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Peer reviewed PracTice Building Critical Aspects of effective Hiring Karen E. Felsted, CPA, MS, DVM, CVPM N o matter what other issues we deal with in veterinary medicine���a changing economy, declining pet population, pet owners who believe everything they read on the internet���finding and keeping great employees remains critical to providing outstanding patient care and making the practice financially successful. effective hiring is the starting point. a practice can offer great pay, have highly skilled managers and a terrific training program, but if they don���t hire the right people, those things cannot overcome poor hiring decisions. THE HARDEST JOB about 10 years ago, an article in the Dallas Morning News quoted the ceO and president of a large craft store chain as saying, ���if the person came in and filled out the application, we basically hired them unless they were followed by a policeman.��� at least, in this respect, times haven���t changed much���most practice owners and managers don���t really like interviewing or making hiring decisions, and often don���t do it as well as they could or should. Hiring is difficult because the skills that determine whether a person will be successful in a job are hard to evaluate. Most people focus on determining the quality of an applicant���s technical skills, yet only 11% of employees fail because they lack the technical competence to perform the job. instead, people fail because they lack: ��� Coachability,26% ��� Emotionalintelligence,23% ��� Motivation,17% ��� Thetemperamentneededforthejob,15%.1 if the hiring process doesn���t focus on nontechnical competencies, it will fail. THE HIRING PROCESS in order to hire the right people, the practice hiring process must be systematic and disciplined. Key steps include: 70 Today���s Veterinary Practice November/December 2012 ��� Definetheskillsandtraits valued by the practice and needed for the job. ��� Determine the pay scale needed to attract the right people. ��� Conduct structured, in-depth interviews (telephone screens, in-person, working). ��� Verify outside information (references, degrees, licenses/certifications). ��� Makeacarefulhiringdecision based on the skills and traits needed for the job. 1. define Job Skills & Traits The first step in effective hiring is defining the technical and nontechnical competencies valued by the practice and needed for the specific position. Hiring managers tend to focus on knowledge, work experience, and technical skills for two reasons: 1. These competencies come to mind first when defining a job. 2.It���softeneasiertodetermineifacandidatehasthem(eg, demonstrating how to insert a catheter). However, it is more important to define the critical nontechnicalcompetenciesneeded. For example, if it���s a position that requires contact with clients, such as a receptionist, the candidate must have a friendly and sympathetic manner and the ability to accurately gather data from clients and communicate recommendations and other information.