Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, 98% of Dental Offices say there were “Happy” or “Very Happy” with their TempStars hygienist or assistant.

FAQ

General Questions

Great question!  We get a lot of inquiries about this – please see our Knowledge Base Article Here for information about TempStars service, how we’re different (and better!) then a temping or employment agency.  At the same link, there are articles there about employment relationships for TempStars connections [Check the Knowledge Base Article Here]

As soon as you post a dental temping shift, every available hygienist or assistant (depending on your shift type) within 110km or 70mi of your office, will be immediately notified with a text notification to their phone. They can then view your posting and the shift details in their TempStars app and if available, will submit an offer to work your shift. 

Questions about 1099 vs W-2 classifications?

Click here for our state-specific articles about employment classifications.

With TempStars, we operate in a number of U.S. states. Each state has their own employment and tax classifications, requirements and guidelines.  In addition, there are innumerable variations to the details, tasks, responsibilities and oversight when a dental professional is working a one-day dental temping shift.

So it is incumbent on dental offices to ensure they are familiar with their state employment and tax laws, and posting shifts accordingly.  Based on following the applicable state employment and tax laws, the dental offices post a temporary shift as either a 1099 or W-2 shift.

Similarly, it’s equally important that dental professionals be familiar with their state employment and tax laws and pick up temping shifts that follow state employment and tax laws.

Please check the articles at the link above as a great resource, but if you are looking for advice or guidance related to your specific situations, contact a licensed and experienced employment or tax lawyer.

When you post a shift you select a “Proposed Hourly Rate” which anchors the Rate Selector on the hygienist or assistant side. Then, when the hygienist or assistant goes to submit an offer for your shift, they see the Proposed Rate you selected and they have an idea of what you recommend for that shift. The hygienist or assistant still has control over what rate they offer for your shift, but they can take this information into consideration when submitting an offer. 

The Recommended Proposed Rate you see when posting a shift is based off the average accepted rate in your geographical area – so it’s based on the existing statistics of what offices are paying the hygienists or assistants in your area.

If you enable “Insta-book” on your shifts, when a hygienist or assistant insta-books the shift, it books it in at the Proposed Rate you selected for that shift.  

Canada

In Canada, TempStars hygienists and assistants are most commonly considered and paid as independent contractors by the dental offices, and payment is always made directly to them. Hygienists and assistants are not employees of TempStars. The preferred method of payment is e-transfer the day of the shift. Alternatively, offices use the Pay Now feature in the app, the day of the shift. 

After receiving and reviewing the hygienist/assistant invoice, you simply click Pay Now and our system charges your credit card on file and we e-transfer the funds to the hygienist or assistant within 24h. However, hygienists and assistants are aware that some offices have an accounting department and processes to follow and they may receive a cheque in the mail for payment as long as it is received within the Payment Terms of the shift.

USA

In the United States, depending on the state, some offices pay temporary hygienists and assistants as a 1099 Independent Contractor or a W2 Temporary Worker.  Consult with your local and state regulations, employment and tax laws and get independent legal and tax advice to know which applies at your local and state level. We have a great resource for this here.  Payment is still made directly to the temporary hygienist or assistant. Hygienists and assistants are not employees of TempStars. Preferred payment is made the day of the shift, through an electronic process for immediate delivery. Again, some offices may have an accounting process they need to follow and it is acceptable for a cheque to be mailed as long as it is received within the Payment Terms of the shift. For more info visit this link.

We currently have a 97% placement success rate in most areas. Understandably, as we expand to new areas, some cities might have slightly different success rates at the start of our expansion. As you can image, matches depend on the availability of hygienists and assistants in an area. With over 17,000 hygienists and assistants member, we give you direct access to a much larger pool of available hygienists and assistants than any other traditional dental placement agency.

TempStars’ technology is built and optimized to connect you directly with local available hygienists and assistants. The system is designed to give you the best chance of finding a good temporary hygienist or assistant quickly. Because of this, the best way to find a hygienist or assistant is using the website or mobile app to post your job. 

It takes less than a minute to post a job and a text notification is immediately sent to every possible temp. Our 97% placement success rate depends on our sophisticated system notifying hundreds of top hygienists and assistants about your posting. 

TempStars administrators don’t have additional ‘back-channel’ access to any hygienists/assistants – all connections are made through the system by posting a shift – and is far more efficient than methods of traditional dental temping agencies. 

