{ the dental team } by Jodi Schafer, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Successful Hiring: Part I
I operate a small practice in a rural area. I have had little to no turnover, so I have very little experience hiring. When my office manager/receptionist/biller gave me notice of her departure, I was in a little bit of shock. She has given me about six months’ notice, so I want to make sure I hire the right person to replace her. I don’t know where to start to replace her; she has grown into this job over the years and has a great deal of knowledge between her ears that I would like to capture. What do I do?
H
iring an employee is possibly the most difficult, yet most important function in hu- man resources. A good hire
can make you very successful and a bad hire can be damaging and costly. So I’m going to split this article into two parts in order to thoroughly describe the hiring process and address your specific needs.
The key statement you made was, “she grew into this job over the years” which tells me it’s going to be very difficult to find someone who can replace her level of skill and institu- tional knowledge. To begin, you will need to identify the various aspects of the work/tasks she is performing. You can do this with your current employee or you can have her do it individually. Either way, you need to know exactly what the job(s) will entail so you can make an informed decision moving forward. You may find that the work your current employee does is so varied that you need to create three separate job descriptions—one for each role (receptionist, biller, office man- ager). You can always combine them later. The ADA website has sample job descriptions and an article about why job descriptions matter.¹,² The job description communicates to potential candidates what the job duties and position requirements are and begins the very important communication process with your future employee. Once complete, you
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now can write a job posting based upon the job description.
Job posting language should be ‘sales-y’ in nature. You want to sell your practice, your philosophy and this position to people who would be attracted to your environment. You need to grab their attention and highlight the positive aspects of working in your practice, which you won’t accomplish by simply post- ing the job description. The more time and effort you put in on the front end, the better your candidate pool will be to choose from.
Once you have your posting language nailed down, you need to get the word out. This should be done by all means available, ac- cepting quality candidates until the position is filled. Start by networking in your com- munity. Let people know you’re hiring. Tell the people at Rotary, your gym, golf club, etc. Put a sign in your office. Talk to your patients and current staff members. Ask them if they know of anyone they can recommend. Utilize online resources such as Indeed.com and LinkedIn.com. Don’t forget about your own website and social media channels. Post the job with local sources such as the Chamber of Commerce, your school system or your church. Try everything you can to build a good pool of applicants. If you find that you are having trouble attracting candidates who have everything you’re looking for, consider hiring for the more defined skill sets first.
Perhaps search for a receptionist and a part- time biller, with the possibility of developing one of them into the office manager.
Once the responses have started to roll in, identify your top 10 to 15 candidate resumes. When choosing your top candidates look for longevity in the job, education, experi- ence in dealing with people successfully and ability to handle multiple priorities. I like to look at candidates who have been success- ful in difficult jobs like waiting tables. Think of the skills a person has developed if they were successful in this job: customer service, attention to detail, ability to handle multiple priorities and ability to work with others. While prior experience in a medical or dental office can be very helpful, it is not always the top factor.
Next month I’ll walk you through the inter- viewing, background check and offer process. Until then, happy hunting. f
Jodi Schafer is owner/general partner of HRMS, LLC. To learn more visit hrmservices.biz.
