Welcome to Navigating the Recruitment Process: A Comprehensive Guide.

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It's 3pm on a Friday afternoon, and one of your employees has just handed you their resignation! Your mind begins running through the weeks ahead and how you will fit this in amongst all the other things you must do in and out of the office.

Recruiting and hiring new employees for your practice can be challenging. We understand just how difficult it can be and the potential to face a limited pool of candidates, deal with the lack of time you may have to work on recruitment, the challenge you face to find candidates that match your needs and the worry of potentially having to compromise on particular attributes to fill a role ASAP. Despite the challenges, having a solid hiring strategy is crucial to your practice's success.

Before you head to your secret snack drawer for a dose of serotonin, take a breath and read on as we delve into the importance of taking a strategic approach to recruitment and provide insights and tips to help you navigate the process more confidently and efficiently.

One of the first items to address, is to evaluate your current team. Do you need to hire someone, or may this be an opportunity to offer an existing team member a promotion or more hours? Investigate if a team member can be cross-trained or if you only need a part-time or casual role now instead of a full-time position. You may have an advantage in creating a flexible position. Alternatively, you may be facing a situation where your team is begging you for help, and you and your team are burning out working at a high-level pace and have acknowledged that you and your team cannot keep this pace up. Once you have considered the above, decide what roles you are looking to recruit, if at all, you must prepare a job description. This will help you refine suitable candidates in your search and offer guidance to ask the right questions during your screening and interview process. A job description will also assist you in creating an attractive job listing targeted to your ideal candidates. This will also ensure candidates clearly understand the position's expectations and requirements.

Start with a clear and concise job title when creating your job description. The job title should accurately reflect the role and responsibilities of the position.

Provide an overview of the position: Start with a brief summary, including its primary responsibilities and duties.

List the qualifications and requirements: Specify the minimum qualifications for the role, such as education, experience, and any necessary certifications or licenses.

Include the responsibilities and duties: Clearly outline the responsibilities and expectations of the position, including any specific tasks or projects the employee will be responsible for.

Use action-oriented language: Use strong action verbs to describe the duties and responsibilities of the position, and avoid vague or ambiguous language.

Highlight any unique or desirable qualifications: If any desirable qualifications would make a candidate stand out, highlight them. Be specific about the work environment: Describe the work environment and culture and any perks or benefits of the role.

Proofread and edit: Ensure that the job description is free of errors, easy to read, and accurately reflects the requirements and expectations of the position.

Before posting your position, research salary ranges for this role in your area, congruent with the number of years of experience and education. Websites such as Alias Alberta , the government of Canada Job Bank and consulting with colleagues can offer insight into the current market before going into the selection process. You may also want to check out our blog on Unleashing The Power Of Creative Compensation Packages: Elevating Your Dental Team

Practice owners often find it challenging to find candidates. The pool of candidates ebbs and flows over the years and may be a natural occurrence for your industry. Be creative and think outside the typical boxes of posting on Indeed. Posting a job on Lindken offers many candidates the ability to search and communicate with potential candidates who may have yet to apply to your job post. Many colleges and associations have a job listing section on their websites. Be sure to connect with them, as many members will have subscribed to their governing body's newsletters or emails. Join Facebook groups relative to your industry and various roles in your practice. Many people still use Facebook to fill positions in their clinic, whether temporary or permanent.

Now you can prepare your post by taking essential points from your job description. Depending on the market, there may be an exponential amount of other postings. You will need to make yours stand out. Begin with an engaging creative sentence to capture your audience; we have seen ones from funny to diplomatic. As long as it remains professional, you can get a leg up on having your post viewed first before others, increasing your chances of someone applying.

Post your position on your selected sites/sources and monitor for applicants. When you encounter a candidate, you want to connect with, print their resume and conduct a screening call. During this call, you'll want to ensure the applicant matches the high-level details of the role, such as job title, primary responsibilities, hours, and summary of perks and benefits. This will also give you a sense of their personality and weed out less formidable applicants. You should ask questions such as "How long were you employed in your previous role?" or "How comfortable are you with a particular software?" Even though this may already be on the applicant's resume, you may find discrepancies or more details regarding their work experience that need to be more evident in their resume.

