Zoe Close, Area Sales Manager from Practice Plan, shares four simple ways to improve your recruitment process.
Running a successful and thriving practice is a team effort. You need to have the right mix of skills, expertise and personalities to keep things running smoothly and ensure patients are satisfied. When you are looking for a new person to join your practice, it’s important that you have processes in place that will support you to find someone who is the perfect fit for you, your business and your existing team.
Before you even interview a candidate, you need to have steps in place that ensure you are only seeing people who have the potential to help you achieve your business goals – rather than just solve your short-term vacancy concerns.
Below are a few simple things you can do before the interview that will allow you to delve deeper into candidates’ skills, experience and knowledge – giving you confidence that they will become a valuable member of the team…
“You need to have steps in place that ensure you are only seeing people who have the potential to help you achieve your business goals”
Create a bespoke application form
After receiving and reviewing CVs from prospective employees, lots of people jump straight to the interview. However, I believe there should be another stage in-between to help you narrow down the pool even further. CVs are often very generic, so once you have shortlisted them to those candidates who are already starting to sound like they match your practice’s vision, it is worthwhile asking them to fill out your own practice application form. This is something you can build to help you explore in more detail how that person can meet your specific needs or the particular requirements of that role. Only those who fit your business needs should then progress to interview.
Examine their employment history
Use your application form, and their CVs, to explore their previous employment; it’s worthwhile looking further back than their last role as it may not be reflective of their entire career experience. The more knowledge you have at interview, should they be lucky enough to reach that stage, the more you will be able to discuss and the better information you will gain about their knowledge and experience.
“The more knowledge you have at interview…the more you will be able to discuss and the better information you will gain about their knowledge and experience.”
Check CPD logs and qualifications
Before you interview someone, make sure you thoroughly review their certificates of qualification and CPD logs. Not only will this allow you to see if they have any specialist skills that you require and how up-to-date they are in their training, but you can also understand how actively they have undertaken courses since qualifying. If there are any gaps in this experience or knowledge you can then ask them about this at the interview.
Take a walk around the practice
Before you sit down and jump into questioning them, spend some time taking them on an informal walk around the practice. Not only will this help them to be more relaxed during the interview, but it will give you a real insight to their character. A few minutes spent walking around the practice, briefly meeting other members of staff, will give them the chance to respond to the environment and the people there. Ideally, you want the applicant to be enthusiastic and positive about what you are offering as a practice. Keeping it informal will mean they will be themselves, so you will see the ‘real them’ before they move into interview mode.
“Keeping it informal will mean they will be themselves, so you will see the ‘real them’ before they move into interview mode.”
Interviews take time, but by putting simple measures like these in place before it gets to that stage, you can make sure it is time well spent. Candidates who have been through this process will be those with the most potential to fit with your business plans, and become an active member of the team, helping to build a sustainable and successful practice in the long-term.
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