You’re right in the midst of busy day in an even busier week, when out of the blue, you’re handed a resignation. For most PT owners, the reaction is PANIC.

No business owner looks forward to hiring. We like stability and constancy. We like working with what—and who–we know. Having to hire plunges us into the unknown, and takes time and attention away from what we think of as the core, service- and revenue-generating activities of our practices.

The truth is, all of that service and revenue generating activity can’t happen to its full potential without the right staff in place. When you put time in up front to implement systems and processes for hiring, you remove the confusion and panic and replace them with focus. What happens next? Hiring takes less time, and you dramatically reduce your stress and overwhelm.

You may never grow to love hiring. That’s okay. Because with a system in place, when the time comes that you have to hire, you’ll know exactly what steps to take. Bringing organization and preparation to your hiring process contributes to a more organized, well-run business with a thriving culture—which all means you’ll have to hire less often.

Here are three PT hiring pitfalls that systems help you AVOID:

Reactive hiring

Stress and panic impair our decision making. Without a system in place, it’s all-too easy to give into the temptation to hire just about anyone who seems to fit the bill. That can be a huge, expensive, time-consuming mistake, when you have to turn around and hire again…and again. A revolving door of employees puts stress on rest of staff, leading to less retention across business.

What does a PT hiring system look like? It includes:  

• Well-defined job descriptions so you know what you’re really looking for in a new hire
• Resources ready to activate to recruit right-fit candidates
• A qualifying process that lets you really see candidates—and lets them see you
• A process for creating competitive compensation packages that go beyond salary to other important priorities for employees today, including mentorship, advancement, and flexibility in schedule.

Talking to every candidate with a single script

Preparing to interview candidates is an important step in the hiring process. You can’t count on improvising a successful interview. But you’re not going to engage with every potential hire in the same way. Preparing to interview a new PT grad isn’t the same as prepping for an interview with a 5-10 year professional. Those are two different conversations.

We all want to be seen, to be engaged with as individuals. I recommend developing unique interview scripts for different roles in your clinic and different levels of experience among candidates—these scripts are tremendously valuable to have ready to deploy when you need them. And I always encourage practice owners to prepare for the individual person you’ll be interviewing, allowing yourself to be curious and question-focused about their history, experience and interests.

Do you wonder whether it’s time to add to your PT staff? In a short video this month, I talk about how to know when it’s the right time to hire a new physical therapist. Check it out, here.

Lack of vision

Do you know who you are as an organization?  Not knowing what you offer—to your patients and your staff–is a major obstacle to attracting great candidates and keeping a top-notch staff in place. I tell PT owners: You don’t need to be like everyone else. But you need to know what you do, and where your business is headed. And you need to share that vision with candidates during interviews. Having a clear, well defined vision for your practice and a plan to bring that vision to reality is the single most powerful way to distinguish yourself from the PT crowd. It enables you to attract the right patients for your clinic—and the right staff for your business.

A strong sense of identity is one of the pillars of a thriving PT business, and what enables you to attract the right staff—and the right patients. For more well-proven strategies to attract more patients and push your business to greater profits, download my FREE guide, 3 Simple Things That Will Get You More Patients and Make You More Money Right Now.