Time Well Spent?
Bright Smiles Dentistry: Episode 8
Dana loved delivering good news. Today, she got to deliver her favorite kind.
“Hey Jasmin, do you have a minute?” she called, motioning toward her office.
Jasmin tucked a few appointment cards into the front desk display and followed Dana back. “Everything okay?”
“Better than okay.” Dana grinned. “You’ve been selected to attend the Dental Growth & Innovation Conference next month. Three days in Phoenix. Hotel, airfare, registration, it’s all covered.”
Jasmin’s eyes widened. “Wait… seriously?”
“You’ve been stepping up a lot lately. This is a chance to build on that and grow into more of a leadership role. I want you to go, learn, and represent the practice.”
Jasmin blinked, then smiled so hard it looked like it surprised even her. “That’s… amazing. Thank you!”
She paused, hesitating. “Um… one question. Do I still get paid? For the time I’m there, the flight, the sessions… all of it?”
Dana’s stomach did a small flip. She hadn’t fully thought that through.
“That’s a great question,” she said. “Let me double-check how we handle that.”
Clarifying Travel Pay
Back at her desk, Dana opened backstageHR and clicked into “My HR Requests”. Within a couple of hours, she was on the line with a CEDR advisor.
“Okay,” Dana said. “I’m sending Jasmin—our non-exempt front desk coordinator—to a three-day conference out of town. I know we need to pay her for some of the time, but I want to be absolutely sure we’re doing it right.”
The advisor walked her through the basics.
“Generally speaking,” they said, “here’s how it breaks down, and we are of course keeping in mind the state you are in, as a lot of states have very nuanced requirements when it comes to travel pay.”
- Yes to paying for any travel that occurs during Jasmin’s regular work hours, even if it’s on a weekend.
- Yes to the conference sessions and any required activities.
- No to optional mixers or networking events so long as no work is being performed (e.g., representing the practice, gaining new skills, checking work email, etc.), hotel lounge time, meals, or sleep.
- And yes, you should document all of this before she goes, not after.
Dana took notes as fast as she could. “And what about overtime?”
“All of this counts as time worked, so it counts toward overtime just like her normal work days. You’ll want to inform her in writing whether she’ll be paid her regular rate or a different one during travel, depending on how your policies are written. And then that adjusted pay rate will come into play with the overtime calculation. We can talk about that if it ends up happening.”
Dana exhaled. “Okay. That helps a ton.”
Setting Expectations
The CEDR advisor then connected Dana with their timekeeping team to update the system to allow Jasmin to clock in and out remotely from her phone while at the conference.
Over the next day, Dana built a clear, detailed travel memo using a draft the CEDR Advisor sent over to her, and the notes she took on the call with the CEDR advisor as reference for completing it. She outlined:
- Which hours were considered paid versus unpaid
- The rate Jasmin would receive for conference hours versus travel hours
- A per diem for meals
- A daily itinerary with approximate compensable time
- Instructions for clocking in and out remotely.
Once it was finalized, Dana called Jasmin back into her office.
“This is yours,” she said, sliding the memo across the desk. “It lays out exactly what you’ll be paid for and what expectations we’ve set. That way there’s no confusion.”
Jasmin skimmed it, nodding slowly. “This is… really helpful.”
“I’m investing in your growth,” Dana said. “And I want to make sure we’re handling it right for both of us.”
Jasmin smiled. “I’ll make you proud.”
Dana uploaded the memo into Jasmin’s electronic personnel file in the HR Vault. One more system is working as it should.
Clear Plan, Smooth Trip
Three days later, Dana opened her inbox to find a photo of Jasmin, beaming in front of a conference room banner that read: Future Leaders in Dental Admin.
“Today’s session was incredible!” her message read. “Took so many notes. Met another front desk lead from Santa Fe who’s also a CEDR member!”
When Jasmin returned, she was practically glowing.
“I have ideas,” she said, barely waiting to sit down. “Color-coded walkout sheets, a better recall script, and this one guy ran a ‘feedback week’ where patients wrote staff compliments on sticky notes… I want to try it!”
Dana laughed. “Let’s debrief after lunch.”
Later that afternoon, Dr. Chang passed through the front office and caught Dana’s eye.
“How’d it go?”
“She crushed it,” Dana said. “And I’m really glad I confirmed the pay stuff with CEDR first. There were a lot more rules than I expected. It could’ve gotten messy.”
Dr. Chang raised an eyebrow. “You think we need to train other managers on that?”
“Already started a draft,” Dana replied.
