Here’s what you need to know: It’s REALLY expensive! The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that the cost of a bad hire can be upwards of FIVE TIMES annual salary. And the longer a bad hire stays, the more expensive he or she becomes. Further, according to the Harvard Business Review, 80 percent of employee turnover is due to bad hiring. So what can you do?
Human Capital Strategy
When I consult with clients and teach my courses around the world, I always discuss the importance of having a human capital strategy. Think about it this way: Great companies have great cultures. You can’t have a great company culture without having “the right people on the bus” (see Good to Great author Jim Collins’ website – www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/first-who.html). So what should be your strategy to acquire the right people? Here are the steps:
Step 1: Signed Employee Policies and Procedures (P&P). You have a well-written P&P manual that each new employee reads and signs. This sets the stage for general expectations about working in your practice.
Step 2: Signed Job Descriptions. You have clearly defined job tasks that the new employee will need to master and execute. The more quantifiable the description is, the better. For example, for your front desk CA, you might have written: “Answer all phone calls by the third ring.” It’s measurable. Either the CA did it or didn’t do it.
Step 3: Job-Specific Competencies. Competencies define how the employee will behave. According to the University of New Hampshire, they are defined as “observable behaviors that encompass the knowledge, skills and personal characteristics that distinguish levels of performance in the work environment.”
Examples of competencies are “professionalism,” “quality” and “teamwork.”
Step 4: Signed Training Manuals/Checklists. Each job role needs to have a training manual and a checklist that the employee and the manager sign off on, confirming the employee has been fully trained in that role.
Step 5: Performance Discussions /Evaluations. Each new hire should have a 90-day review and at least a yearly performance review. It is critically important that for each review, both the employee and the manager rate performance. It’s also critically important to create development goals for any area where the employee is not performing up to standards. As with any goal, they must be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.
Step 6: Employee Engagement Surveys. We survey our patients to see how we are performing as doctors/staff; why would you not want to survey your employees to see how you are doing as their leader/manager? There are lots of surveys out there, but I highly recommend the Q12, developed by the Gallup organization (https://q12.gallup.com/Public/en-us/Features).
Be Clear Who You Are So You Know Who Aligns With You
Now that you’ve built the basic infrastructure (there is SO much more to this, but for now, this is a good start) for your new hires, it comes down to increasing the likelihood that you make good hiring decisions. How do you do that? First and foremost, you need to have a clearly defined vision statement, mission statement and core values statement. Why? Because great employees, who stay for long periods, stay because they align with the organization’s vision, mission and values. If your behavior as a leader aligns with your words on these statements, and you hire people who also align and behave in a way that fulfills those statements, your likelihood of hiring success is greatly improved. If you don’t have a clearly defined vision, mission and values statement, you can take this FREE webinar, sponsored by ChiroHealthUSA and the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) to help guide you through the steps to building ones that are right for you (https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1031866).
Hire for Values, Not Just Skills
For years, I hired doctors and staff based on their skill sets. If they had multiple certifications and degrees, or lots of experience, I was enamored. Not anymore. Just because someone looks great on a résumé or CV doesn’t mean he or she aligns with who I am, and with my company’s values. Therefore, the vast majority of the questions that I use to interview are behavior/values based. As an example:
The old way = skills based: “Tell me about how you would take care of someone with low-back pain.”
The new way = values based: “A patient self-discharges. What do you do, and why?”
There are countless examples, but you can see my point. Skills are great, but values are critical. Design key questions in the interview process around values and how they behave. Ask them to give examples, not tell you what they would do. Last, when interviewing, do group interviews for the first round. It is a great way to save time, see how others interact in a competitive environment (i.e., you see how they live their values as opposed to just talking about them) and helps you weed out the wrong candidates quickly.
Technology can help to accelerate an already good process. In our practice, we use Hireology to manage all of our recruiting (www.hireology.com). Hireology is an easy-to-use software platform that will help you manage the entire hiring process and help you select the right people for your open positions – which is crucial! It’s inexpensive, and it creates great efficiency in the recruiting and hiring processes. Hireology has agreed to give all ACA members a 10-percent discount. If you’re interested, go to this link:http://resources.hireology.com/american-chiropractic-association-schedule-demo, and you will be introduced to the technology and be provided the discount.Final Thoughts
There’s a very old but very true saying: “People don’t leave companies; they leave managers.” If you have a turnover issue, it’s time to look in the mirror, make some changes and create an environment where people want to stay and grow. Two key books I recommend to my clients regarding talent management: The Culture Blueprint by Robert Richman (www.robertrichman.com/) and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni (www.amazon.com/The-Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-ebook/dp/B006960LQW/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1). If you’re leading people, these resources will greatly enlighten you!
Keep the feedback coming at drjay@kaizenovate. com. You can also join our new Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/groups/155639504617991/. Good luck!
