I was recently asked to share this important topic with the members of the American Chiropractic Association on their ACA Connects Blog (which you an read here). Full blog also posted below:
Have you ever hired someone who seemed perfect on paper but didn’t fit into your team? Or waited too long to let someone go? Whether you’re hiring your first team member or refining your current process, this blog aims to give you the tools and confidence to build your dream team. This will also apply to hiring front desk assistants, office managers, massage therapists or associate chiropractors.
Posting the Job/Resumes
Writing a compelling job description is key to ensure that you are not weeding through resumes of underqualified or incorrectly qualified candidates. A candidate “on paper” may seem perfectly qualified for your practice. But what if your practice is not a perfect fit for them? Being detailed in your job post about your practice philosophy and expectations of a candidate is the best way to ensure they are a good fit.
If you expect a lot of independent leadership from a front desk employee, state that. If you expect a new chiropractor to do off-site pop-up clinics to drive new patients, state that. On the flip side, if you have more patients than you know what to do with and you expect a new chiropractor to see 50 patients per day, state that. The job description should be a real and true representation of the job they are applying for. Of course, Chat GPT will help you ensure it is stated eloquently!
Screening Candidates
Following the job post you will begin to receive resumes and hopefully cover letters (It’s amazing how many applicants fail to include a cover letter). A good first step is to reply with two to four deal-breaker questions. In our practice, for example we ask the following: I received your resume and am very intrigued. Prior to setting up an interview please let me know the following:
- Why are you interested in a (full-time / part-time) position that includes Saturdays?
- Specifically, what about our practice interests you?
- If there is no cover letter, I always ask for one during this step. If someone cannot take the time to compose a cover letter there is zero chance they will go above and beyond the basics of the job once working for you.
By asking these pre-interview questions, you should be able to discern if an applicant is truly interested in the hours you are offering and your specific practice. So many people fire off resumes to dozens of job openings; so to save you time, ensure that they won’t show up for the interview and ask if it is possible to have Saturdays off (if this is the case for your office)!
The Interview
First, I never recommend hosting an interview solo. And I also don’t pick and choose who else on my team is involved. I love inviting my team through our internal chat portal — “Interview this Wednesday at noon, who would like to join?” Once I have two people interested, we are set! P.S., This is a great way to ensure your team feels valued and demonstrates to your candidates that team chemistry is highly important.
Conducting interviews is the most time-consuming part of the hiring process. It can also easily be derailed by … you. Sometimes we fall into the trap of talking too much, and wanting to sell ourselves to the candidate, that we miss valuable details about their values, philosophy, experience and communication skills. While it is important to set the tone of the practice and the specific position they are interviewing for, it is extremely important to craft the right questions
and LISTEN.
The internet has hundreds of interview questions, but done correctly you should have 4 to 6 questions that answer what YOU want to know. For example, you may want to know about their values (what drives their decisions, actions and behaviors), their philosophy on chiropractic, how well they work with a team, and if they are self-reliant (will they get their SOAP notes done on-time?).
Beyond actual job qualifications, as a small business I find the most important qualities in all employees are trust, dependability, flexibility, solution-oriented, self-reliant and fun. There are endless questions available online or within your own creative abilities. Do reach out to me for my top interview questions! Be sure you take the time to listen, don’t interrupt or finish your candidate’s sentences. It is often after a brief pause that they will continue to talk and get into the real answer.
Post Interview Thoughts and Debriefing
During the interview, take notes and write down your thoughts. Following the interview, talk with your team members. Ask them their thoughts and for their comments. They will see or hear things that you may not. This point in the process can be difficult, but it’s needed. When deciding whether to offer a job, trust your gut … and your team! It is very easy to “want” to hire someone just because of convenience, or you think they MIGHT work out — especially because of the time you have already invested in the hiring process. Don’t rush the process! The next step is even more involved and time consuming, so be sure before taking the next step. As I said before, listen to your gut. It won’t lie to you.
The Job Offer
Offering a job is relatively simple. I recommend making a phone call and letting a candidate know that you’d love to bring them onboard! Follow that up by an email detailing the formal offer. Forms you will want to include: a job offer, job description, confidentiality agreement and any other contracts you deem necessary. In our practice, we favor a retention bonus agreement rather than a non-compete.
If you have decided not to offer a candidate a job, you can send them an email thanking them for their time. Something like this: “Thank you for your interest in the position. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move forward with another candidate at this time. We truly appreciate the effort you put into the process and wish you all the best in your job search.” I
recommend leaving the door open because even something as formal as an interview can be a valuable networking opportunity.
Onboarding
Streamlining onboarding is KEY. None of the above steps will matter if you bring your new hire onboard and rush, skip or water down the onboarding process. This process can take one to two months to complete, but being organized and involving technology and your team is all it takes to ensure a repeatable, enjoyable onboarding process. Our process includes the following:
- Create an onboarding course online.
- Set them up for success prior to day one.
- Provide a welcome goodie bag!
- Meet with the boss.
- Assign a mentor.
- Create and complete their dashboard.
- Host a team gathering.
Retaining Your New Hire
Fostering a positive, high-performance culture is key to a satisfying and profitable practice. While team building often involves team-oriented activities and meetings, it is also important to invoke trust and leadership in your staff, at any level. One recommendation is having a few layers of check-ins and team meetings. For example, a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly meeting that vary in length and scope. As a bonus, encourage leadership from various team members at each meeting.
Happiness
Sometimes the key to happiness is letting go. Understanding when an employee is not a good fit is vital to the health and happiness of your entire team. Impeded progress of your practice is often difficult to notice and ignored for fear of handling those situations. Handling these tough situations efficiently, with clear communication and compassion, will show your team (and many times the team member) that you have their best interest in mind. Best case scenario, you may even be able to find your departing employee a new position or be a reference for them.
Inspiring your Team to be Great
Leading a team can be extremely fulfilling. Knowing that you are providing employment to amazing, wonderful people in your community is incredible. Once you have set the tone through online courses, video messaging, in-person meetings and ongoing mentorship, it is time to instill leadership in your team. Trusting them to do what they were hired to do. There is no
greater way to create a supportive culture than demonstrating trust. Be sure they know that they can always rely on you, but that going forward, you rely on them. That doesn’t mean disappearing! Stay active in your online chat board, lead your monthly meetings. But always ask for leadership and feedback from your team. Best of luck on your hiring and leadership journey!
Dr. Goodman is a member of the ACA Sports Council. She welcomes doctors to reach out to her for details on how she likes to handle each of the steps above, or to join her at Parker Seminars in Miami in June!
