Last year I conducted a pay survey for the NZ Dental Hygienists. It was conducted and paid independently by me to help Hygienist have a better knowledge base to negotiate remuneration pay rates, commission rates and any other additional benefits available to them. The survey was based on the "Workforce Survey" that the Dental Council of NZ requires us to fill in each year when applying for APC's. At the time of the study the last published report on the DCNZ website was 2009, this has since been updated and if you’re interested in seeing the current Workforce Analysis reports click here. There were some interesting numbers in the 2013/15 survey which I thought I would include here. There were 719 practicing Dental Hygienists with mean hours worked 32 per week. 12.2% were self-employed and 58.8% employees, there had been a marked shift between 2013 -2015 with a large decrease in self-employed Hygienists from 21.4% down to 12.2%. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues or the self-employed rate increases again with the spread of corporate dentistry? These reports still don't address the issue of remuneration and thought the response rate by some regions to the NZDHA survey was poor, I have decided after some encouragement and discussion to post the results in the hope we can achieve a better response with the next survey. "The only person who benefits from this survey is YOU" As at the 29 Aug 2016 there were 469 members of the NZDHA. For this survey, I removed the students and those members who work overseas, this left 350 members, based on the 2015 figures in the workplace survey on DCNZ website approximately 48.7% of practicing Hygienists are members of the NZDHA. Of the 350 members only 159 registered for the NZDHA Survey and only 138 were practicing. Again, working on the total registered Hygienist with the Dental Council in 2015, the response rate is only 19% Nationwide. With the response rate so low I had to ask myself a few questions about what barriers had I created, either perceived or real? And what could I do to try and improve the response, to have some meaningful data that would help practicing dental hygienists in the future? Q. Was confidentiality perceived as not good enough?A. I had taken all practicable steps to ensure no other person had any access to the raw data or any emails attached to them. Also “Survey monkey” combines all the data on mass, so even for me to break down individual response is time consuming and of no benefit to what I hoped to achieve. Q. Were the questions relevant and concise?A. No. There were too many questions, as the original survey questions had been written to evaluate skill shortages for immigration purposes. Though the NZDHA had used this as the basis for the 2012 survey, I made a mistake to carry it on to this one. Q. Do Dental Hygienists care if they have relevant data about pay and remuneration? A. Yes. I believe they do, I receive calls for guidance on pay levels from around the country and it is difficult to have accurate information if I can’t get feedback from those who are currently working. Q. Should I do another survey?A. I believe it is extremely worthwhile for anyone employed as a Dental Hygienist to know what the pay range is in their area & possibly the charge out rates also, as this can have a direct bearing on what employers are willing to pay. Q. Am I asking the right questions?A. Send a quick survey out to find out what dental hygienists want to know. To help find this out please click the LINK to a short survey! What about the results of the last survey? Remember the numbers here don’t make this a very reliable survey for any regions, however it could be a start to move forward from, at best a rough guide in an otherwise barren field of knowledge. (All percentages are based on actual numbers that answered, not the number of responses.) Northland:19 members; 2 responded 10.5% Results:
Hourly rate $50-54 hr / self-employed charging between $46-52 per hour
No other expenses covered.
Auckland CBD:101 members; 22 responded 22.2% (only 17 answered)Results:
94% were on wages
75% worked in one practice
37.5% worked less than 25hrs / 44% 26-35hrs / 6% 35-40hrs / 12% 40 plus hrs
6% on less than $30 per hour / 19% on $45-49 / 50% were on $50-54 per hour / 19% on $55 plus / 6 % self-employed charging $57 plus per hour
Expenses covered; 50% APC / 25% Resus / 19% CPD & Trg / 12% NZDHA & Conference costs / 37% None covered.
Auckland Nth Shore:36 members; 14 responded 38.9% (only 11 answered)Results:
100% were on wages
73% worked in one practice
45% worked less than 25hrs / 45% worked between 26-35hrs
27% were on $35-39 per hour / 27% on $40-45 / 18% on $50-54 / 9% on $55-59 / 18% on $60 plus
Expenses covered; 36% APC / 36% CPD & Trg / 45% Resus / 18% NZDHA & Conference costs / 9% other / 45% None covered.
