Would you work 13 hour days, if you could have four days off every week? One Honolulu dental office is taking that approach.
It was an idea born of desperation for Dr. Declan Devereux of Ala Moana Dental Care. The 2008 recession had hammered his business and something new had to be tried. Calling it "a radical solution to a radical problem," Devereux and his partners tossed out all the conventions of office hours and 40 hour work weeks.
The set office hours from 6 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week, the idea being, he says, "To service the general public that works 9 to 5. When they are off, you are on."
To make that work, they redefined the workday for themselves and their staff to 13 hours, but just three days per week. A typical employee there might work Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday one week, then Monday, Wednesday and Friday the next.
Being available when everyone else is off has worked. The practice reports it sees 450 new patients a month, including walk-ins and emergencies, just by being open longer. As the patient load has grown, so has the business. Since making this radical change, Ala Moana Dental Care has grown from 5 to 50 employees, including six dentists, eight hygienists, 16 dental assistants and 20 administrative staff.
Devereux says the change has imporved employee retention - the workdays may be long but the days off allow his team members to have a life.
