Six Key Points to Address in Recruiting Associates

Associate turnover is the number one problem of every group practice.?

If you’re going to build a successful group, you have to solve this issue.?Solving it starts with a fundamental understanding that “recruiting” is a constant, full-time endeavor – even when you don’t have an opening.?

If you’re going to build a group practice, you’re no longer competing against every typical solo practice; you’re competing against Enterprise-level DSOs – and these competitors have professionally trained people whose sole purpose is to be a “doctor whisperer.”?

If you’re only recruiting when you have a need, you’re never going to catch up.?Your first priority is to change your mindset and make a commitment that this is your (or one of your team’s) most important objective.?

Your second priority is to create some sort of presentable material that explains:

·?????? The history of your business

·?????? The future vision for your business

·?????? Mission, core values & culture

·?????? Your onboarding plan

·?????? Your doctor-development plan

·?????? Compensation & benefits with specific earnings expectations

Far too many people think they can rely on explaining all of this verbally and incorrectly assume the candidate will remember all of it.?They won’t.?You have to assume that your candidate will have multiple offers and that they’ll make their decision when you’re not in the room.?For that reason, you must have some sort of printed material that will re-tell your story when you’re no longer there to do so yourself.?We build these recruiting presentation decks for our Partnership Pathways clients to achieve this end, and you can view of video of an example HERE.

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Key Point #1: History of Your Business

You’ve built a successful business.?It’s perfectly fine to “humbly brag” about your success.?Nobody wants to join a losing team, so paint a picture for your journey thus far in such a way that it gives them confidence.?

It should also tactfully explain that they can plug into the train you’ve built and not have to take the risks themselves.?Everyone is looking for stability.?Convey that.?This brings me to the second key point…

Key Point #2: Your Vision for the Future of Your Business

Nobody wants to join a business that is stagnant or has no room for growth.?We’re all aspirational, and we all want to be better off tomorrow than we are today.?It’s critical for you to be able to share your vision for where you see the organization going and for them to be able to see themselves along for that journey.?

You’re not making any guarantees here, but this is your first opportunity to flex some of your leadership qualities for them.? Can you imagine trying to recruit someone by saying: “Well, our best days are behind us and we’re just going to continue doing what we’ve always done…”?Me neither.?Paint your picture for them.

Key Point #3: State Your Mission, Core Values and Culture – and What They Mean

It’s well documented that Millennials make decisions in life around the congruency of beliefs – or lack thereof.?Can you sum up the mission of your business in one to two sentences with clarity??Can you make a more general statement about the culture of your business?? And can you explain what each of your core values actually means??

All of this wrapped together creates the fabric of your business and answers a critical question for the people you’re trying to hire: “do I feel like I belong here?”?You can’t answer that for them, but they’re going to answer it for themselves based on what they assume or what they know about your organization.?If you can’t clearly articulate it, then I can tell you what their answer will be.?

?Key Point #4: Detailed Description of Your Onboarding Plan

Most of us have been in our current role for quite a long time, so we don’t have any clear recollection of what it was like to show up to work on day one of a new job.?If you take a second to put yourself in an Associate’s shoes, you’ll quickly remember how anxiety-filled that day can be. The role is finally “real,” and you definitely “don’t know what you don’t know.”?

I’m constantly alarmed at just how little attention employers give to this initial phase of bringing someone into their organization.?It borders on disrespect to the new employee, and it shows how little attention you’re giving to their unique needs, concerns, and desires.? And it doesn’t take much to solve for all of this.?

An onboarding plan is a simple roadmap that defines the new Associate’s first 4 to 12 weeks on the job.?What are the basic activities to do?? How is success defined??Who are the person’s resources, and who is their mentor??What are the points of evaluation?? When and where are the touch points to reinforce company systems, culture, and beliefs??You don’t have to define every hour of every day, but you have to give them a framework for a soft landing into your company.?

Key Point #5: Overview of Your Clinical Development Plan

This is a critical component that far to many groups have yet to define.?Young Associates, whether they’re directly out of school or residency or coming out of a prior associateship, all want to “get better” at their job.?Most truly want to become a “master of their craft.”? We’re all aspirational at some level, aren’t we?!

Your development plan should lay out a multi-year leaning curriculum that covers aspects such as: time; investment (yours and theirs); expected outcomes; a list of others who have previously completed each course; etc.?You’re setting an expectation for them that you’re a growing, improving business and that they need to be a part of it.?The best want to get better, so show them the path to achievement.?

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Key Point #6: Overview of Your Total Compensation Plan

None of us do what we do for free, so of course, this is a primary concern of theirs.?That being said, don’t make the same mistake that many others do by simply stating that “we pay 30% of collections…” and think that’s the answer.?The true answer is something like: “We pay 30% of collections, and the average historical collections for a first-year associate is $600,000; second year is $750,000; and third year is $900,000 for an expected income level of $180,000; $225,000; and $270,000, respectively.”?Solve for certainty here by relating your comp rate to actual income dollars – not relying on percentages.?

You should also take the time to itemize your total benefit structure along with any Continuing Education allowances as well as retirement plan contributions.?Finally, if you’re going to build a successful group practice and minimize turnover, you have to have a plan for them to become an owner.?This could be a buy-in after a certain number of years of service or an earn-in model – or a hybrid of both.?Without the partnership piece, you’re going to be spinning your wheels for years to come.?

Concluding Thoughts…

Frankly, there are a lot of emerging groups that make a proverbial mess out of recruiting simply because they do things the way they’ve always done things, and they don’t know any better.?You can raise your game significantly without too much effort here, but you’ve got to learn more “best practices” from what works at an enterprise level.?Let this be your start.

And if you want to talk to one of our advisors about what we see in other groups or what a Partnership Pathways model might look like for your business, then you can book a call with us HERE.