Understood rules of engagement among competing optometry practices lay the groundwork for professionalism and ethical business practices. For our purposes, I define competitors as any company within a 50-mile radius that practices optometry, opticianary, or ophthalmology and requires staffing with the same job skills.
When a person applies at your office, it’s important to know how he or she heard about the opening. Was it from an online ad, a friend, or one of your staff members? To establish and maintain good working relationships with practicing doctors, follow these rules for engaging a potential new hire.
- Do notify the applicant’s current employer – If you are planning to hire someone from a competitor, it is always good practice to let the other owner know. We have made phone calls to doctors in the area to let them know we are considering offering one of their employees a position at our office. We do this after visiting with the applicant first and letting him or her know our plans. In return, we have been extended the same respect which has allowed us to communicate better with staff members who are considering leaving and addressing any unseen issues.
- Do not let your staff solicit other offices – It is never OK for any of your staff members to call other offices and solicit applicants to work with them. This is not only unprofessional but unethical and should be stopped. Remember, employees who do this for you will work against you once they leave and go work somewhere else. It perpetuates the problem.
- Do use customary hiring methods – It is common and acceptable to use online methods of classified ads to introduce a position that has opened at your office. It is OK to post on Facebook that a position is now open.
The short-term temptation of filling the vacant spot can cloud our long-term vision of what the practice stands for. Never compromise your office’s integrity and excellence by soliciting from another office and justifying it by thinking the staff member will be happier with you. This is presumptuous. When you have the courtesy to communicate with other owners about potentially hiring their staff, you are paying it forward. It’s amazing what can happen when professionals work together as professionals.
