I remember when I first brought in a clinical consultant to help see clients in my practice. I even remember when my practice of 4 or so clinicians discovered it was time for a part time administrative assistant.
If you are at the point in your business, where you have grown enough to consider bringing someone else in…Congratulations!! I think growth enough to warrant having someone else join your practice is a milestone to acknowledge and celebrate.
So if you think you are ready…then the next question is…
“How do I successfully hire the right person to join my practice?”
Two words are important here “successfully” and “right”. To avoid the heartache of not bringing the right people in, we need to take a step by step approach to making sure we are choosing people that are right for this business you have spend so much time, energy and resources building.
Step One: Cross your Ts This blog is not about the nuts and bolts of human resources. But hiring is not for the ill-advised. I would be remiss to not remind you to investigate the legal requirements of on-boarding new clinical or administrative team members.
Background checks, tax forms, employment applications, contracts, offer letters, liability insurance and HR files. There is a boatload of what you need to know to appropriately onboard a new staff person. Start by talking with your accountant or click here to connect with one I know and love.
Step Two: Recruiting Before you post any ads, think about the language that you are using to describe your business and the role this person would play. Be sure that the choice of words would resonate with your ideal staff person.
As a standard your job description should be detailed in talking about qualifications, hours and duties. But if you want to take it to the next level, be sure that the job description take about your values and what you believe is important about the work you do. Describe the why behind your work and those who share those ideas will be able to connect with your vision.
Step Three: Screening How do you feel when you first interact with the person? That is likely to be the way that your clients will feel as well. Before you have the opportunity to complete the appropriate background and reference checks (and you certainly should), you will have to use your intuition as a guide.
When interviewing, ask questions that help you get a sense of the candidate’s long term goals. Think about…
Why do they want to be a part of what you are building? What are they hoping to accomplish by working with you? Are their goals consistent with yours? Can you help them achieve what they are looking for?
Experience is important, but attitude matters too. You can teach the nuts and bolts of the position, if someone is open and has the right attitude. Once basic qualifications are met, look for someone that you feel you really can work with AND can benefit from working with you. Really connect with why they want to be there and what they are hoping to accomplish for themselves by being a part of what you are building.
Step Four: Orientation They way you start the first day sets the tone for how your working relationship will be. Have your preparation in order before they arrive. A written guide is a wonderful reference for how you do things in your business. Even if it is not as detailed as a a full scale operations manual, you need something to refer to as you are helping people acclimate to this new work environment. In your mind, go through a day in the workplace. Outline the duties and anticipate the most commonly asked questions. Provide these answers as a part of your orientation process.
Step Five: Training They don’t know what you know. Remember that. Take the time to actually show your new staff person how things work. Invest enough time in the beginning and have an atmosphere open to questions and feedback. During the initial on-boarding process, expect there to be a learning curve and be available to help someone new navigate it.
Have any questions about how to successfully bring on a new staff person? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to connect with me on Facebook or leave your comments/questions here.