As the CEO of your company, you are ultimately responsible for every staff member that you hire and their success in your optometric practice.

Starting the application process and finding the right staff can be frustrating and lead to bad hires. A bad hire is not only very costly financially but can kill staff morale in creating a successful team the patients return to your office for.

There are three steps in hiring the right person. The first step tends to be the one that is the most time consuming in trying to find a couple great applicants in a sea of jobseekers.

3 steps to a great hire

  1. Online screening (first round) – once your classified has been placed in your local paper and online with a company like Career Builders, applicants will follow your request to apply for a job. Your first request should send them to your website that has a short online application. Finding a few great applicants in a sea of job seekers is time consuming, but it is the important first step in finding the next staff member who will be a good fit. Requiring people to type information directly into your application will give you a good idea if they have the office skills you are looking for.
  2. In office (second round)- The second round is best done by a staff member and an associate doctor. If you do not have an associate, begin the second round with a staff member and/or a doctor. This interview should center on why the applicant applied for the position and what would make him or her a good fit. I would not recommend more than five or six questions. The best applicants proceed to the third round.
  3. In office with owner (third round) – usually no more than three applicants make it to this final and third round. The owning doctor and/or office manager are conducting these interviews. The focus is on the character and chemistry of the applicant, and at this point compensation will be discussed. Deciding who will be the best fit has a lot to do with the current culture of your team and how the applicants fit into that culture. Character and chemistry still remain your top hiring priorities.

Hiring great staff who will be loyal and stay with you for many years is becoming more and more difficult. These days if people become a bit disillusioned with their positions they often feel free to quickly seek new opportunities elsewhere. That’s why it’s essential that owners of optometry practices improve their systems and efficiencies in hiring great staff.