Setting up a Dental Recruitment Agency

[sam222]

Anyone operated a dental recruitment agency?

I'd like to set one up but could do with some information?

I'd like to start off with permanent placements as temping requires funding.

Its immune to recession and downturns which is why I am investigating it.

Yes, I have done research but would like your thoughts/advice?

Any CONSTURCTIVE ideas/suggestions welcome!

 

[LeeJ]

Hi,

Do you have any actual recruitment experience?

If you are going to hit the industry, I would gather a database of each and every dental pratice in the UK to market too, as well as looking as other supporting allied industriesto hit too e.g. dental equipment manufacturers, so you build a reputation for being an 'industry' expert.

Have solid Terms and Conditions in place - this is essential and also try and gauge what the usual rates are that agencies in this sector charge.

I work across multiple sectors in recruitment and in the current climate, a one size fits approach does not work with fee's, you have to be flexible.

Make sure you have all your procedures and protocols in place long before you start as with recruitment you can find yourself busy very quickly and you want to make the least number of mistakes as possible in the early days. And there is a huge difference of being busy and profitable in recruitment - there are a lot of busy fools out there at the moment!

Also if you are working full time at the moment, I would not pack in the day job until it looks like you are up and running, maybe do your marketing at night and the weekends where possible and use to blackberry to field emails and calls in the day, dont forget if you get someone a job, usually they have to put their notice in, start the posiition and you wont get paid til 28 days after that, so it could be 2 months or longer before you start earning!

My agency was 6 months in the making, but this enabled to leave my employed position at 10.00am in the morning and I started trading at 12.00pm the same day.

 

[LeeJ]

Sorry - if you do not have the recruitment experience (even if you have dental experience) I would definatly get a job in recruitment first - it is such a complex and tricky industry with massive lows to go with MASSIVE highs! You are kicked in the nuts one minute and opening champers the next! I gave my hair to recruitment!

 

[Richie N]

Sorry - if you do not have the recruitment experience (even if you have dental experience) I would definatly get a job in recruitment first - it is such a complex and tricky industry with massive lows to go with MASSIVE highs! You are kicked in the nuts one minute and opening champers the next! I gave my hair to recruitment!

Couldn't have put it better myself...

 

[davidfy]

Sam,
Take a look at www.dpmforum.co.uk. This is my forum for dental practice managers. I tried to operate a recruitment/job board for DCP's but due to other priorities had to close. I still have plans to re-open the job board - www.dcprecruit.co.uk.

 

[Stephanie Mensah]

Hello Sam,

You are absolutely right, in the current recession, sectors such as health, public sector,education, central and local government are still going strong. These are probably more in demand then ever.

The dental industry is very interesting, you can either go into the NHS or Private dental care.

I would suggest that you look into all aspects of dental care including dental nurses,hygieniest etc

Make sure you create an exhaustive list starting from local dental companies to private cosmetic dental companies.

If you would like more information on what you should have before trading, please call stephanie on: 0207 481 9495 or send me an e-mail to [email protected]

I work for Carrington Blake Recruitment Partners, we help individuals like yourself start their own recruitment companies. i would be more then happy to have to a free consultation with you.

 

[wsophie]

Dental business have bright future as dental business is flourishing rapidly.

 

[Lisette]

We have some spcialist dental agencies with profiles on our recruitment site so there is space for this sort of niche agency. Plus a bunch of guidance to agencies and new start ups.

In addition to LeeJ's great suggestions, you also should check out what you have to offer that other niche or generalist agencies do not.

And for some ideas on what not to do listen to this BBC radio 'Investigation into Recruitment Agencies'

 

[bluelight]

Hi Sam,

Yes I have one!!!! Boy oh Boy (or Girl or Girl lol!!) it is hard work when I started I used to stay up all hours researching and contacting dental and doctors surgeries there are over 40,000 in the UK i found out their email addresses and emailed them and faxs and faxed them, be competitive but dont be cheap.

Your market place (permanent placements) is very active at the moment but you will have to wait for some time for the fees, normally employers will want you to write into the contract a refund clause if things don't work out (be prepared for this).

If you have a full time job now, get yourself a blackberry and use it to work, 'on the side' so to speak, do this until you have enough fee money to cover your overheads then add another 30% on top and ask your boss if you can go part time.

Get yourself water tight (and I really mean this!!!) t's and c's because employers will screw you on it........my first year of business I lost £4500, the second it was £11000 the third I took the buggers to court and nearly bankrupted the mothers!!! (I got the money though).

And the candidates (christ allmighty) they are even worse than the employers!!!!!!! Make sure each and everyone is GDC'd and have their performers number otherwise you could land yourself in deep s**t.

I would also look to take out indemnity insurance just in case you have a bad bugger!!! One doctor I placed was a drug dealer, he was GMC'd, had his performers, was insured and his references stacked up but he was still a drug dealer in fairness we had no idea!!!!!!

I Hope this lot helps??? Above all have a good sense of humour and keep it.

Good luck!!!

p.s. Don't waste your money advertising in the glossy magazines!!!!!!!! I spent £23000 in my first year and had very little return on it..........but then I wanted to explode on the scene and blaze a trail very quickly.......the best way is old fashioned telephone marketing

 

[Deliberator]

Mmm...interesting comments there !

