“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. She was so great in her interview, but here we are again. I have to spend money on another want ad.” This is a familiar situation for many independent practices, and the result is a drain on productivity and finances. So, let’s review three common hiring mistakes that set your newbie up for failure:
1. Interview and Hire. You schedule interviews and ask the same questions to discover if candidates are a good fit. You get similar rehearsed responses to draw a conclusion from. Then a decision is typically made … and that’s it. They’re hired. You have high hopes the first few days and overlook any red flags during “training” because they’re already hired. You press on … only to repeat the process again a few months later.
I encourage our members to go one step further. Ask top candidates for a working interview. Have them work an entire day with the team to provide enough opportunities for their character to shine. Pay them a healthy one-day rate. Make sure they know this rate is not reflective of their wage but an incentive to work with the team. Scan the QR Code for a deep dive into what this day should look like.
Now, many owners squirm at paying $150 to $200 for a full-day working interview. To those I say, this is the best money you will spend. Being able to identify a catastrophe before you hire them is a gift.
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2. Shadow and Learn. The day-to-day in the optical industry is extraordinarily dynamic! Many give their new hires a quick tour, run down the particulars, then have the new hire shadow them. “That’s the way I learned. So that’s the way we teach. Shadowing is the best way to train on patient care.”
Wrong.
Not only is shadowing a poor training model in any industry, optical is much too dynamic for it to be successful. It is better to have a structured training plan. There’s a downloadable training outline in the video, just scan the QR code.
3. Sink or Swim. Independent opticals hire because they are down a person or have grown to need an additional person. Either way, the existing team is under pressure. Once hired, someone on the team has to step away from regular duties to train … putting additional stress on the team. Eventually that forces the trainer back into patient care, leaving the newbie to figure it out. This sink or swim style is where mistakes become magnified … leading to a further decrease in sales. You’re fully staffed but not everyone is pulling their weight and profitability drops.
A great solution is to schedule weekly check-ins with the new hire. For example, every Friday morning before patient care. This is a great time to:
- review what was learned and observed this week
- preview the next items to cover in the training plan
- let the newbie share where they are struggling. Scheduled one-on-one time has proven to be invaluable in the success and longevity of new hires.
A revolving door is a recurring monumental cost to practices. The offices that invest in the selection process to hire correctly, implement a training plan, and set weekly check-ins create a foundation for optimal success for new hires.
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