059: The Employee Handbook Mistake Costing Dental Practices | Ray Brunner

Dental practice HR compliance is the difference between protecting your business and handing an employee's attorney exactly what they need to win a case against you. If your employee handbook has not been updated in years, or your office manager is fielding tricky HR questions with a quick Google search, your practice is more exposed than you think. Employment laws do not wait for January 1st to change, and the wrong answer to one employee question today can turn into a wrongful termination claim years down the road.In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Ray Brunner, a 25-year dental marketing veteran turned HR advisor at HR For Health. Ray takes you from the wild early days of 1-800-DENTIST in the 1990s to today, and explains why Googling or ChatGPTing a sensitive HR question can actually be used against you in court. You'll also hear Ray's honest take on reinventing your career later in life, and why it's never too late to walk through a new door.You’ll learn:Why googling or ChatGPTing a sensitive HR question could actually be used against your dental practice in a wrongful termination lawsuit down the road.The real difference between payroll, an employee handbook, and a standard operating procedure, and why confusing the three puts your practice at risk.Why most dental practice employee handbooks are already out of date, and what that gap actually costs you when an employee files a complaint.Ray Brunner's wild insider stories from the early days of 1-800-DENTIST, back when dental marketing ran on television ads and carbon credit slips.How Ray went from a territory rep in Philadelphia to a founding partner of a healthcare dot-com that helped build the data behind WebMD.Why waiting until you have everything figured out is the biggest reason dental professionals stay stuck instead of reinventing their careers.What Ray tells dental leaders who feel too old, or too far in, to pivot into a completely new role inside or outside the industry.🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:https://www.therealtalkofdental.com🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:https://leadhershipexperience.com/🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundarybossWe talk about:00:00 From 1-800-DENTIST to HR For Health, Ray's origin story01:00 How Ray and Brandi first connected in the dental industry02:28 Ray's accidental start in dental marketing at 1-800-DENTIST05:43 Becoming a territory rep in Philadelphia in the early 1990s10:00 Building a healthcare dot-com that helped create WebMD12:14 Why Ray joined HR For Health after 25 years in dental marketing15:13 Is it too late to make a career change in dentistry24:19 What HR actually means for a dental practice27:00 Why your employee handbook is already out of date35:00 Why Googling your HR questions can be used against you in court38:00 The difference between an employee handbook and an SOP41:00 Ray and Brandi's workshop at the Dental Leadership Summit in AustinDental Leadership Summit (Austin, TX, this fall): https://dentalleadershipsummit.com (use code BRANDI10)Connect with RayLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raybrunner/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrforhealth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrforhealth Website: https://hrforhealth.com/ Connect with meLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/https://courageandjoyatwork.com/https://leadhershipexperience.com/Phone: 616-682-6222#DentalPracticeManagement #DentalHR #DentalCompliance #DentalOfficeManager #HRForHealth #DentalLeadership #DentalPodcast #DentalIndustry #PracticeOwner #DentalTeam #EmployeeHandbook #DentalOffice #CareerChange #DentalConsulting #TheRealTalkOfDental