by Editor’s note: The DSO Secrets: Dentist Entrepreneurs Growing Dental Organizations Facebook Group is a place to find resources, networking opportunities, information about upcoming industry events, and a forum to ask fellow dentist entrepreneurs questions you may have about running your business. The following was a recent discussion among DSO Secrets Facebook Group members.
Rani Ben-David Sgs asked: For a new DSO with 8 locations, who would you need to manage them? COO, GM, or someone else?
DSO Secrets Facebook page members responded:
“It depends. Does each location already have a Practice Manager that handles HR matters? Is there a Regional Operations Manager and Chief Clinical Officer in place? How many days per week is the founder working chair-side? How far are the practices from each other? Do you have dentists in each location who have equity or a profit-sharing arrangement? What is your budget for the role?” – Sina S. Amiri
“COO or VP of Ops (Director of Operations minimum) type role would be appropriate / particularly if one assumes that the entity as a whole grosses $10M+ annually.” – Patrick O’Rourke
“An accountability chart. Roles first, titles second.” – Greig Davis
“A referee. Just kidding. Kind of.” – Paul Goodman
“I would agree with Sina S. Amiri. There are a lot of factors to consider when building an executive team. I would also include to consider what the near/long-term goals for you and the group are and where the needs/gaps are. I would say operational roles tend to be what is needed. However, it can be clinical, HR, etc. I would encourage an evaluation of each department and find the weak spot or the spot that will have the biggest impact to solve the most issues.” – Jon Fidler
“Org chart with Chief Clinical Officer, Director of Operations, HR/Recruiter, 2 Regional Managers and a Practice Manager for each office.” – Terry Wakefield
“Strong HR & OPs team. But also depends how [spread out] your offices are or how many regions are they sliced into. As the owners, you don’t want too many layers between you and actual team working in the office. What you see/analyze having your skin in the game, will have a far more impact than anyone.” – Arunav Chakravarty
“Director of Operations. VP and COO can wait a little longer.” – Amol Nirgudkar
