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Ten Steps to Hire Slow— And Achieve Success Fast by Jen Butler, MEd

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Orthodontics is not something that should be done alone. Whether you have a staff of one or many, their role in your business can determine success or struggle. Often the pressure and stress of hiring the right person is so intense that you quickly put an end to your pain by hiring the first person who doesn't look criminal. This is not the way to approach a key element of your business.

Hiring is made easy when you know what steps to follow. Here are the 10 steps to hiring slow so you can achieve success fast.

Step 1: Know what you want
This first step requires you to answer the ultimate question, "What do I want?" You have to know what you are creating in business before you can ask others to join you in creating it. Your response might be related to money (I want to bring home $750,000 each year), legacy (I want my ortho to be the catalyst for change in this community), simplicity (I want a practice that makes me enough money to live on so I don't have to be stressed financially), or ethereal (I want to create smiles for people so they can live their best life).

It doesn't matter how you answer the question, "What do I want?" The point is that you answer.

Step 2: Know the job
Now that you know what you want from your business, you can create a position that will support you in getting there. This is where many orthodontists go wrong. They think in terms of traditional and conventional positions (assistant, receptionist, office manager) and download generic descriptions or take them from colleagues … which ultimately gives them generic people in those positions. Patchworking a team together gets you results that equal the efforts. Instead, know the job you are hiring for. Create a specific job description in the following format.
  • Title: Succinctly describe the primary outcome for the position.
  • Business Impact (also known as a summary): What is the overall impact you anticipate this position will have on the business?
  • Duties: State what tasks the person in this position will do and the details of successful completion.
  • Responsibilities: Describe what the person in this position will oversee, manage, lead, and be accountable for.
  • Competencies: List the inherent traits, characteristics, knowledge, and skills necessary for a person to succeed in this position.
Step 3: Ask the right questions
    Before you post a job in public or advertise a position within your community, be prepared for the interview process. To make sure you are asking the right questions, follow this process:
  1. Make a comprehensive list of all the questions you want to ask your candidates. Don't worry about filtering or making them HR-appropriate at this point. Just keep writing.
  2. Post your list for the rest of the team to see. Encourage them to continue the list. Your team sees each position from a different perspective and it's important to capture their ideas.
  3. The right questions are ones that get candidates talking and sharing. They start with, "Tell me about a time … " "Describe for me … " and "Share with me … ." Rewrite your list of questions into this format as much as you can. Also look for ways to combine questions to inspire a deeper response.
  4. Review each question again and make sure all are written in professional format and follow HR and state guidelines. If you're unsure, go to your state's labor website and search for guidelines.
  5. Now take all of your questions and divide them into the different phases of your hiring process.
Step 4: Job posting
The job posting is your first step in finding the right team member for you. The more generic you make the description, the more unqualified and inexperienced candidates you will receive. Take the job description you created in Step 2 and use that as your posting, either in its entirety or, at a minimum, include portions of the duties and responsibilities listed. Also be sure to include requirements in the posting. Requirements are just that—things that are non-negotiable when it comes to the position. Depending on your current situation and needs, you can be lenient or strict in your requirements.

Step 5: Screen résumés
Another step some orthodontists overlook is properly screening résumés. This step is imperative because your time and your team's time is far too valuable to be wasted interviewing candidates who do not meet the position's requirements. Using the job posting (Step 4) when screening résumés helps you keep those that meet requirements and file those that don't. As mentioned in Step 4, your needs and current situation may change and so may your requirements. Filing any résumés you receive to build a future group of candidates is important. Call all candidates who meet your requirements, and set up a 15-minute phone interview.

Step 6: Phone interviews
To have a proper phone interview, all candidates must have a copy of the complete job description at least 24 hours in advance. Email it to them along with a link to your website (so they can get familiar with your public reputation) and an invitation to connect with any of your professional social media pages.
    Use the phone interview to confirm all requirements of the job. These are usually closed-ended, direct questions for the purpose of making sure the information is correct. Then ask the following:
  • "Describe things about the job description that interest you." You only want to hire someone really interested in your job, not just any job.
  • "What about the job do you see complementing your talents?" Having someone confident in his or her skills, talents, and competencies indicates how quickly this person can ramp up once on-board.
  • Ask a filter question. Filter questions will separate the ones who will move forward from the ones you keep in mind for a later time. These questions are unique to you, the position, and the business.
Step 7: First interviews
First interviews are a critical step in the interview process. It's the only time you both will get a full, first impression of each other. As an employer, you want your first impression to set the tone for what the candidate can expect if he or she is selected. If you have a fun, energetic, laid-back team, create that feel during the interview. If you rely heavily on processes and systems and want someone who will enjoy that work environment, convey that throughout the interview. Missteps in hiring happen when you, the team, and/or the environment are presented during the interview in a way that is completely different from how things are during normal work situations.
    Other tips:
  • Allow an hour for each interview.
  • Leave at least 30 minutes in between interviews.
  • Don't interview more than one person in the same day.
  • Provide each candidate an agenda of the interview: times, location, everyone who will be present, what to bring, etc. Set the candidate up for success.
Step 8: Doctor interviews
If you have an office manager or team member to conduct first interviews, ask them to send the two best candidates on to you for second interviews.

Step 9: Clinical interviews
With the top one or two candidates, conduct a clinical portion of the interview process. This could include, but not be limited to: taking X-rays or impressions, adjusting wires, fixing brackets, flipping rooms, and sanitizing equipment. This interview will vary depending on the focus of the position and legal boundaries of your state board. Make sure you have candidates work on staff, family, yourself, or patient volunteers. It's best not to introduce candidates to regular patients.

Tip: Refrain from calling this a working interview as you may have to pay applicants for their time and unemployment if you select someone else. Check your state Department of Labor for guidelines.

Step 10: Job offers
The importance of an official job offer is to provide all financial terms, benefits, hours, and title to the selected candidate. This is a right each employee deserves before accepting the position. This also benefits you, the employer, so there is complete transparency around the terms of employment from which you can build expectations.

For more information on Hire Slow to Succeed Fast, go to www.JenButlerInc.com and download the free report.


Jen Butler, MEd, has been working in the area of stress management and business consulting for more than 20 years. She speaks, writes, coaches, trains and consults. Learn how to stressLESS—go to www.JenButlerInc.com, take a stressLESS Intensive course, and connect with other like-minded dental professionals by joining a stressLESS Mastermind Alliance today.
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