Staff Management

Create a System to Build a High-Performing Staff

By Chad Fleming, OD, FAAO

April 22, 2015

SYNOPSIS

Build an efficient, high-performing staff by creating a system for recruiting, screening and interviewing potential new employees.

ACTION POINTS

USE ONLINE TOOLS. General job-finding sites can be coupled with eyecare industry-specific onesto find qualifiedcandidates.

USE SOFTWARE TO CREATE ONLINE FORMS. Software allows you to create custom forms for each open position.

CREATE TIERED INTERVIEW PROCESS. First in-person interview conducted by associates and/or support staff and the second and last conducted by practice owners.

Hiring reliable, high-performing employees is the first step to creating a profitable practice.The two owners, Jeff Yarrow, OD and myself, of Wichita Optometry PA, a five-doctor, 20 staff, two-location optometry practice in Wichita, Kan., have developed a structure for recruiting, screening and interviewing prospective employees. We combine new online tools and old fashioned interview techniques to build a team that serves our patients well. Custom application forms weed out non-specific applicants.

The key to hiring well is to create a system that is repeatable and efficient for staff and doctors. Many offices will improvise the “system” each time a new employee needs to be hired, and the inconsistency ends up creating more work for everyone, and many times does not result in the best person being hired. Here is how our system avoids that pitfall.

Online Hiring Tool Just for Eyecare Industry

Local Eye Site offers the ability to place job ads and search applicant profiles specific to the eyecare industry. This can be an alternative, or a complement, to the more generalized online employer tools available. —ROB Editors

Use New Online Tools for Ad Placement

We begin by placing an ad online in our local news publication, which includes an online job board CareerBuilders classified for 30 days. The CareerBuilders site is where we get the most traction and best responses. This costs the practice $200-$250 for the Sunday edition paper and online classified, along with the 30 days on CareerBuilders.

The best recent addition to the job ad has been the range of pay that the position offers. This has brought in higher-level talent because people are searching for a job that pays more. Everyone thinks they should be paid more for what they do, so throw them a range, and it peaks their interest. Some individuals who did not know they were interested in moving, consider moving because of the opportunity to get a higher hourly wage.

Use Custom Employment Form

Before we used iMatrix software, which allows us to custom-make forms for employment, we would request resumes with cover letters. We would have as little as100 applicants, and as high as 700. It takes little-to-no time for an applicant to send a pre-done resume and cover letter. Most online job search companies, like CareerBuilder, automate resume delivery to searching companies. That is annoying and very inefficient as it just fills your inbox with resumes to sift through. We have since added a custom employment form on our practice web site, and have directed all applicants to fill out a simple application. This is our first line of screening. The online application is specific, and we get those who are interested enough in the job to fill out an in-depth form. We then are able to quickly filter the applicants based on their responses.

The page on Dr. Fleming’s practice web site where applicants are sent from job ads to fill out employment forms. Dr. Fleming recommends a four-tier screening process that begins with the job ad, then moves to a phone conversation, and then includes two in-person interviews, the first with an associate doctor and/or support staff, and the second, and last, with the practice owners.

When we are not attempting to fill a specific position, we refer to the opening(s) as “Future Opportunities.” We make this page for non-specific future opportunities available when we are seeking, and even when we are not. This way a topnotch person with experience never gets missed because they can apply anytime. We have found and stayed in contact with topnotch potential employees because of doing this.

Create Structure for In-Person Interviews

The first in-person interview is done by the associate OD responsible for staff hiring and a senior staff member from the area of the office where the new hire will work. If the applicant lines up in character, competency and interpersonal chemistry, and the associate OD likes them, the applicant will be scheduled for a second interview with the owners, my partner, Jeff Yarrow, OD, and myself.

Have the Salary Conversation

The discussion about specific salary happens during the owner interview with the prospective employee. When Dr. Yarrow and I sit down to discuss the job opportunity, the question will come up of “what are you looking for in compensation to make a move to our practice?” This usually fishes out the candidate’s expectations. It can also reveal that the candidate is more interested in the money than in the content of the job.

We have made the mistake of hiring highly qualified individuals who come to work for us, but never “buy in” because they continue to have one foot in the job ads searching for more money. We look for individuals interested in making a long-term commitment, who understand our practice vision, and understand that with practice growth and success comes financial rewards and job satisfaction. We look for individuals who take this holistic approach to employment, and are not laser-focused on the hourly wage/benefit package.

The top end of salary for any position in our office is relative. Dr. Yarrow and I have published top-end per-hour rates, but there are times when those top ends are broken to prevent individuals from growing out of their position, and to give us the flexibility to keep someone who may be tempted to leave solely for higher pay.

Editor’s Note: For a detailed discussion of salary levels and compensation, see Key Metrics of Optometric Practice Performance (Staffing section, page 38).

Related ROB Articles

OD & Staff: Project a Unified Message

Train New Hires to Succeed

Fund Your Staff’s Continuing Education

Create Outline of Good Starter Questions

Here are some of the key questions we use to start the in-person conversation with applicants:

Why did you apply?

What is an optometrist?

Would you consider yourself detail-oriented? If so, why?

Why should we hire you?

What else should we know about you?

We recently added the question: “Is there anything that will keep you from performing your job on a daily basis?” We added this because recently two hires, who have since moved on, had psychological and health issues respectively, that caused them to continually ask to adjust their schedule.

Recognize Ineffective Questions–and Revise

Bad questions have a yes/no answer or are leading. Open-ended questions reveal more about an individual than close-ended ones. Close-ended questions are predictable (i.e. “Do you get along with others?” The answer will be YES). Instead request: “Give an example of a time when you had difficulty with another employee, and how you handled it.” This will reveal relational problem-solving skills. We don’t expect to have people who never have problems, but we want individuals who have the character to work through relational problems. If someone is relationally dysfunctional, then I will spend more of my time teaching them relational skills and less time working on their job expectations and how to be successful with patient care.

Editor’s Note: Have an attorney review the questions you intend to ask applicants to ensure you don’t violate hiring laws in your state.

Pay Attention to Non-Verbal Cues, Too

First impressions are huge when looking for the right fit based on interpersonal chemistry and character. Men and women should dress in suits, or in a business casual style. We have had interviews in which the individual showed up in “lounge wear” that I would expect someone to wear around their house on a day off.

Send Job Offer In Writing

We do not make the final job offer verbally. Dr. Yarrow and I discuss the details of the position, and what we will offer the candidate in salary, and then we send a formal job offer through e-mail with a one-page summary of the hourly wage, all benefits and the final package total compensation. We believe this helps the applicant to not just look at the hourly wage number, but the whole package. We break down the whole package to the per-hour equivalent.

Chad Fleming, OD, FAAO, is a partner with Wichita Optometry, P.A. in Wichita, Kan. To contact: optometryceo@gmail.com

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