One of the biggest dilemmas for me as a practice manager has to be hiring new team members. I'm a sucker. They get me at hello. I'm talking about the interview. A candidate comes in, she's dressed professionally, she says all the right things. I'm excited, I think she might be who we've been looking for. OK, we move to the next step; the working interview. Sometimes I catch on here. Someone says they have years of experience, yet when you ask them to place topical for # 3 and they spread it all over the lower left quadrant, something's fishy. But, sometimes they shine at the working interview and I'm happy to add this wonderful new person to our staff.
Now we have a three month probationary period. Usually I can ferret out poor employees here. When I remove a temporary that they've cemented and the sulcus is full of cement I have them take a look. If it bothers them, I know we can work together to improve on it. If they shrug and say "Oh well", I know I've made a mistake. More episodes of increasing carelessness lead to the end of this relationship.
I have tried hiring for character and teaching skills. That has worked beautifully for our front desk and lab assistant. They are both conscientious and happy to have been given the opportunity. I haven't had much luck with the chairside assistant though. First of all, there aren't many experienced ones out there. Wonder why. Well, I kind of think I know why but, that's another topic for another day. Teaching chairside assisting on the job is time consuming and if it doesn't work out, very frustrating.
I've talked to other office managers in medical and dental offices. They all say the same thing. It's tough to find good employees with a good work ethic. What's going on? It seems that for every five people I hire, one works out well and stays on long term. The team we have is fantastic so I refuse to keep someone who won't or can't strive for personal excellence. I don't think I'm wrong in that. A friend told me that everyone will fall to the lowest common denominator to keep peace. I want my lowest to be pretty high then.
I think the answer is to keep searching until you find the person who is right for your practice. Don't hire in haste. The other day, I had a doctor's appointment. My doctor has a fantastic assistant. No...I didn't try to hire her away, tempting as it was. I asked her if she had any friends who were like her that wanted a job. Birds of a feather usually do flock together. She's going to ask around. The office manager almost died, thinking I was trying to lure her away. She said it took her three years to find her most recent employee. Tomorrow I'm going to interview someone who sounded really good on the phone. I'm an optimist. She sounds like she really wants the job and wants to work hard and learn. So far, I believe her, but I'm going to interview the heck out of her. I hope I don't get disappointed.
Most office managers want to do a good job. You usually get to this position because you care about the practice. It feels bad to choose the wrong person to hire. I feel responsible to our staff. When I choose the wrong person they go through all the stress of trying to accept them into the team, getting attached and then having them leave and starting all over again. I feel responsible to my boss to have a complete team in place so that everyone can function well and not be over-worked and aggravated.
It's difficult to identify and hire a good employee, but, when you do, it is very satisfying to watch all the pieces fall into place. So keep at it, don't get discouraged, don't give up and don't give in. A happy, well-functioning team is your reward at the end of the process.
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