The Interviews – The Essential Culminating Key to a Successful Hire

In pursuing our pervasive goal to Minimize Turnover, we are discussing the “Best Hiring Process” that we developed in our 30+ years of having an orthodontic practice. So far, we have covered the essential step of Advanced Preparation (see “Advanced Preparation – One of the Keys to a Successful Hire”). Then last week, we described how to best Design the Ad (see “Design Your Best Ad – The Next Critical Key to a Successful Hire”).

But all this effort can be wasted if the Interviews are not done correctly. Please take a couple minutes to look over the steps below to ensure you have a positive interview process that leads to a successful hire.

The Interviews:

1. Observe each applicant – do they talk/walk/respond slower or faster? This quickly verifies their DISC Styles. Give each top applicant the DISC Assessment –  I have these available on my website: www.idealpersonidealplace.com/Resources
2. Compare the applicants’ results with the Best Style Combination for the job needed – I discuss this in the Advanced Preparation blogpost
3. Give each applicant any other pertinent tests – spelling check, math problems, dexterity test – depending on the functions they will need to do
4. Have your current staff take each top candidate out to lunch without the doctor to get their feedback – the office pays, of course
5. Call the references for each top candidate and ask if they would hire this person again (after having a short but nice conversation)
6. Offer the job to the applicant who comes closest to the Best Combination, has the staff’s affirmation and a positive response from references

Remember to be careful of what you ask and how you ask it… but one of my husband’s favorite questions that he always asked near the end of the interview was, “Is there anything else that you would like to share with me about yourself that you haven’t had the opportunity to talk about yet?” Then be quiet and let them talk. They will often share what is most important to them.

It is exciting to meet the people who have best qualified for the job we need, then walk them through the Interview Process. I hope these steps and suggestions will make it a pleasant and positive experience for you and your staff.

Next Week, we will talk about “Hiring Pitfalls to Avoid”.

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QUESTION: Have you worked out your best Interview Process? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.