Laura Nelson
5 Ways to Make Hiring (Almost) Painless
Firing and hiring are probably the least favorite parts of the job for most dentists and office managers. In fact, some
dentists dread this process so much that they hold onto employees way too long in order to avoid firing someone. There
are many reasons for this. Not only is it unpleasant to have to fire an employee, it also requires another equally
dreaded process: trying to find someone new to replace them. I am here to tell you that as hard as hiring might seem, it
is much better to replace an employee who is not working out with a new (and hopefully better) employee than to continue
struggling with that employee who is holding back your office and your
potential.
Hiring does not have to be hard or scary, if you know what you are doing. The best thing to do is to prepare yourself
for the process and start it the right way to make it as successful as possible. Here are five things you should do to
set yourself up for success in finding your next “rock star.”
1) Get yourself in the right mindset. I know that this might sound cliché, but if you decide that the hiring process
will suck, then guess what—it will suck. If you tell yourself that there are no good candidates available, then I bet
you that you won’t find a good candidate. Many times our attitude causes the outcome we are expecting, so my suggestion
is to take on a positive attitude. Decide that you are going to find a great candidate and you will have a lot more
success. Think about one of your best employees on your team right
now—aren’t you glad you found and hired them? If the process worked well for hiring that employee, then it can work well
again for the person you need to hire now. Start thinking that your next amazing employee is out there and you just have
to find them!
2) Determine specifically what you need and want on your team. Take a step back and look at the team you have currently.
What skills do they have that are great? What skills or personality traits are you lacking? What things would you
benefit from adding to your team? Maybe you have great staff overall, but not one person who is really good at talking
about money. Or maybe you have a lot of introverts, and you could use someone that is outgoing and bubbly. Take some
time to see what you would like to add to your team that would help your office and team be well-rounded. Many dentists
hire based on a number of years of experience of dental, but specific dental experience really does not matter as much
as other qualities. With the right personality and work ethic, you can teach them the rest.
3) Create a hiring checklist. Once you have determined the traits, skills, personality type, and anything else that you
would like to have join your team, write it down. Keep that list for when you are interviewing candidates, and refer to
it regularly. Many times, we tend to forget what we initially were looking for so that when we meet a candidate, we
start to think “she or he is good enough” or “they are close to what I was thinking I wanted.” By having a list you can
refer to, you can remind yourself what you initially
wanted and really determine how well this candidate meets the requirements on that list.
4) Don’t wait until you are in pain. You might have the intention of hiring someone soon, but things happen, you get
busy, your office starts to cope without a new hire. Next thing you know, you are in desperate need of help and time is
of the essence. Suddenly you are hiring in urgency mode, and you can’t afford to be picky and wait for the right
candidate. If you do this, then you end up hiring a round peg to go into a square hole, which results in turnover.
Ultimately, planning ahead about hiring before you get desperate will not only let you take the time to find the right
candidate, it will also lower the turnover rate in your office.
5) Write an interesting and intriguing advertisement. When you are ready to put your advertisement out, make sure it is
something that people want to respond to and submit their resume. If you write an ad that is boring and has too many
requirements, guess what you will get? First of all, you will be limiting the number of candidates by making the
requirements too strict. You will also attract boring candidates that aren’t actually excited about working in YOUR
office– they are just submitting a resume because they are looking for any opening and don’t have a better opportunity
at the time. You want to write an ad that is going to attract great people who are excited
when they read the opportunity. You want to have an ad that attracts people who are currently employed because your job
sounds way better than the job that they are in now—instead of attracting unemployed people who will take anything that
comes along.
To sum up my advice: don’t be afraid of hiring. You will find your next great employee, but you have to understand that
it might take a little work and some patience. Like some of the best things in life, hiring good employees requires
work, but it is so worth it.
Not sure what needs to happen when hiring? Visit
Front Office Rocks to learn
for more information or call us at 1-800-914-3595.
