In the book, “How Google Works”, Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that hiring is the most important thing you can do in a business. This goes for your dental practice, too.
The reason is because employees are an extension of you and your services. Hiring the right people will increase patient satisfaction, and profits will increase. Hire the wrong people and you could end up in court. To help you hire the right people for your practice, here are 3 essential tips:
1) What to Look for
First and foremost, you want people with integrity. If you can’t trust what people do behind your back, you simply cannot hire them. You need to rely on references and reputation checks to make this analysis.
Second, you want intelligent people who can solve problems. Knowledge is great, but you are also looking for people with curiosity. This will not only help them solve problems, but identify potential problems and solve them before anything possibly damaging occurs.
Third, you want mature people. Mature people show empathy when needed, and respect other people’s emotions. Mature people also generally have a strong sense of humor, and don’t take themselves too seriously.
Fourth, you want people with good, strong positive energy that will lift everybody up, not drag everybody down. Such enthusiasm will carry your practice through your most stressful times, while making the good times even better. There is probably nothing more damaging to a practice than a staff with a negative attitude.
Fifth, you want people who have the courage to make tough decisions. One of the best ways to test this is by challenging what they know during the interview process. If you give them a scenario with the possibility of a few answers, do they defend their stance intelligently, or do they concede after mild criticism?
A strong conviction is as critical a characteristic as logically being able to admit a mistake.
All of these qualities can be assessed through the job interview.
2) How to Interview Candidates
Interviewing is the most important phase of the hiring process. While you may have a number of qualified candidates applying for your position, the interview phase will determine who is the most perfect fit for your practice.
Before we get started, NEVER hire anyone unless you are excited about them starting. If you have any doubts whatsoever, do NOT hire them. If anything, start the recruiting process over again until you find the right person.
Your staff is what essentially makes or breaks your reputation, and one inadequate hire can be the difference between your success or failure. This may sound extreme, but think of all of the activities and patient interactions that your staff performs on a daily basis. If you hire somebody that is only 85% qualified, that means that member of your staff will only reach an 85% peak of optimal performance on even their best days. When you hire someone, who meets 100% of your qualification for this position, their optimal peak is 100%, and you shouldn’t settle for anything less.
The choice is yours.
When you’re interviewing each candidate, act as if you’re hiring them to eventually lead your company. While this isn’t the reality, this mindset will truly help you judge whether this person will work hard, make informed decisions, grow with your practice, and lead it well into the future.
Never be intimidated if an applicant seems to have traits that you have a shortage of, such as energy. These are exactly the types of people you want!
So, when you’re interviewing each candidate, ensure you ask them open-ended questions that help you understand whether they meet the criteria you are looking for.
For example, tricky scenario-related questions, such as “what would you do in this situation” will help you to understand how each candidate balances duty, ethics, and intelligence to find the right solution to any given problem.
What you are really testing is how they makes decisions.
You also want to ensure each candidate fits your particular culture. A good way to test this is to introduce them to some of your current staff, and see what your people have to say about them.
Don’t forget that while someone may have thrived in another practice, it does not mean they will thrive in yours. Each practice is different, just like each candidate. Also, don’t forget that in a way, the candidate is interviewing you as well, and poor interview performance (being late, disorganized, etc.) could easily scare a great candidate away!
3) Test Your Hire
Finally, you want people who can get the job done correctly, and this brings us to the testing phase.
Attorney Anita York, who specializes in Dental Law, advises you to test each new hire with a 1-day temporary assignment. This way you can supervise how they work, and what level of expertise they currently have within their specialty.
Also, it eliminates your liability of potentially hiring the wrong person.
Ensure that you create a contract that will communicate this arrangement for one day of work for x hours and x pay, which will be paid by the close of business that day.
This way, you can easily ask them not return if necessary, and you will ensure all loose legal ends are tied up before you continue to a new candidate should that be your conclusion.
Also, ensure they do not interact directly with patients during this time. Have them do other specific functions because you should limit yourself to analyzing how they handle themselves with tasks typical tasks, at least until the testing process is over.
Once you see how they work, interact with others, and perform in your practice as a whole, you can make an educated decision as to whether or not they will be the right fit for your practice.