If the screening call feels like a match, schedule an interview at your and the candidate's earliest convenience. If it does not feel like a match, thank the candidate for taking your call and say you will review their responses and follow up should you decide to proceed with the next steps.

Sometimes, the market is so intense you want to connect with that candidate, set up an interview and the working interview within a week. Some applicants may have already had discussions and offers at the door. If you don't move at a pace that matches the current market, you could lose out on gaining a high-quality team member; however, you still want to ensure they fit the role.

Prepare your interview questions (see Top interview questions) before your meeting. It would be beneficial to have these prepared for the various roles within your practice ready to go. Before the interview, plan a dedicated area to conduct your interview, away from interruptions and distractions, ideally within your practice, so the candidate can see what the space looks like and get a vibe about the environment and people.

Become familiar with legal interview questions to avoid questions that are illegal under the Alberta Human Rights Act .

Train your reception team to offer the candidate a beverage and engage in organic conversation. This way, you can get first-impression feedback from others on your team; however, only keep them waiting up to 15 minutes. This time also allows the candidate to relax and assimilate into the environment. Alternatively, if the candidate is late, wait up to 30 minutes before considering them a no-show and removing them from your potential candidate list. Note such instances as they may apply again, and you can check your notes to save time.

Be present for the interview, and be energized and focused. This could begin a new working relationship, and you want to leave your candidate with a great impression. Also, consider how small the dental community can be, and wouldn't want to jeopardize your potential to hire future team members by conducting a poor interview.

Should the role you are recruiting for dictates a working interview, schedule this towards the end of your interview. Confirm the start and end time with your candidate. Select a time in your schedule that would represent a typical shift for that position; however, select a time that would be manageable so your candidate can avoid standing around. Notify your team to expect a working interview and give them direction for who will lead the interview if you are unavailable. At the end of the scheduled working interview, gather the candidate's payroll details. You are required by law to pay the candidate for their time for a minimum of three hours as per Alberta Employment Standards. Thank them for their time, and notify them when you will be in touch. If you and your team agree the candidate would be an ideal fit, do not hesitate to hire later that day and continue with other working interviews before your hired start date. If the hire falls through, you will have backup candidates to make a potential offer. Contact the other candidates that came in for an interview to inform them the role has been filled and thank them for applying.

Remember that maintaining positive interactions with the other candidates is advantageous should you require to fill this role again. Keep their resume on file, and now you can look forward to onboarding your new hire.

The Quick Version:

The importance of taking a strategic approach to recruitment: Recruiting and hiring new employees for a dental practice can be challenging, but having a solid hiring strategy is crucial for success.

Evaluate your current team: Determine if you need to hire someone or if there are opportunities to offer promotions or more hours to existing team members. Consider cross-training or creating flexible positions.

Prepare a job description: Clearly define the role and its responsibilities, qualifications, and requirements. Use action-oriented language and highlight any unique or desirable qualifications. Describe the work environment and culture.

Research salary ranges: Before posting the position, research salary ranges for similar roles in your area to ensure competitive compensation.

Be creative in job posting: Think outside the typical job posting platforms and explore options like LinkedIn, college and association websites, and relevant Facebook groups to reach potential candidates.

Make your job post stand out: Craft an engaging and creative post to capture the attention of candidates. Start with an engaging sentence to increase the chances of someone applying.

Screen and interview candidates: Conduct screening calls to match high-level details of the role and assess the candidate's personality and qualifications. Schedule interviews promptly if there is a potential match.

Prepare interview questions: Plan interview questions ahead of time for different roles within your practice. Familiarize yourself with legal interview questions to avoid any discriminatory or illegal inquiries.

Conduct a working interview (if applicable): If required for the role, schedule a working interview towards the end of the regular interview process. Notify your team and gather payroll details. Pay the candidate for a minimum of three hours.

Hire and notify candidates: If the candidate is an ideal fit, make the hiring decision and inform other candidates that the position has been filled. Keep their resumes on file for future reference.

Maintain positive interactions: Maintain positive relationships with candidates, as they may be considered for future positions. Keep their resumes on file and consider onboarding your new hire.

By following these steps and adopting a strategic approach to recruitment, dental practices can navigate the hiring process more confidently and efficiently.