Hiring Employees with the Right Fit by Debbie Best Hiring a quality employee can be one of the most difficult tasks an orthodontist faces. How do you get the right person to respond to your internet or classified ads? And once they respond how do you encourage them to actually walk through your door for an interview? When you find the perfect candidate whose skills, personality and qualifications match your needs and core values, what can you offer to entice them away from other potential employers? Explore outside of the box when searching for a new employee. Utilize your team to canvas your community, keeping their eyes and ears open in any contact they have with anyone in the business world. Banks, retail stores, and restaurants are an excellent potential employee source, many who offer training in customer service. Network with your colleagues and friends. If you have children in school, ask at the local school meetings or check with the school principal or secretary. Consider using an internet advertising agency instead of the newspaper classified ads. Many professionals are now utilizing the internet exclusively for employment opportunities. The website www.dentalworkers.com allows you to post an ad and search resumes by region, specialty and job description. The cost to place an ad through the internet is considerably less than an ad in the newspaper. Since potential employees e-mail their resume to you instead of calling the office, it cuts down on the interruptions an ad can cause to your daily schedule. If you typically would have potential employees respond by mail, it allows you to have immediate response to your ad via the internet. Before you place your ad, analyze the position and create a job description. Get input from your team as to the personality, skills and qualifications required to fulfill the requirements of the position. Develop a creative ad that highlights the responsibilities of the position with enticing words that describes what makes your office special and unique. WANTED: A MULTI-TALENTED TEAM PLAYER Our busy orthodontic office is searching for a fun, bright, energetic person with orthodontic or dental experience who enjoys a fast pace. We pride ourselves on quality patient care and are looking for a dynamic scheduling coordinator who can manage multiple tasks with a smile. We offer a challenging career opportunity in a team-oriented environment where employees are appreciated for their involvement and talent. When the potential employee comes to the office for an interview, have them fill out an application even if they have a resume. This allows us to evaluate how quickly they complete the form as well as determine the legibility of their handwriting and the accuracy of their spelling. Ask the interviewee open ended questions. How would they handle certain situations that might come up in the position they are interviewing for? What are their short range and long range goals? Have the job description available for them to review so they know exactly what the requirements of the position will be. Include other team members in the interview process, each person asking different questions. More than one individual's perspective is valuable when you are evaluating a potential new employee. Remember two heads are better than one. Consider using a personality assessment as well as skill testing to help you make your decision. In the orthodontic world, an outgoing, bubbly personality is typically one of the main characteristics we look for when it is time to hire a new employee. Remember we can train a new employee the skills to do a task, however we cannot change their personality. Treat potential employees as you would treat new patients; sell talented potential employees on your practice. What can you offer them that your competition cannot? Take what is unique about your practice and team and use them as "wow" factors. Remember to be honest, do not exaggerate or oversell. This is an opportunity for your team to step in and share some of the reasons they enjoy working in your office. If you have an album of testimonials written by your patients, it is a wonderful way to show the potential employee what you truly stand for. Always be on the lookout for potential employees, even if you currently do not need anyone. Quality candidates are few and far between and are seldom available when you need them. It is much easier to spend the time and energy required to hire the right person than to have to replace someone when they do not work out. The old saying that it is better to at least have a warm body in the office than to not have anyone at all just does not work in the orthodontic world. Run the office short-handed until you find the right individual for the position. Desperation hiring is tomorrow's headache.