Summer in Aspen? It might even better than winter in Aspen!

Earlier last month, a friend invited me to check out the Westin in Snowmass as a location for health and wellness retreats. Since I love Aspen, I couldn’t resist. Plus, one of my favorite bands was playing that weekend at an outdoor festival right down the street from the hotel. (Score!)

The venue offered the perfect weekend getaway for a health addict like me: hiking, biking, yoga, an outdoor music festival, and (for my inner-paleontologist geek side) they even offered a pre-historic mammoth archaeological dig.

The hotel itself was first class, nestled on the mountainside with easy access to shopping, dining, breathtaking views, and five-star service. And the big bonus is that it’s very affordable this time of year (compared to the peak of ski season). I spent some time chatting with the sales and marketing director of the hotel, Jon Walters, and in the course of our conversation, I discovered that hiring great staff is a challenge no matter what business you’re in. So, being the bossy business consultant that I am, I couldn’t resist sharing my best interviewing strategies with him. How ironic… seeing as this is the topic of this month’s featured article.

Today, I’m going to share a few tips and tricks on how you can use the interview process to identify the candidates that have dream team qualities and long-term potential.

Frequently, the key to creating a dynamic (and functional) office staff is finding the right person for the right job. This article will focus on the interviewing process and answer some of my clients’ frequently asked questions:

• How many interviews should I have?
• What type of interviews should I conduct? (Group or individual).
• Who should do the interviewing?
• Which personality tests should I use to help me make the right decision?

So, let’s get started.

Hiring and Interviewing Strategies to Create Your Dream Team

Part Two: The Interview Process

Group Interviews: Conducting group interviews is an efficient way to weed out the people who are just looking to collect a paycheck and are not really interested in getting on board with your mission.

Start your group interview by telling the group your philosophy. Relay your internal and external mission statements. (For a guide to creating your office’s internal Mission Statement, go here: “Building Your Dream Team”.) Sharing your philosophy with potential employees is especially important for integrative medical doctors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, etc.

Since our philosophy is typically not the mainstream in patient care, you want to let your potential hires know how your philosophy differs from a traditional medical office, and how your patient care differs as well. Invite the applicants who are enthusiastic after hearing your philosophy to stay for an individual interview. This strategy can save you time and give possible candidates the opportunity to excuse themselves if they feel that the position isn’t a fit for them.

An unexpected added bonus of the group interview process is that your potential hires may even turn into patients. When I managed my practice, I typically snagged at least one new patient (he he!) or got a few referrals from the attendees after conducting a round of group interviews.

Individual Interview: Once you’ve given the grumps permission to leave, conduct a brief individual interview with each candidate. If you have a lot of applicants, tag-team the interviews (split them up amongst management) and spend about a half hour with each of the candidates who’ve decided to stick it out. Develop a rating system (for example, a number system of 1, 2, 3). Then, meet up after the interview to discuss each candidate, their qualifications, and who you’d like to invite back for a second interview.

Second Interview: By the time most of us are ready to hire a new staff member, we’re chomping at the bit, ready to scoop up the first person that we “like”. We want to get this whole process over with… but the more we rush it, the less likely we are to find the stellar employee we’re looking for. Don’t be tempted to settle for just any warm body to fill the position. (Come on, I know you’ve done it…so have I! And we both know it isn’t worth it.) Don’t skip this crucial second interview; it’s better to be safe than sorry. Plus, you want to make sure you didn’t just meet Mr. Hyde on a particularly good day.

And don’t leave the rest to chance either…

Personality Tests: Take advantage of all that brain science has to offer by administering personality tests to help you hire the right person for the job. These tests are designed to help you to find out if your potential hire has the skillset and the personality type needed to excel in your open position.

There are two tests that I recommend that identify different attributes. Kolbe Personality Test looks at four areas they call “intrinsic abilities”. These are skills that are not learned; they are hardwired into our personalities. The four areas are: Fact Finding, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implement. This personality test will help you hire the employees that “fill in the gaps” so to speak. For example, if you’re looking for a stellar personal assistant, you will want to choose someone who has great follow thru skills, if that’s not your strong point. If you already have great follow thru, but have trouble getting projects off the ground, hiring a quick start will be your salvation.

The Color Code Personality Test identifies what motivates people in four areas:  Leadership, Service, Peacekeeping and Fun. This test can really help you select the right person for the right job, so that you can assign people tasks that they not only enjoy doing, but that they will excel at. For example, you would never want to hire a “Peacekeeper” (white), to be in charge of asking your patients for money. Their highly non-confrontational style will pretty-much guarantee your collections will plummet as soon as they are in charge of asking your patients to cough up some cash. And if you are hiring someone to conduct your patient histories, you will do well to find someone with a high “Service” category score. Those with a high score in the blue category are characterized by a nurturing and caring personality. They are ideally suited to listen with empathy and compassion as your patients detail their symptoms, problems, and challenges. This is in sharp contrast to what might happen if a “red” personality were assigned to this task. Reds are notorious for their blunt communication style, and may well be tempted to tell your new patient to just “buck up and get over it”.

These tests are not entirely free, but they are cheaper than the cost of hiring the wrong person. Spending a little extra now will save you time, money, and a potential migraine later.

Good staff is hard to find. BUT if you use these tools you can find those diamonds in the rough, a.k.a. employees who will be key players on your dream team and help your practice prosper for years to come.