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Writer's pictureSunita Jordan

Tips on recruiting staff

We all know that recruiting the right person for the job is crucial to creating and maintaining a happy, efficient and successful team. However, in my experience as a consultant and manager, it is an aspect of HR that we often have the least amount of time for. Usually and obviously, this is because we need to recruit when there is a shortage of staff and it is very busy. We need to fill a gap, either in reception or in the surgery and so tend to race through the process just to get the team back to some stability. But, as we have all probably discovered to our detriment, we may often end up with the wrong person for the job either because the skills required are missing or the person doesn’t fit into the team. So, how should we ensure that we get this very important step right from the start?


First of all, it is important to have a good think about exactly who you need - is it a dental nurse who has experience in specialist treatments or do you require a general nurse who is an added pair of hands alongside more experienced nurses and can also help out in reception? This will help you to advertise your vacancy more clearly and specify experience if needed or allow for trainees to apply. If you need a receptionist, think about what you want from that post - if it is a front of house position, someone who is friendly and good with people may be better than someone who has experience of the dental industry. Some of the best receptionists I know have come from the hospitality industry rather than health sectors and training of dental terminology can always be given to an enthusiast and keen individual. Write down the job description and skills set you require, ensuring that these do not contain any issues relating to discrimination based on age, sex, race or other protected characteristics.


Draft your advertisement carefully, give as much detail and again, don’t say anything that may be seen as discriminatory. Consider where to place your advertisement - an ad in a dental publication is useful for recruiting clinical staff, but you may want to try local newspapers or community social media to attract a more diverse range of admin staff. Be careful of publications that reach a very large audience, such as Gumtree - trawling through hundreds of applications may be an added stress. Do you want CVs sent in or do you have a standard application form for people to fill in? The latter concentrates the information you are looking for but the CV option allows for individuality to show through in a candidate. You may wish to use a recruitment agency for the purpose, but check the fees charged for finding a successful candidate - often they are very high and the quality of candidates is not necessarily any better.


Once you have received the applications by the deadline, create an interview shortlist by using the skills set you created earlier. It is good practice as well as generally polite to write a short letter to those who have been unsuccessful. Have 2 people interviewing candidates if at all possible. This not only to assess the candidates but also to avoid claims of indirect discrimination.


Have a set list of questions that you ask each candidate, so that all are treated equally and keep answers and notes for each candidate. Consistency and transparency of this process is important - you never know when a candidate may claim that they weren’t given the job because they were being discriminated against and you may have to produce your questions, notes and skills set to prove otherwise.


Perhaps ask candidates to perform a certain task, such as typing out an email to an imaginary patient or take part in a role play with a patient. This will give you an idea of their spelling and grammar skills as well as general manners and courtesy - all essential in a customer orientated environment.


Whilst you want to create a good rapport and make candidates feel at ease, keep small talk confined to the weather and their journey. I have seen claims against employers who have just casually and innocently asked if people had children, so best to avoid anything that can potentially be misconstrued!


Ask candidates what they know about the practice - it is surprising how few have actually looked up the practice website so someone who has done their homework shows initiative. Ask open questions and give the person information about the role. Score each candidate out of 10 against your skills set checklist and spend time assessing the information. Call people in for a second interview if you need to. Once you have decided on the right person, make a conditional written offer based on satisfactory references and make sure you obtain them, a step too many people forget. A very bland reference can tell you as much as a glowing one.


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