By: Garrett Wilson
Payroll might be your biggest expense, but turnover is what’s really bleeding your practice. Every time a team member walks out the door, it costs you time, money, and momentum. And if you don’t have a plan for compensation, you’re likely making the problem worse.
Let’s be clear: people don’t leave just because of money. They leave because of leadership, pay, and culture.
But here’s the good news, pay is one of the easiest to change out of the three. When team members feel like their pay is falling behind or are unsure if it’s a competitive wage, trust erodes. And when trust goes, so does loyalty.
The True Cost Behind Employee Turnover
Let’s look at the numbers behind turnover.
The cost to replace a dental hygienist isn’t just about paying someone new. Industry research shows turnover for professional-level roles typically costs about 1.5 times their annual wage.
That means losing a hygienist making $90,000 a year could cost your practice $135,000, and that’s a conservative estimate.
This figure accounts for more than just wages. It includes:
- Lost production while the role is unfilled
- Time spent recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding
- Training costs and slower ramp-up for new hires
- Impact on team morale and patient care
Having a Proactive Compensation Strategy
It’s not just a staffing issue, it’s a business one.
This is where having a clear, proactive compensation strategy becomes essential. There’s a saying:
“If you don’t have a plan, plan to fail.”
That applies just as much to managing your team as it does to treatment planning. Without a pay strategy, you’re left reacting, offering last-minute raises, scrambling to fill vacancies, or losing great employees to competitors. And your team can feel that instability.
On the other hand, a structured pay approach signals to your staff:
“We see your value. We’re not guessing. We want you here.”
That kind of message builds trust, and trust leads to loyalty. When team members feel their financial well-being matters to their employer, they’re more engaged, more productive, and far more likely to stay.
How To Put a Proactive Compensation Strategy Into Practice
How do you put this into practice? Think of compensation the same way you think of preventative dental care, address small issues before they turn into big problems.
A solid preventative compensation plan for your team might include:
- Using reliable, local compensation data to benchmark wages
- Reviewing pay annually, before someone asks
- Communicating your pay philosophy clearly and consistently
- Offering growth opportunities like retention bonuses or leadership pathways
These steps aren’t “nice to haves”, they’re part of your retention system. Just like a recall schedule keeps patients coming back, regular compensation check-ins keep your best people from walking out the door.
In Conclusion
In the end, turnover is expensive. A smart compensation plan isn’t.
You already invest in patient relationships, do the same for your people. A thoughtful approach to pay protects your practice, keeps your team strong, and creates long-term success.
Because if you don’t have a plan for compensation, you’ll keep paying the consequences.
Keep Reading: Solving Workforce Challenges by Extending Careers
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
