The Dental Economist Show

In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with Kara Kelley founder and CEO of Clinical HR.
Clinical HR is a specialized advisory firm that helps dental and medical practices design strategic human resources systems, develop leadership, and build competitive reward programs to attract and retain top talent.
The conversation explores how HR serves as an advocate for the business by protecting it through compliance, audits, and well-defined culture. Kara shares her unique journey from clinical massage therapy to dental HR consulting and provides actionable advice on navigating modern hiring challenges, the risks of "working interviews," and how to effectively scale HR functions as a practice grows.
#humanresources #dentallitigation #dentalculture

Show Notes

In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with Kara Kelley founder and CEO of Clinical HR.
Clinical HR is a specialized advisory firm that helps dental and medical practices design strategic human resources systems, develop leadership, and build competitive reward programs to attract and retain top talent.
The conversation explores how HR serves as an advocate for the business by protecting it through compliance, audits, and well-defined culture. Kara shares her unique journey from clinical massage therapy to dental HR consulting and provides actionable advice on navigating modern hiring challenges, the risks of "working interviews," and how to effectively scale HR functions as a practice grows.

#humanresources #dentallitigation #dentalculture

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Meeting Kara Kelley
02:17 From Massage Therapy to Dental HR Consulting
04:03 Unique HR Challenges in the Dental Industry
05:52 How to Build a Practice Worth Working For
09:01 Understanding the Psychology of Team Motivation
13:21 Tools for Career Alignment and Accountability
15:40 Managing Multi-State Compliance and Legal Risks
22:57 Why You Should Avoid "Working Interviews"
30:35 Knowing When to Hire In-House vs. Fractional HR
35:50 Cultural Red Flags and the Power of True Onboarding

Connect with the team:
👉 Mike Huffaker on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/huffaker/
👉 Kara Kelley on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/karakelley/
👉 Clinical HR Website: https://clinicalhr.com/
👉 Planet DDS Website: https://planetdds.com/
You can also listen to our podcast here:
👉 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3SeeOfY
👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3tMmaO7
👉 Fame Host: https://bit.ly/4aQNQ51

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Whether you’re leading a DSO, building the next big dental SaaS tool, or redefining patient experience, this show is where the smartest minds in dental business come to talk strategy!

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What is The Dental Economist Show?

Hi, dental economists! I’m Mike Huffaker, and this is the Dental Economist Show, where you can join me and my guests in a conversation about the business of dentistry. Get ready to reconsider everything you think you know about growing your dental business as we exchange different ideas and meet at the intersection of profit and purpose.