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Hiring Made Easy by Sandy Pardue

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by Sandy Pardue

The most successful practices have incredible teams. Your staff set the tone of the practice. They create the energy in the office and they affect everything in the environment including patient retention, referrals, collections and your happiness.

I often hear from practice owners that they aren't happy with a current team member and they need to hire a replacement. The hiring process is overwhelming and it's hard for them to confront, so they do nothing. Instead of replacing the person and moving forward, they put up with poor performance. Some are being held hostage in their own practice and many times a victim of practice sabotage, which adds a lot of stress.

When hiring a new team member, it is hard to know if you are hiring the right person to fit with the rest of team. Without a solid system for hiring, it could take years to find the right blend of personalities and talent for your practice. Hiring the wrong person and finding out a couple months down the road can be costly.

Once you decide to start the hiring process, do not rush to hire the first person who walks through the door. What should be the guiding light of your hiring process? It should be long-term thinking. Because hiring the first person who will accept your low-ball salary offer is likely a false economy, especially if the person is not effective on the job. Here are some tips to establish a successful hiring system.

Have an Accurate Job Description for the Position

Once you determine the need to hire a new employee and you know the position that you are hiring for, review the current job description before going any further. There may be something you would like to change about it and now is the best time. You want to have this job description ready to present when you are interviewing. Be clear on the position's duties ahead of time. Give prospective employees a full description of duties to avoid the perception that you're adding on jobs later.

Create an Ad for the Position

You must first have the mindset that you are trying to recruit a qualified person that will come on board and make your life easier. Instead of writing a traditional ad that tells prospective employees how you want them to be - energetic, bright, friendly - consider writing an ad in a way that you are promoting your practice to the applicants. Keep in mind that you are trying to draw interest and trying to get the best applicants to apply.

We have seen stellar results when including the annual salary range in the ad. Keep in mind that most folks you are hiring need a job to make money and this attracts them to your ad.

I recommend setting up a blind e-mail account that allows applicants to respond to your ad without additional traffic to your office e-mail account or fax machine. An additional benefit to the blind e-mail account is that you can keep the ad confidential.

Receive and Sort Through the Résumé

As you go through the résumés you will need to determine which applicants you will want to interview.

  • Read the customized cover letter. Look for a flawless presentation.
  • Scan over the résumé to get an overall impression of the applicant.
  • Review the most recent employers and experience.
  • Look for qualifications or licenses if required for the position.
  • Look for experience that matches the job.
  • Verify the education required for the position.

Be Aware of Résumé Red Flags

  • Gaps in work history
  • Previous employment
  • Decreasing responsibility
  • Short-term employment
  • Multiple shifts in career path

Contact the Applicants

  • Determine who you are interested in, review the résumés against your criteria and each other.
  • Sort the résumés - make a folder for the ones you want to contact and a folder for the ones you are not interested in. You are required to keep these for three years.
  • Call and invite the applicants for a group interview.

Hold a Group Interview vs. a Traditional Interview

Group interviews are a fast and effective way to expedite the hiring process. You can see all the available prospective applicants at the same time and should be able to get through the entire process within a couple hours.

Determine a day, time and location for the group interview. It is best done after hours due to the number of participants and parking issues.
  1. Begin contacting applicants and invite them to the interview providing all necessary information about when and where.
  2. Invite 20 applicants and approximately 14 will show up.
  3. As each candidate arrives, greet and ask them to sign in and include the time of arrival. They are then directed to the conference area of the office.
  4. Hand out the employment applications so they can begin filling them out.
  5. A practice representative should be appointed in advance to give a description of the practice, the doctor, staff and positions available to the group. This serves as a memory test. The presentation should last no longer than 10 minutes but should include specifics.
  6. After the presentation, the applicants are asked to turn over their application and write down everything they remember about the presentation that was given. This will give you an idea about their ability to listen, duplicate what was said, spell, compile paragraphs, etc.
  7. Consider planting a current employee in the group to take notice of the way the applicants interact with others, listening for negativity and complaining.
  8. As the applicants finish their write up, they will hand them in.
  9. The applications and write-ups are reviewed. Applicants who do not fit the criteria or failed to remember specifics from the presentation will be dismissed.
  10. Begin individual interviews with the best of the group and if you do any pre-employment testing, do it at this time. Questions you should ask to get the applicant talking include:
    • What are two reasons you think you would be good for this office?
    • If you could do anything career-wise, what would it be?
    • What did you like the most about your previous job?
    • What did you like least about your previous job?
    • What are your strengths?
    • What are your weaknesses?

Depending on the office position you're filling, you might order a criminal background and credit check. Always check credentials and licensing, as well as professional and personal references. You will need to get written approval from the applicant.

Send an e-mail or letter to the applicants not hired, thanking them for their interest.

Prepare for the New Employee

  • Notify the entire team that a new employee will be starting. Ask them to personally welcome her to the practice.
  • Prepare the workspace. Make sure it is stocked with supplies and all the necessary equipment is in working order.
  • Assign someone to take the new employee to lunch on the first day.
  • Prepare a plan for training.

The New Employee's First Day
  • Give her/him a tour of the practice, introduce all the staff.
  • Point out where to store personal items.
  • Familiarize him/her with the work area.
  • Start training.
  • Provide an employee handbook laying out expectations and basic guidelines.

Stay engaged! The best leaders stay in good communication with their employees. They take time to communicate and they are truly interested in them. Involve your team in creating a vision and goals for your practice. Lee Iacocca said, "Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss."

A solid hiring and training system will save you many headaches and a lot of money over the years. The best investment you can make in your future is to hire and retain the highest quality staff. To build a great practice, hire great people.

Sample Ad: Administrative Staff Needed
$35,000 - $38,000 Salary Range
Established orthodontic practice in need of an experienced scheduler. Excellent benefits, four-day work week, in a great location. Fax résumé to 555-6776 or e-mail 11223@internet.com.
Online Sources
for Placing Ads

www.craigslist.org
www.dentaljobs.com
www.dentalassistantjobs.com
www.orthotown.com


Author's Bio
Sandy Pardue is an internationally recognized lecturer, author and practice management consultant. She has assisted hundreds of doctors with practice expansion and staff development over the past 20 years. She is known for her comprehensive and interesting approach to dental office systems, and offers a refreshing point of view on how to become more efficient and productive in a dental practice. Sandy is director of consulting with Classic Practice Resources. She is also a consultant to leading dental companies for product evaluation and design. For more information, please e-mail sandy@classicpractice.com.
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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