To the OP, don't use recruitment partners; all they want to do is to give you the money to set up and then take a cut..........continually !

Do the research and firstly see how many competitors you have out there. You'll be surprised how many are out there which may make you consider other options !

The research may show you that you have many willing clients in the form of dental practices.............but it take two side to make one placement and without the necessary amount of candidates, you will be fielding phone calls all the doo dar day long from practices but will have no dentists to place !!

You don't have to fund temp dentists yourself as there are a number of factoring companies available for exactly this purpose so don't cut off that option !

I would look though very closely into this marketplace b4 you go ahead - imo, there might not be enough dentists to fill vacancies.......but I could be wrong !

 

[bluelight]

Sorry,

forgot to mention the temp route....... by all means go down it, make sure you use a good factoring source BUT please make sure that you have payment protection on the invoices that are factored!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough, this is a must or you will catch a cold when a dental surgery decides that they do not want to pay......

I am chasing a group for £9500 at the moment with a statutory demand

Regards

p.s. I agree with Deliberator......... stay away from recruitment incubators they promise the earth and in effect are not doing anything you couldnt do or find out on your own

 

[Daddy_2_Cameron]

although not a dentist agency...I set up and owned an agency 7 yrs ago..was 21 at the time....as said might be worth looking at supplying temps as well as perms, factoring is the way to go in the beginning...I personally used a company called cash friday...negotiated a low percentage rate of each invoice and it was perfect for me (not even sure if they are still going mind!)

good luck!

(happens to be my only regret closing down a highly profitable agency to work abroad instead of hiring a manager to run it...we live and learn!!)

 

[Deliberator]

although not a dentist agency...I set up and owned an agency 7 yrs ago..was 21 at the time....as said might be worth looking at supplying temps as well as perms, factoring is the way to go in the beginning...I personally used a company called cash friday...negotiated a low percentage rate of each invoice and it was perfect for me (not even sure if they are still going mind!)

good luck!

(happens to be my only regret closing down a highly profitable agency to work abroad instead of hiring a manager to run it...we live and learn!!)

Cash Friday - they still going

What was your agency btw ?

 

[Richie N]

although not a dentist agency...I set up and owned an agency 7 yrs ago..was 21 at the time....as said might be worth looking at supplying temps as well as perms, factoring is the way to go in the beginning...I personally used a company called cash friday...negotiated a low percentage rate of each invoice and it was perfect for me (not even sure if they are still going mind!)

good luck!

(happens to be my only regret closing down a highly profitable agency to work abroad instead of hiring a manager to run it...we live and learn!!)

Personally, I would avoid Cash Friday....
If you are going to outsource your payroll then try Bibby's or New Millennia (but they go via Bibby's anyway).

 

[Daddy_2_Cameron]

Cash Friday - they still going

What was your agency btw ?

it was called Maddocks & Cleaver Recruitment Ltd (MCR) in Bristol..

you use CF?

 

[Deliberator]

it was called Maddocks & Cleaver Recruitment Ltd (MCR) in Bristol..

you use CF?

Sorry, I meant which sector did you work within ?

No, but I did look into them yonks n yonks ago when they were about the only option ! Many, many more nowadays

 

[Daddy_2_Cameron]

ahh i see...industrial was the bread and butter...nice and easy...i supplied companies with packers/pickers/forklift drivers and class 1 and 2 drivers mainly...did a bit of perm placements for admin/secretarial etc..but mainly to existing clients that i already had the industrial temps placed with.

wincanton logistics, 3663, next distribution and focus diy were my biggest clients as have large depots in avonmouth bristol.

heard good things about bibbys, they were about when i was using CF, can only speak from my own experience though and never had a single problem with CF and it was something like 1.25 % i paid them...

 

[Deliberator]

Good stuff !! You obviosuly looked into selling it on b4 you moved abroad - I just hope you're as profitable now as you were when here. Anyway, I suspect you enjoy a better clime than we do

 

[bluelight]

I think, if I am not mistaken Cash Friday has been bought out and merged with Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance!!!!?!? or where they always Lloyds in disguise??? I might be having a blonde moment its been a long old day

 

[Tej]

Hey blue!!.. long time no see
hope you are doing well!

 

[bluelight]

I'm good Tej and you????

Hows life treating you???

 

[Tej]

Very well blue!.. and am glad you doing ok
.. apologies for going off topic. but had to say hello to Blue.. with the wrist encrusted rolex diamonds!!..lol

 

[bluelight]

Very well blue!.. and am glad you doing ok
.. apologies for going off topic. but had to say hello to Blue.. with the wrist encrusted rolex diamonds!!..lol

last post off topic!!!!

just wanted everyone to know it isn't me with the wrist encrusted rolex diamonds (its a little joke between me and Tej) its a friend of mine who has his wrist encrusted with rolexs and diamonds

Sorry wont do it again

 

[Ian J]

I think, if I am not mistaken Cash Friday has been bought out and merged with Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance!!!!?!? or where they always Lloyds in disguise???

They were set up as an independent company but were bought by Lloyds TSB some years ago. In my experience they are quite expensive for new starts

 

[samp]

Hi LeeJ

I'd be interested to find out more about your experience.
Could you PM me?