I had a conversation last week with a PT client who was having difficulty hiring therapists.

He said, “Jamey, I can’t seem to find a PT to hire”.

We began to review each aspect of his process.

I asked:

• What specific area are you having difficulty with?
• Getting resumes
• Getting candidates on phone interviews
• Getting clients to show up to in-person interviews?
• Getting candidates to show up for shadowings?
• Getting candidates to accept the position?

By breaking down the hiring process into specific hiring segments, it’s easier to determine the actual problem. (kinda like we do during an initial evaluation)

It turns out that this client actually received several resumes of qualified candidates. I immediately crossed “getting resumes” off of the list.

But that doesn’t mean his job posting didn’t need a little tweaking.

Next was the phone interview.

He shared with me typical questions he asked about what s/he didn’t like about their current job, weaknesses and strengths…pretty much standard stuff.

What about my favorite question, “What resonated for you in the job ad that prompted you to apply for this position?”

You see, this question gets below the superficial talk and into the real reason someone is applying for the position.

And if your job ad is crafted the right way (with vision, values and what separates you from everyone else), it provides a jump off point for the phone interview and lets the person know this company is not like everyone else’s.

It turns out that the owner forgot to ask this question.

However, the biggest problem I found when dissecting the hiring process is the speed in which a follow up in-person interview was scheduled.

Because the owner was very busy with patients, he had to push the in-person interview to 7-10 days.

Each time, the candidate ended up taking another position.

With a ton of companies competing for therapists, it’s important to have time blocked out for in-person interviews.

The faster you can schedule a second interview the better chance you keep the momentum going and the interest in your company.

I told him not to allow too much time to pass between interviews and risk losing momentum and possibly the candidate.

THIS was the biggest issue in his hiring process.

By tweaking his job ad by adding in more purpose-driven language, asking the “attraction” question, and reducing the time between interviews, he will significantly increase his odds of hiring a great PT to his practice.

The best part is that he now knows how to analyze and review his hiring process.

If you’re having trouble hiring, I suggest analyzing your hiring process step by step. Don’t fall for the generalization trap of saying “there’s nobody to hire”.

This will put you into the victim mindset and cause you to stop trying.

Think of it as a patient with a complicated problem and analyze the process one section at a time.

And if you need help, try my Right Fit Hire course that has helped hundreds of people attract great PT candidates to their practice, despite the scarce number people out there

This week, review each step of your hiring process and determine what specifically is holding you back from hiring someone: Recruiting, Interview, Making an Offer or something else.

Growth is unattainable without additional staff.

You got this!

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