UO Magazine > Six Secrets to Hiring Great Employees

“It ends up being a win-win,” Crutchfield says. “Nurses get a lecture on what they need to know about dermatology at one of the nicest restaurants around. I get to do a mini-commercial for my practice that usually results in us hiring a nurse or two every year. It works out great.”

Baum also has his own recruiting corps—they’re called pharmaceutical reps. When he is looking to make a hire, Baum’s staff informs pharmaceutical reps to get the word out at other offices they are visiting.

“The reps love this office and know that people who work here have a good time and are well paid,” Baum says. “They are a terrific resource that I have used several times. The last receptionist we found was working in a high-pressure office and couldn’t handle the stress. We found her through a pharmaceutical rep, and she’s been a good fit here.”

Contacts who might know a potential candidate are everywhere. When you’re looking to add someone to your staff, tell everyone you know: fellow doctors, nurses, friends, and neighbors. If you are new to an area, join the local chamber of commerce or business or service clubs.

Even patients can be a potential resource. Many offices simply put a help wanted sign in the waiting area. Crutchfield places a small, tasteful ad in the newsletter that he sends to patients, who may either apply themselves or refer other people.

Carmon, the recruiter from Cleveland, says a potentially effective approach is to send a survey to patients asking for their views on the service and care they receive at your office. In the same questionnaire you can ask them if they know anyone interested in pursuing a career with your practice.

“That way you’re getting valuable feedback about your office and also letting people know you are looking to grow and looking for great people,” he says. “When asked, people generally feel good about recommending someone they know who might be a good employee.”

5. Produce a profile

What are the common traits and background experiences of your best employees?

Being able to answer that question can lead to making good hires in the future. Carmon recommends developing a profile of your ideal employee. The key is to develop a bio-data profile that identifies the traits, attitude, and life experiences of employees that thrive in your practice. Establishing the profile can provide some good guidelines when it’s time to hire. The idea isn’t to design the perfect person as if you were ordering from a catalog, but merely to have put some thought into the characteristics typical of your best employees.

“What you’re trying to do is look at everything a person has done to this point in their life—sports, music, activities,” Carmon says. “Research has shown that past behavior is a very good indicator of future behavior.”

For example, Carmon helped develop a bio-data profile for a tree service company that had high turnover. The profile revealed most successful hires for the firm were those people who, among other things, had participated in outdoor team sports in high school or who had military backgrounds. After learning that information, the company refocused its hiring efforts and retention rates increased significantly, Carmon says.

It’s a good idea to contract a consulting firm to help develop the profile as few—if any—physicians or office managers have the time or training to determine what hobbies or past experiences correlate with the personality characteristics you’ve determined are essential to your employees. One place to start, however, is a survey of your current employees about their interests, experiences, and accomplishments.

“Let your employees know why you’re doing this so everyone clearly knows why you’re collecting this information,” Carmon says. “Let them know they can successfully impact your practice. The information will be used as a tool to help grow with the best possible people.”

Finding employees that are compatible with your practice is essential because of the high cost of turnover. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that the cost of replacing an employee is estimated at one-third of her annual salary. For hard-to-fill specialties, that cost can be even higher.

6. Bump up benefits

Crutchfield freely admits that if he ditched his flexible hours benefit “some of my staff would probably start quitting on me.”

Crutchfield offers employees the option of working four 10-hour days each week. He also allows them to take one unpaid afternoon off each week to run errands or simply have time away from the office.

“They absolutely love it,” Crutchfield says. “You’re always going to have some turnover, but this is part of keeping my employees happy. We pay them in the 75th percentile of the community standard and offer a bang-up perks package. We offer good health and dental, yearly bonuses, and yearly outings. All those little pieces go into the puzzle of retention.”

Indeed, studies on workplace satisfaction have consistently shown that money ranks about fifth or sixth among the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction. Low stress levels and recognition for a job well done, and benefits such as flex-time and fully paid health care often rank high. New research from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that jobs in which workers care for, teach, or protect others are the most satisfying.

Forman, the CEO of AIRS training and consulting in Vermont, adds that doctors should not underestimate the power of getting people fully engaged with the running of their practices. Forman advocates keeping staff in the loop about the realities of the health-care business so they fully understand the challenges a physician faces running a modern-day practice.

“Figuring out a way to see an extra two patients a day could be the difference between a bonus at the end of the year and no bonus,” Forman says. “A lot of job satisfaction is getting employees involved in creating the day-to-day work environment. It sounds like common sense, but often doctors or those running a small business won’t give employees ownership of that. Nothing ticks off a staff more than a screwed up procedure when they know how to get things done.” g

Free-lance writer Scott Westcott writes frequently for national magazines.