Call Center Manager

Key Responsibilities

The following are essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Team Leadership

• Train new and current Call Center Representatives on dental terminology, basic CDT procedure types, and DMI scheduling rules for each office; provide input to Human Resources on staffing needs and candidates when requested.
• Supervise daily call center operations and assign coverage for inbound queues, outbound campaigns, and confirmations.
• Build staff schedules that cover all office hours, including evenings and Saturdays; manage time-off requests, call-offs, and shift coverage.
• Conduct regular call monitoring, side-by-side coaching, and performance reviews; address performance and attendance issues with Human Resources.
• Lead daily huddles and regular team meetings to share office updates, provider availability, and performance results.

Dental Patient Scheduling

• Ensure appointments are booked correctly into each provider’s template (doctor, hygiene, and specialty blocks), with the right appointment length for the procedure.
• Monitor schedules across all DMI offices daily and work to fill openings, short-notice cancellations, and high-value procedure blocks.
• Make sure new patients are booked quickly and that complete demographics, insurance, referral source, and reason for visit are captured.
• Oversee hygiene recall, reactivation of overdue patients, and follow-up on unscheduled and incomplete treatment plans.
• Ensure dental emergencies (pain, swelling, broken teeth, trauma) are identified using the DMI triage guide and booked same-day according to protocol.
• Coordinate with Office Managers on provider schedule changes, doctor call-offs, and running-late situations; ensure affected patients are contacted and rescheduled promptly.

Patient Communication & Experience

• Oversee inbound and outbound calls for appointment scheduling, rescheduling, cancellations, confirmations, and general patient questions.
• Ensure every call follows DMI greetings, scripting, and service standards and is friendly, professional, and efficient.
• Handle escalated patient calls and complaints, including concerns about wait times, billing, and treatment; route clinical questions to the appropriate office. The call center never gives clinical advice.
• Make sure patients receive clear information about new-patient exam fees, what to bring, cancellation and no-show policies, and office locations.
• Monitor online reviews and patient feedback related to scheduling and phone service; work with management on improvements.

Insurance & Financial Coordination

• Ensure representatives capture complete and accurate dental insurance information (PPO, HMO, Medicaid/All Kids, and other plans) at the time of scheduling.
• Work with billing and the offices so eligibility is verified before the visit and patients are told ahead of time if their plan is not accepted or pre-authorization is needed.
• Make sure representatives refer treatment-cost and coverage questions to the correct Office Manager, Treatment Coordinator, or billing team member.

Performance Management & Reporting

• Track call center and scheduling metrics, including call volume, answer time, abandoned calls, hold time, new-patient conversion, recall reactivation, schedule fill, confirmation rate, and no-show rate.
• Track individual representative productivity and call quality using scorecards and recorded call reviews.
• Prepare weekly and monthly reports for management that show trends by office and by representative and recommend improvements.

Process Improvement & Technology

• Create and update call center procedures, scripts, triage guides, and training materials.
• Manage the use of the phone system, practice management software (such as Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, or Curve), and automated patient reminder and texting tools.
• Implement confirmation, reminder, and waitlist processes that reduce cancellations and no-shows.
• Work with clinical, billing, and office teams to fix recurring scheduling and communication problems.

Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Ensure the team protects patient privacy in compliance with HIPAA, including identity verification before discussing patient information.
• Ensure outbound calls and texts follow DMI-approved consent rules (including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and that call-recording disclosures are read as required under Illinois law.
• Conduct regular quality assurance reviews of calls and patient records to confirm that protocols are being followed.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Minimum 3 years of call center or dental front-office experience, including at least 1 year in a supervisory or management role.
• Dental call center or dental office scheduling experience required.
• Working knowledge of dental scheduling, provider and hygiene templates, recall systems, and common dental procedures.
• Working knowledge of dental insurance basics (PPO, HMO, Medicaid, deductibles, annual maximums, and frequency limits).
• Experience with a dental practice management system (Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, or Curve) and call center or phone system software.
• Comfortable with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft 365 for reporting.
• Eligible to work in the United States and able to successfully complete DMI background and reference checks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, healthcare management, or a related field.
• Experience managing a call center for a multi-location dental group.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.
• Experience with patient communication and reminder platforms (e.g., Weave, RevenueWell, or similar).

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong leadership, coaching, and team-building skills.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, including with upset or anxious patients.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to read schedules and reports and use data to make decisions.
• Well organized; able to manage many priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Honest, dependable, and discreet with patient health and financial information.