EP 03: 30 Days to Better Talent:

Attracting Talent

How many times have you posted a job ad on the internet only to be flooded by junk? Attracting talent requires a disciplined approach that involves more than filtering resumes. In today’s podcast we’ll dive into the process of attracting a-level talent to your practice.

This is the third episode in the series titled 30 days to better talent and in this podcast we’re focused on: Attracting unbelievably talented people to your practice.

Today we will:

• Dive into a thought process on attracting talent to your practice.
• Discuss building an attractive place where talent wants to work.
• Any documents we discuss are available within our new donedesk system at donedesk.com.
• If you haven’t done so, join our facebook group Perfect Makes Practice to connect with us and other medical entrepreneurs.

Its no secret to drive higher level of performance that you must have the right people.

I mentioned before the dentist that said and I quote “I’d rather keep my mediocre talent than try to recruit new people”.

Are you an optimist and strive to have the best people or are you defeatist that sucks at getting the right talent and have given up?

Granted, the process of attracting talent is tough in market that’s crowded with potential opportunities. The problem is compounded if your only source of applicants are online sources. Fact is,  online job boards are absolutely great at flooding you with resumes..its incredibly easy for lonely job seekers to spam you and kill your inbox.

Evidence: Have you ever used an online job posting service and call on a good looking resume only to have the candidate say “Which company are you with? I sent out so many resumes”. As an entrepreneur that needs talent, this can be a frustrating call.

Where do you start the process of attracting talent?

[tweet_box design=”box_11″ float=”none”]Attractive practices attract A-level talent. Are you attractive?. [/tweet_box]

Let’s start here: Are you attractive? Do you have a practice where A level talent desires to work?

I’m not talking about tangibles here like benefits, salary, and the like…more on that in a minute

I’m talking about your business’ ability to deliver what A talent desires:

• Development
• Achievement
• Transparency
• Flexibility
• Trust
• and a fun working environment.

These are operational intangibles that are built into the culture of the practice and part of the employees experience.

Essential tangibles include:

• Clean and safe work environment
• Clear performance expectations and goals
• Competitive salary
• Health benefits
• Vacation & holidays
• Continuing education and development plans
• Involvement in variable compensation based on production goals
• Flexible work hours.

All of these are what most would consider essential to attracting A level talent. The list may change based on your location, available talent, or practice size.

As you consider your talent position, take a look at your business and gauge your level of attractiveness. There may be a few things to work on, polish, or revamp. Make a list and then start chipping away at the list to bring the practice in line with your goals.

Simple truth: A-level talent can work anywhere but they have to work somewhere. Why not at your practice?

Next, I want to talk about recruiting timelines. You can likely fill an open position within a week but are you taking the time to attract the best talent that fits your company?

Under normal circumstances, many practices are reactive in their recruiting approach. Meaning, you do not start the recruiting process until there is an opening.

Reactive recruiting is common since small practices don’t recruit new employees on an ongoing basis.

In a future podcast we’ll discuss continuously recruiting talent but for now, I want to get us on the same page with respect to recruiting timelines during the attraction phase of the recruiting process.

Sometimes the recruiting process takes an investment in time and, speaking from experience, you don’t want to rush into a hiring decision without a high level of discipline around your screening process.

If we just look at the attraction phase of the recruiting process, I’ve seen timelines of up to 60 days to identify an ideal candidate for the position. Be prepared to be patient and picky with who you select for your practice.

Sure, you may need to weigh the cost of having an open position vs filling the job. Making a rash hiring decision can ultimately cost you much more than having an open position.

Mentally budget enough time to complete a thorough search as you being the attraction phase of the recruiting process.

Important note here: Never settle on talent. If you are going to make the necessary investments to secure talent, and have high performance expectations, you should never settle on talent.

I hired a young lady a couple of years ago who was lights out skilled in one aspect of her job. Everybody loved her because she had extremely high skill in interpersonal relationships. However, and I kind of picked this up in the interview, she lacked organizational skills and the ability to prioritize work. For this marketing role, I really overlooked the potential negatives in favor of the positives and hired her despite the concerns in my gut.

Turns out, we ultimately had to separate ways because it was her behavioral weaknesses that we couldn’t live with. I was quick to hire, settled for an incomplete set of skills, and faced the consequences for it in terms of lost opportunity had I taken the time to find the right candidate with a complete skill set.

As you look toward your next hire, keep in mind the intangibles and tangibles that attract A-level talent. Also I want you to establish reasonable expectations for the hiring cycle so you can secure the best fitting candidate.

Looking ahead, Marketing your position begins with the calibration of your ideal talent, development of your job description.

From there, You’ll want to draft a job posting that accurately portrays a picture of your company, the job opening, and a picture of your ideal candidate. In future podcasts, we’ll break all of this down for you so you can have the best tools to attract the right talent to your practice.

We have an awesome series ahead that will further explore your development of the picture for your ideal candidate, selection and interviewing techniques, and best in class techniques for on-boarding your newly hired employee.

Hey if you feel that this series would be of benefit to your professional colleagues, please share this podcast series on your socials.

If you’re ready to start the process of improving your practice’s talent position, subscribe to this series for future updates. You can also subscribe to our podcast on Apple iTunes, Youtube, and Google Play.

Have something to say? Jump into our Facebook group Perfect Makes Practice and fire up the dialogue with our team and other medical entrepreneurs.

 

Cary Smith, CPHRM is the CEO and founder of Done Desk, Dentist Secure, and Dentist Secure Labs. His companies provide amazing solutions that manage risk to your people, practice, and patients.

Cary is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management from the American Hospital Association and the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.  His experience includes leadership roles in HR and recruiting for fortune 500 companies like Motorola, The Hartford, and CIGNA. Cary has trained thousands of medical professionals, provides keynote lectures to local and state dental societies, and works with medical entrepreneurs to address risk within the practice.

Need in-depth training? Two options:

• Join us for our 2018 Big Risk Conferences for 6 hours of CE in Risk Management practices. Schedules are forming now. Hit the pre-registration form below.
• Call our office to schedule in-office or group training events that engage, educate, and entertain.

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