Waikato:30 members; 12 responded 39.9% (only 10 answered)Results:
70% were on wages
57% worked in one practice
43% worked less than 25hrs / 14% 26-35hrs / 29% 35-40hrs / 14% 40+hrs
20% less than $30 per hour / 20% on $35-39 / 30% on $45-49 / 10% salary / 20% self-employed charging between 39% - 50% commission
Expenses covered: 42% APC / 71% Resus / 29% NZDHA, Conference costs, CPD & Trg / 29% None covered.
Bay of Plenty (BOP):22 members; 8 responded 36.4% (8 answered)Results:
87.5% were on wages
86% worked in one practice
43% worked less than 25hrs / 57% 26-35hrs / No full-time registered
14% on $35-39 per hour / 71% on $45-49 / 14% on $55-59 / 12.5% self-employed charging between 40-44% commission
Expenses covered: 71% Resus / 57% APC, CPD & Trg / 29% NZDHA & conference costs / 14% Other / 29% None covered.
Taranaki:10 members; 6 responded 60% (only 3 answered)Results:
100% on wages
100% worked in one practice
67% worked 26-35 hrs / 33% 35-40hrs
33% on $35-39 per hour / 67% on $45-49
Expenses covered: 100% APC, Resus, CPD & Trg / 67% NZDHA, conference costs & other
Manawatu:22 members; 12 responded 54% (only 8 answered)Results:
75% were on wages
83% worked in one practice
17% worked less than 25hrs / 17% 26-35hrs / 50% 35-40hrs / 17% 40 plus hrs
12.5% less than $30 per hour / 12.5% on $30-34 / 12.5% on $45-49 / 12.5% on $50-54 / 25% on $55-59 / 12.5% on $60 plus / 12.5% self-employed charging $57 plus per hour & 12.5% charging between 40-44% commission
Expenses covered: 43% APC / 29% NZDHA & conference costs / 43% CPD & Trg / 57% Resus / 14% Other / 43% None covered
Wellington:66 members; 27 responded 41% (only 22 answered)Results:
91% were on wages
76% worked in one practice
43% work less than 25hrs / 14% 26-35hrs / 33% 35-40hrs / 10% 40 plus hrs
4% were on less than $30 per hour / 30% on $40-44 / 30% on $45-49 / 27% on $50-54 / 9% self-employed charging less $35 per hour & $57 plus per hour
Expenses covered: 71% APC / 29% NZDHA / 57% Conference costs, CPD & Trg / 76% Resus / 14% other / 14% None covered.
Nelson:7 members; 5 responded (only 1 answered)Results:
100% were on wages
100% worked in one practice
100% worked 25hrs or less
100% were on $30-34 per hour
Expenses covered: 100% APC, NZDHA, Conference costs, Resus, CPD & Trg
Canterbury:48 members; 33 responded (only 27 answered)Results:
85% were on wages
65% worked in one practice (26% in two)
17% worked less than 25hrs / 35% 26-35hrs / 26% 35-40hrs / 22% 40 plus hours
4% were on less than $30 per hour / 4% on $30-34 / 18% on $35-39 / 30% on $40-44 / 22% on $45-49 / 7% on $50-54 / 11% self-employed charging $35-39 / $40-46 / $57 plus per hour & 4% charging between 40-44% commission
Expenses covered: 70% APC / 17% NZDHA / 57% Conference costs / 39% CPD & Trg / 48% Resus / 26% None covered.
Otago:21 members; 4 responded (only 2 answered)Results:
100% were on wages
100% worked in one practice
100% worked 35-40hrs
50% on $30-34 per hour / 50% on $40-44
Expenses covered: 100% APC, NZDHA, Conference costs, CPD & Trg, Resus / 50% other.
In summary the feedback, at best, can be considered as a rough guide only. The questions included in this survey must be revised and reduced to cover the information that we, as a working body, can use effectively to help us moving forward in private practice. It is no longer good enough to hope the dentists will look after us!! With the move to corporatization within the dental industry it is large HR departments and legal teams who draw up employment contracts, for both employees and contractors. Knowledge is power and whether you’re just starting out, returning to work or just wanting to review your current position, this information is in valuable! I would love to have your feedback on ways you think this survey can be improved, refined and made more user friendly. This information can only benefit Dental Hygienist & BOH graduates if we all contribute to the greater good of the profession.