It seems everyone is looking to hire right now as the job market continues its post-COVID recovery. However, you know you need more than the first warm body who answers your ad. Whether you are hiring a receptionist, office manager, or even another practitioner to join you, finding the right person for the job is key.
Hiring the wrong employee can be expensive, time-consuming and have a potentially detrimental impact on the work environment that already exists in your practice – even if that current work environment only consists of one person – you.
Define the Position
The first step in identifying the right employee begins with properly defining the job before you start the hiring process. Identifying and analyzing what the job entails allows you to collect information and properly define the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and even the work environment of a particular position.
Once you have gone through this process, preparing a job description for a prospective employee helps to outline your recruiting strategy.
The recruiting strategy should involve the key employees who will be instrumental in hiring and working with the new hire. While you may not have a hiring manager, you can involve the other members of your staff to help you pinpoint the strengths you are looking for in this new position.
Maintain a Checklist
Office checklists can be helpful for a variety of tasks, but a hiring checklist can be critical. This checklist can help you develop an organized process for hiring new employees. Think of the checklist to keep you on track, show your progress and maintain a record of your recruiting efforts. This can be something you keep only for yourself (if you are the sole practitioner doing the hiring); or you can have your office manager or human resources manager keep track of this document.
Review Credentials
While you may think you don't have time to review resumes, cover letters and job applications, this really is the critical part of the process. It's important to review these documents carefully. Use the job description you have already created and your checklist of desirable qualifications as you go through the applications you have received.
Make sure you screen all the applicants against your list of qualifications, necessary skills and experience. This helps you to identify the most qualified candidates so you can narrow down your search results and focus on the best candidates for the position you are looking to fill. This really is where the work of developing the job description and the checklist comes in handy so you can use your time wisely.
Pre-Screen Candidates
This is an important step that can help you weed out people who might be on the bubble; that is to say, they have almost all the qualifications you are looking for, but don't quite check all the boxes.
Let's face it, some people look great on paper, but can be a disaster in the interview process. Pre-screening candidates ultimately saves you time as you can determine if their qualifications truly are a fit for your position, or if they have exaggerated their qualifications, education or skill set.
The pre-screening process can also help you identify if their salary expectations match what you want to offer. It's also a good opportunity to see if the person will be a good fit for your office culture or not. This can help you avoid bringing in someone who might throw your office out of balance either with their personality or lack of skills you thought they had.
Check Background and References
Conducting an effective background check is one of the most important steps you can take when hiring a new employee. It really can help you avoid future headaches as you determine whether a person will be the right hire for your practice. You need to be able to verify that all the information the applicant submitted is true, including their credentials, skills and previous experience.
A good background check includes checking references, especially former supervisors, educational credentials, personal and professional references, and even criminal history. It's not unheard of to find that someone has embellished their experience or outright lied about their educational history. Making sure an applicant is who they say they are can save you a lot of heartache down the road.
Practical Takeaway
Hiring the right employee can be a time-consuming process, but it is worth the effort. Putting these tips into practice can help you stay on track and bring the best person into your practice so you can continue to grow and not only meet, but exceed your practice goals. When you add the right person to your practice, you and any other staff will appreciate it – and your patients will appreciate it as well.
Antonio Arias manages Holistic Billing, a company with a focus on integrative health since 1999 and a goal to make insurance billing and medical documentation accessible to holistic health care practitioners. To learn more about Holistic Billing Services, visit https://holisticbillingservices.com or send an email to
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