.
The winds have changed for the Associate in Dentistry and the Associate contract have been beginning to blow harder and harder for years to come now, but the current situation we find ourselves in is likely to catapult this forwards by many years.
On Thursday night I sat 'on the panel’ of Chris Barrows Business Confidence Forum for the fifth time and much of the discussion was over the future of Associates.
I wrote about this last week but not in quite as much detail but it seems likely to me that we will move into a situation ‘post COVID’ where we will have a surplus of Dental Associates.
You may completely disagree and this is only my view but I feel the environment is likely to look like this:
1)Less investment and funding for NHS Dentistry- austerity like 2008 or worse.
2)A recession/ depression post COVID leading to less personal investment in Private Dentistry.
3)Principles protecting the workload within their Practice at the expense of Associates.
4)A thousand Foundation Dentists hitting the marketplace right at the time where an excess of Associates becomes available.
To expand on that slightly, the cheapest Associate at a Dental Practice which is struggling for money is the Principle. The Principle will work for much much less than an Associate percentage (and many do) to keep their business alive.
Also, Foundation Dentists hitting the marketplace in august might find that the only jobs available to them are those which pay slightly higher than their Foundation Dentist wages which they would be inclined to take but this would be a significant, significant pay cut for standard Associate Dentists.
The third factor we find ourselves in here will be the increased burden of the cost of "enhanced PPE”.
While my view is that the cost of enhanced PPE will be less than initially expected it will still be hugely significant to Dental Practices and Practice owners.
I don’t write this is any sense of celebration or triumph. This will be a difficult situation for everybody.
Dental Practices will make less money therefore Dental Principles will make less money therefore Dental Associates will make less money.
Some unscrupulous individuals will try to retain their level of income at the expense of their teams but that is short-term thinking.
I believe the secret here for any organisation that plans to move forwards and through and beyond what comes next, will need be open and honest with regards to the financial situation that the business is in.
In true Simon Sinek ‘Infinite Game’ style, it will then be a test of how strong your team is, how clear your vision is and how much the people you have want to continue to work there.
If you happen to be one of those Associates who are high percentaged and remain quite arrogant, you won’t find a job like the one you have anywhere else in the new world, it might be wise to consider your level of percentage at the moment, expect (apart from the most exceptional cases) that this is likely to fall and adjust your personal finances accordingly.
I may be completely wrong, but I have been clearly and consciously watching this situation unfold for years, only to see it catapulted in the last 5 weeks.
Blog Post Number - 2348
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