New Hire Warning Signs
I previously wrote a Pro Tip about not allowing employees to overstay their welcome (referring to “golf carts that came with the house” – if you don’t know what that means go back and give it a read or listen to the webinar recording from last week “Pro Tip Favorites”).
Today, I’m writing about the opposite, new hire warning signs, and boy have my practices been experiencing these lately!
The initial hiring and training process is a gamble. You invest time and money into searching, interviewing, narrowing down and then training an employee. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. But how do you know if that’s going to happen?
Although there is no surefire way to predict the fate of a new employee, you can certainly watch for early warning signs and use them as your crystal ball.
Here are a few:
1. Over the top emergencies (involving the staff member and/or a family member). These will only continue.
2. Medical issues from day one (if your new employee starts on Monday morning and leaves early on Monday afternoon because of “cramps” and calls in sick on Tuesday, this is a good indicator of their future track record).
3. Car trouble. If they are late or don’t show up because of car trouble in the early weeks of employment, trust that this will always be an issue or excuse.
4. General lack of attention or interest in training. Not taking notes, not asking questions, not engaging with patients or other staff members, etc. They aren’t going to last.
5. Too many bathroom breaks with their phone. This one is pretty self explanatory.
There are lots more, but you get the idea. If something seems even the slightest bit “off,” trust your gut. You are probably right.
Remember, hire slowly, fire quickly. The initial 90 days of employment are probationary. Use this to your advantage and make good decisions based on the health of your practice.
