y? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would How important are staff to your practice? That’s sort of a basic question, because everyone knows that without staff you can’t do your own job. But really, how important do we consider our staff? After all, they haven’t been to school as long as we have, they don’t know as much, they don’t make the money we do. Shouldn’t it be easy to replace them when we need to?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of under-rating the importance of staff to a practice; but it’s at least as bad to have the wrong staff in your practice. Who are the ‘wrong’ staff? Most of us would say those who don’t work hard, or take too many breaks, or don’t know what they’re doing, or who don’t take initiative. Now, these are serious defects, but the problem goes deeper – are we hiring staff who really complement the practice?

When you opened your practice you had an ideal in mind. Most likely it included doing the right thing with patients, providing top-notch care, having patients excited enough to tell others about what you were doing. Physicians have values they bring to their practice. The problem is, they don’t take the time at the front end to formalize those values, and they almost never seek to hire staff who share those same values.

So what happens? The staff who are hired don’t match the ideal the doc had in mind. They might be too brusque, or even unfriendly with patients. They might not get along with other staff, and become a constant source of irritation. They might get flustered when the practice gets busy, frustrating both patients and other staff. Maybe they just don’t match the level of neatness you wanted in staff dress.

But really, can you do anything about that? Sure you can. The answer has two parts: First, taking the time to identify and formalize your own values. What do you really want in your practice? Do you want patients to feel fussed over, or are you happier with more of a formal professionalism? If so, you will need to plan your office structure so that can happen. Would you trade some level of income for more time with your family? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would y

ce. Who are the ‘wrong’ staff? Most of us would say those who don’t work hard, or take too many breaks, or don’t know what they’re doing, or who don’t take initiative. Now, these are serious defects, but the problem goes deeper – are we hiring staff who really complement the practice?

When you opened your practice you had an ideal in mind. Most likely it included doing the right thing with patients, providing top-notch care, having patients excited enough to tell others about what you were doing. Physicians have values they bring to their practice. The problem is, they don’t take the time at the front end to formalize those values, and they almost never seek to hire staff who share those same values.

So what happens? The staff who are hired don’t match the ideal the doc had in mind. They might be too brusque, or even unfriendly with patients. They might not get along with other staff, and become a constant source of irritation. They might get flustered when the practice gets busy, frustrating both patients and other staff. Maybe they just don’t match the level of neatness you wanted in staff dress.

But really, can you do anything about that? Sure you can. The answer has two parts: First, taking the time to identify and formalize your own values. What do you really want in your practice? Do you want patients to feel fussed over, or are you happier with more of a formal professionalism? If so, you will need to plan your office structure so that can happen. Would you trade some level of income for more time with your family? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would

e values they bring to their practice. The problem is, they don’t take the time at the front end to formalize those values, and they almost never seek to hire staff who share those same values.

So what happens? The staff who are hired don’t match the ideal the doc had in mind. They might be too brusque, or even unfriendly with patients. They might not get along with other staff, and become a constant source of irritation. They might get flustered when the practice gets busy, frustrating both patients and other staff. Maybe they just don’t match the level of neatness you wanted in staff dress.

But really, can you do anything about that? Sure you can. The answer has two parts: First, taking the time to identify and formalize your own values. What do you really want in your practice? Do you want patients to feel fussed over, or are you happier with more of a formal professionalism? If so, you will need to plan your office structure so that can happen. Would you trade some level of income for more time with your family? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would

staff. Maybe they just don’t match the level of neatness you wanted in staff dress.

But really, can you do anything about that? Sure you can. The answer has two parts: First, taking the time to identify and formalize your own values. What do you really want in your practice? Do you want patients to feel fussed over, or are you happier with more of a formal professionalism? If so, you will need to plan your office structure so that can happen. Would you trade some level of income for more time with your family? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would

y? If so, you have to structure things for the practice to “run itself” to a certain extent AND find the people to do that. Second: For hiring people, translating those values into behavioral interviews is key. You have to build an interview that goes beyond the resume and surfaces underlying behaviors. Do you want staff who are neat and precise, or are you looking for those who are more laid back? How about colleagues – are you more concerned with the academic accomplishments of your fellow physicians, or would you trade that for someone who works hard and pulls his weight? Believe it or not, the bulk of time and money are spent hiring people with the right knowledge and skills – but the bulk of problems and firings are based on attitudes and behaviors.

CONCLUSION In summary, if you want your practice to move closer to your mind’s ideal, you have to take time to identify and formalize your values, AND you have to develop an interview process that surfaces a prospect’s behaviors.