We did have this feature early on, but to be honest it caused a lot of confusion and issues so we did remove it. Although we appreciate the convenience of being able to post multiple shifts at once or a block of shifts, how the system works currently is, each shift needs to be posted individually. 

We are currently discussing and re-visiting this feature, but we want to ensure the next iteration of is it convenient and easy to use! Stay tuned!  

Paid Time

“Paid Time” starts at the scheduled Arrival Time posted for the job and ends at the completion of the shift. Remember, hygienists and assistants are not expected to arrive before the posted Arrival Time. Although it’s always a good idea to show up a little early, it isn’t expected.

Unpaid Time

“Unpaid Time” is your lunch break. Most offices pay for down time during the shift and patient cancellations are usually considered as Paid Time, but if you are one of those offices that doesn’t pay hygienists or assistants for down time, there is a little check box to click when posting a shift to indicate this. But please note, if you check this box off indicating you do not pay for down time and/or patient cancellations, the likelihood of your posting going unfilled dramatically increases. 

Canada

Our fee after a completed temping shift in Canada is $57 CAD plus applicable taxes.

USA

Our fee after a completed temping shift in the United States is $38 USD.

TempStars fee is charged the night following the successfully completed temping shift. We then email you a copy of the receipt for the Paid Placement Fee for your records.

The placement fee apples to all shifts booked using the TempStars platform, it also applies to any placement made through direct contact with a TempStars hygienist/assistant if the temp hygienist or assistant was introduced to the office by TempStars. Meaning, if you are introduced to a hygienist or assistant by TempStars, our placement fee applies to all future temping shifts booked with them – whether arranged on the TempStars platform or outside of it.

Yes, and it’s FREE! TempStars doesn’t charge a ‘hiring’ or ‘finder’s fee’ to hire anyone from TempStars. If you are looking for a permanent hire for your office (or mat leave, contract position, etc) and find a TempStars hygienist or assistant you love, we’re happy to make the match and (“it’s true!) we do not charge a ‘finder’s fee’ for hiring them. This is provided the hygienist or assistant is hired on as an employee on payroll for regular permanent shifts. 

If the hygienist or assistant is considered casual, semi-regular and not hired onto the payroll, then standard fees apply for all shifts. If there are any questions about when this applies, contact us for clarification. 

Absolutely! TempStars has the strongest Job Board in the industry. It is accessed right in the same website/mobile app as the temping – just click “Hire Staff” – check here for more information about our game-changing Job Board.

TempStars hygienists and assistants have a reputation of dependability and excellence. Our cancellation rate is an industry-leader at less than 1%, so it’s rare for someone from TempStars to cancel. As for “no-show”, this rate is much below 1%. 

However, it’s inevitable that it does happen sometimes. If this happens, the shift is immediately reposted to the system, an urgent notice is automatically and instantly sent out to all available hygienists or assistants in your area. 

Any hygienist or assistant who cancels a booked shift is blocked from booking further shifts for a period of time. If a second cancellation happens, it results in them being removed from the TempStars platform. The extreme seriousness of booking shifts is very clearly emphasized to all hygienists and assistants, and not only when they sign up but every time they book a shift. 

And just so we’re clear, we take all cancellations very seriously, including cancellations from offices as well. If your office builds a reputation for cancelling on our hygienists or assistants, we do remove your account from our platform. TempStars is built and extremely successful because all our members make it a priority to treat all the professionals in the membership with respect and commit to their shifts. 

So yes, cancellations are a reality in all temping situations from both sides, but they rarely happen. But when they do, we do everything we can to rectify the situation and find a replacement for you.

To install the app on your mobile, here are the links to the app stores:

Download on the App StoreApp Store

For Apple iPhone:

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/tempstars/id1094751710



Google Play

Get it on Google Play

For Android/Samsung:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.tempstars.app2

You don’t need the app installed to use TempStars, you can also use the website. The TempStars app is great, though, and very sophisticated.  You’ll get real-time alerts about your shift postings, offers submitted, etc.  It’s very easy to use – the entire TempStars service in your pocket!

But if that’s not your preference, to register or log into the website service, head to this link:

https://app.tempstars.com

Can’t find what you’re looking for in our most Frequently Asked Questions? Checkout our comprehensive Help Centre!

Looking to speak to Member Support? Contact us here.