Every business goes through the stressful process of hiring – and building the dream team isn’t easy. However, picking the right candidate from the start can save you a lot of time and money.
Since each available occupation requires its own skill set, it’s important to find candidates with experience. For instance, the person you are looking for to help with collections will have to have experience collecting outstanding balances as well as speaking firmly and clearly over the phone. For those doing collections from MVA insurers in Ontario, experience working with HCAI, MVA adjusters and knowledge of the regulations would be a great asset.
There are number of details that go into dealing with insurance companies as opposed to collecting from private sector or other types of business-to-business collections. Things like Ontario Claim Forms, approval status of OCF-18 and OCF-23 as well as other factors may go into account when performing this type of work. A person with such experience can bring great value to your organization from day one.
The same goes for office administrators and billing personnel. The skill level required for these positions may also depend on what types of patients (Private, MVA, WSIB, Extended Health, OHIP) your facility works with and who pays for provided services.
In your selection process, you will want to pay close attention to the following points:
- Attract the right candidates. When posting a job ad, include the job description and the required set of skills. Do a lot of your patients speak languages other than English? Add those languages to the desired skills. Accommodating your patients will make them feel welcomed. Specify the compensation (as you know, competitive compensations attract more expert professionals) and whether the position is full or part time. Neither the hirers nor the job seekers want to waste their time on an interview for a position that doesn’t meet their needs. Clarifying that information right from the start will help attract the right applicants.
- Conduct a phone interview to pre-screen. Once the pool of candidates has been narrowed down to those who meet the minimum job-related requirements, consider a pre-screening – a good way to evaluate the job seeker’s phone etiquette (an essential skill for office admins, receptionists, and collections personnel) and to select candidates for the next phase. The 16 of the Best Job Interview Questions to Ask Candidates article posted on HubSpot will help you draft questions for phone interviews.
- Conduct an in-person interview. To let the candidates be themselves, make the interview fun. You can find some ideas for your questionnaire here. While determining the interviewee’s qualifications, don’t underestimate the importance of their motivation, coachability, and emotional intelligence. According to Leadership IQ CEO Mark Murphy, those are often overlooked. Be honest, give a realistic preview of the work environment in your practice. It will allow the applicant to determine whether they want to continue pursuing the position at your clinic. It can also prevent a dent in the revenue from re-hiring and re-training a new employee. If possible, introduce the candidates to your staff and follow up on their feedback. After all, office administrators work hand to hand.
- Make the final decision. To hire or not to hire – that is the question. The skillset may seem like the most important factor to detect whether the applicant is a good fit. Nevertheless, the skills could be improved, but personalities cannot. Hiring the wrong person can make it difficult for the rest of your team to function.
To help your new recruit (or team member) get up to speed, you will want to refer to our Universal Office knowledge base and training packages. To learn how your practice management can benefit from Universal Office, see One Practice, One Portal: How Managing in One Place Benefits the Entire Practice.
One of the most popular job posting sites today is Indeed.ca. We’ve used it in the past and we know that many of our customers find it effective. One of the properties of Indeed is that it pulls postings from other relevant sites, which broadens the search for those who are seeking as well as for employers providing the positions, and offers a large resume database. Best of all is that the basic account is free! Here’s a sample of a job posting for the Office Administrator position as a reference.
What difficulties do you face when looking for additions to your team? Share your techniques that have helped you find “the one” in the comments below.
