Consider rolling recruitment for key jobs [practice management tip: human resources]
Do you find yourself reluctant to discipline difficult employees because they’ll be hard to replace if they quit? Is that same fear causing you to retain employees who’ve failed to improve, despite being counseled again and again?When the consequences of poor performance never materialize, underperforming employees will soon perceive they’ re exempt from the standards you’ve set for everyone else. Even worse, your better employees will have to pick up the slack and tolerate negative energy from complainers – increasing the risk you’ll lose the people you value most. Many practices feel squeezed for talent in their local markets. It’s understandable to be concerned about a key job staying unfilled for too long – but, still, keeping underperforming employees can harm your practice much more. Instead of going soft on performance problems, consider amending your hiring practices. For example, a little redundancy in your medical assistant ranks (e.g., maintaining one or two “extra” floaters) ensures coverage when someone’s out sick – or ends up leaving the practice. Those additional hands can also tackle valuable ad hoc tasks that might otherwise get skipped, such as recalls that serve patients better and generate additional revenues. A rolling system of recruiting can also ensure you don’t miss a chance to hire talented new grads. Establish recruitment relationships with local training colleges and med schools, and maintain key job postings for year round. (Be sure to use screening questions on recruitment sites and filters in your email software to help manage the applicant flow.) Even if you don’t need help immediately, being aware of available talent will allow you to hire opportunistically if someone exceptional becomes available. It will also provide a clearer picture of the current talent pool, so you don’t feel compelled to hold on to employees who aren’t measuring up.
