By: Garrett Wilson
The dental industry has been navigating a complex workforce puzzle: how do we retain great people, care for current team members, and plan for the future?
Much of the conversation rightly centers around mental and physical exhaustion and how to support team members who are feeling burnt out.
We’ve seen innovative strategies take hold:
- Employee Assistance Programs connect team members with counseling or therapy.
- Smarter scheduling allows for meaningful breaks, improving patient care and practitioner well-being.
- Ergonomics continues to be a powerful tool in reducing physical strain and increasing productivity.
But there’s another piece that deserves attention – retirement. As the workforce ages, we risk losing not just people, but institutional knowledge, mentorship, and culture. For example, by 2031, 25% of the U.S. labor force will be 55 or older.1
What if, instead of a hard stop, we helped team members transition out of full-time work while still contributing in meaningful ways?
A transition plan creates an intentional path for team members to approach retirement or career change. It allows them to continue contributing – often in a new capacity – while setting your practice up for long-term success.
Consider these approaches:
- Mentoring – Formal mentoring programs can help onboard and develop new or junior staff. For someone navigating a new role or workplace, a mentor who’s “been there” offers invaluable guidance.
- Reskilling – Sometimes the best fit for a role isn’t about experience, but culture. Providing training or pathways for team members to evolve into new roles can unlock hidden potential.
- Phased Exit – Work together to design a gradual reduction in hours or responsibilities. You gain time to backfill the role, and they enjoy a softer landing – possibly with incentives to stay through key milestones.
- Alumni Engagement – Former team members can become your biggest ambassadors. Hosting alumni events helps keep those relationships strong, while expanding your referral network.
Nearly 4 in 10 retirees seek work after retirement. Why not make it easy for them to find it with you?
There’s no single solution to workforce challenges – but extending careers through thoughtful transition planning can have a ripple effect across your organization. It honors the contributions of seasoned team members, builds continuity, and strengthens your culture. Looking beyond a person’s last day and toward what’s possible in the years leading up to it, we can turn an exit from a loss into a longer-lasting relationship.
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SOURCES:
- Bain & Company. (2024, April 10). Better with age: The rising importance of older workers. https://www.bain.com/insights/better-with-age-the-rising-importance-of-older-workers/
