Getting the right staff is important to any acupuncture clinic (or to any company for that matter) as they can contribute a lot for the attainment of business goals. Hire employees that are competent and can work with you in order to achieve business success, those staff are worth-keeping; they can be considered as pillars that make the foundation of your business even stronger. Be careful in your hiring process so that you find people who are the right fit for the job.

Your staff’s (admin, associates) important roles in your practice include:

• Serves as frontliner; they are the first contact for patients
• Help instill confidence in patients about your acupuncture business
• They can be knowledgeable as practitioners, and can offer help beyond their job description

The question now becomes: How do you hire a ‘superstar’ staff? American Acupuncture Council, through the video hangout of Dr. Sam Collins and Dr. Lorne Brown, provides some tips on how to hire the right staff for your clinic. Some of these are the following:

Hiring for culture fit

Dr. Lorne Brown emphasized in the discussion regarding hiring for culture fit. What does it mean? It means you have to look for candidates whose “values, beliefs, outlook and behavior fit in with your organizational culture. Employees who are a good cultural fit will work well within the environment of the company.”

 Training staff

As your staff plays an important role for your acupuncture practice, it is imperative that you train them well to realize their optimum potential. In case you are anxious about investing on them (some would argue: why invest on them when you are not sure if they stay in your clinic for a period that you get your ROI), Dr. Brown said:

“So what I have done that’s not so much a non compete agreement. What I’ve done is as follows: I pay for my associates, a lot of those things. they become employee loans that are forgivable. And you can choose the date, four years, three years. The way I do it is, “I’m gonna pay for this for you, and it’s gonna be a loan. And if you’re in my clinic four years from today, the loan is 100% forgivable. I’m doing this because I don’t wanna pay for this and you leave in one year. I’d be resentful. And if you choose to leave in one year, I won’t be resentful because you’re gonna have to pay every penny back.” And so this is what I’ve done with my staff.”

Factors that lead to staff’s better performance and personal satisfaction

• Autonomy is when they feel they are in control
• Mastery is when they feel like using their full potential and achieve personal and corporate growth
• Purpose is when they feel like their work matters and makes an impact to patients and the acupuncture industry as a whole

Outlining the hiring process

• Create a clear job description and expectations
  • What this job is and what it isn’t
  • Include relevant position details, including hours, salary, benefits, and location
• Post job requisition in places with high visibility
  • Craigslist, LinkedIn, College Job boards/Schools, professional affiliations, personal network
• Give the candidates a specific action for them to complete to assist in resume sorting
  • Sending a cover letter on why they are an ideal fit for the position

To learn more about hiring highly competent staff for your acupuncture practice, watch this video:

For more tips for your practice, contact the American Acupuncture Council at (800) 838-0383.