This will be the greatest vacuum made since Hoover and Dyson reinvented it. We’re talking about the labor shortage that is in full bloom.
It will take years if my theory stands correct. This is all conjecture of course.
When we all disappeared in lock down, a paradigm shift occurred in a lot of individuals. Being close to family and certain friends re-prioritized our ideas of what work-life balance could be. If remote work was possible, it wasn’t so bad cutting out the 20 or 2 hour daily commute.
By just cutting an average 1 hour work day commute time, you give yourself back 10 full days worth of time in the year.
Stick on top of that, the savings in any child care costs, less eating out and being able to enjoy your home life.
The lockdown was a sort of test mini retirement for some. And I believe a lot of our hygienists relished it.
Those who are at the highest risk for covid are going to automatically say sayonara to their career creating water plumes from the caverns of someone’s mouth. Others who found the benefits of staying home much more enjoyable and not necessary to have the extra income, either reduced their hours or eventually succumbed to an early retirement.
What the lockdown truly created is a vacuum for highly skilled and trained staff. This vacuum is going to be difficult to fill. You can see your own practice and colleagues all having difficulties attracting help of any kind.
And when it takes time to be able to produce these highly skilled workers and you suddenly lose a bunch of them to a spiky virus, you get a labor gap.
Finding the best help is going to take more of an inside approach. Tapping the old network. Asking current staff recommendations, looking for that awesome cashier at the supermarket if they’d ever consider a front desk job or even recruiting your nephew to go to hygiene school.
This is the type of climate where you will overpay (inflate) just to get someone very basic to hold water. But if your practice is of the elite mindset, keep your A players happy and recruit from within when possible.
Good luck on your thrive partner!
Lam