As a medical practice, you want your team to be made up of more than just your average employees; you want the best for your patients and your bottom line. But the interview process doesn’t always lend itself to revealing the inner qualities that make up a stellar new hire on its own, which means you have to look deeper and ask the right questions to find those precious few above-average people who will help your practice grow. Here’s a few tips on hiring new employees to help you find the right fit.

Have Applicants Demonstrate Key Skills

During interviews, people can talk a big game about their experience and skills that don’t always translate to actual performance. To help better gauge their actual skill level and ability with tasks that will be key to their jobs, create mock scenarios in which they have to demonstrate them. A few key areas we commonly see practices struggle to find good talent are:

• Being competent and comfortable on the phone
• Being organized and taking accurate notes (for charting)
• Professional behavior and dress
• Punctual timing and respect for others’ time

Some of these can be determined immediately during an interview, such as when the candidate showed up and how prepared they were. Others you may need to develop questions to reveal their true skills.

Measure Enthusiasm

There are many, many people out there who will respond to job openings just because “a job is a job.” These are not the kind of people that will enhance your patients’ experiences or contribute positively to your team. Instead, you want enthusiastic, energetic, and passionate employees for several reasons. First, these people are more self-motivated and will require less “managing” from you or others. Second, they are more likely to stick around for a longer period of time compared to those who are just there to collect a paycheck. And finally, they will help the team work better together and feel more connected to the practice, fueling employee morale.

Test Humility and Generosity

You probably know or have experience with people who want to take all the credit for successes for themselves, while heaping blame on others when they fail. A true team player is the opposite, remaining humble in all circumstances and recognizing the team more than themselves. If you pay a candidate a compliment about something they’ve accomplished, they should be able to communicate in some sense that it was a team effort and accept the compliment with gratitude, not attitude.

Find the Right Fit

Sometimes, candidates for jobs are qualified and competent but just have a divisive or mismatched personalities. That’s why it’s important to keep your current team in mind – the overall mood, working style, and even inside humor that makes your practice unique. Placing a “bad apple” amidst your team can disrupt more than the office vibes, but also morale, and can even lead to people looking for work elsewhere to avoid the toxic personality. On the contrary, finding a good fit makes the transition easier for everyone and helps new hires feel welcome and engaged.

Medical Marketing By DLM

We share tips like these with you because we’re passionate about helping medical practices do what they do best. What we do best is medical marketing, helping your team stay focused on patient care while growing your leads and conversions to help your business continue to grow and hire more rockstar team members. To learn more about our full-service marketing platform, DLM Insight, don’t hesitate to call our marketing specialists or contact us online today.