The success of a practice is dependant on a number of important factors – one of the important aspects is sourcing the right people that compliment the culture/image of your practice, personality fit and can perform efficiently in the role.

Quality staff are ambassadors/the image of who you are and assist in promoting excellent customer service, profitability and the growth of your practice. Poor performing staff can be detrimental to the reputation of your practice.

The recruitment of staff is a time consuming exercise and if you don’t recruit the right staff the first time can be costly, disruptive to your team environment, productivity and practice image.

Have you ever made the following comments:

• Why are my staff costs high and I am always recruiting staff?
• They don’t fit well into the team environment
• Work values and ethics are below standard
• They don’t understand what we do

By having an effective recruitment process, this will enable you to select the right people and avoid having to repeatedly recruit for staff. Recruitment does require quality time but produces the desired results. A quick recruitment process produces quick fixes. An effective recruitment process produces a long term solution.

An effective recruitment process consists of the following:-

Preparation

1. Clearly define what you need. If you don’t know what you really need, you will be unable to recruit effectively. Establish the Criteria i.e. the position, skills and knowledge required, salary, personality fit and how the role fits into the practice.
2. Create a Job Description (outlining tasks, responsibilities and performance outcomes)
3. Prepare a detailed job advertisement to be placed on the employment internet sites. Brief advertisements do not provide adequate information and elicit desire to apply for your role. This advertisement markets your practice and the job opportunity to attract the target market.
4. Preparing the interview questions. Interview questions should consist of the following:-
   1. Career history, previous skills and knowledge with relevance to the role
   2. Job fulfillment, interaction with people
   3. Core competencies (questions relating to standards, customer service, problem solving, time management, initiative, coping with stress, communication skills and managing performance)

Prior to the Interview

1. Read through the resumes and familiarise yourself with the candidates.
2. You may have specific questions as a result of reading through the resumes
3. Have interview template questions ready.
4. When scheduling interview times, make sure that you have adequate time with the candidate to be able to assess suitability thoroughly.

At the Interview

1. Introduce yourself and the practice to the candidate
2. Observe candidate’s presentation, communication skills and body language
3. Follow prepared interview questions.
4. Provide candidate with an overview of the practice and Position Description. If possible, provide a copy of the Position Description as this gives the candidate a thorough understanding of the position.
5. Give the candidate the opportunity to ask questions.

After the Interview

1. Review resumes and interview notes and short list candidates that fit the established criteria.
2. Conduct thorough reference checks. This is a very important aspect. Ensure that reference questions are detailed and relate to
   1. Previous job performance
   2. What their duties consisted of
   3. Strengths/weaknesses
   4. Interaction with staff/management
   5. Communication skills
   6. Attention to detail / computer skills
   7. Reliability/punctuality/honesty and integrity
   8. Work values and ethics
   9. Stress management / able to take direction
   10. Would they re-hire
   11. That the referee has been explained the role that the candidate has applied for so that they can answer the questions effectively
3. Conduct skills testing to determine level of skills.
4. Negotiate salary with successful candidate
5. Prepare Employment Contract
6. Remember to advise unsuccessful candidates. This will promote your practice in a good way.

Time + effort + the right tools = Recruitment of the Right Staff

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The Author

Bernadette Beach

Bernadette Beach is the Director of Indigo Medical Consulting Services; specialising in business solutions, recruitment/HR and healthcare marketing. Bernadette has worked with specialists, surgeons and other healthcare professionals for over 20 years providing business and marketing expertise.