Barriers to Entry

Given the current recruitment and retention cycle, it is easy to adopt the position that almost any candidate will suffice, just so that you can fill a gap in your team.

However, the danger in dropping standards is that you end up with a bad apple in the barrel.

One of my clients in The Extreme Business 100 has recently relocated to a multi-room practice in an affluent area, expanding beyond a single-chair set up and on the hunt for both new patients and new team members.

I asked him to share with me his recruitment process:

"Candidate completes an online enquiry form and that triggers an automated email telling them about the practice and it also invites them to watch a 30 minute automated recruitment webinar that I recorded. The aim is to accurately describe “our bus” so that the candidate can choose whether to get on.

After they have watched the whole webinar, they will then get another automated email with the appropriate job description which they are encouraged to read. That same email also has a 5-page application form to which their CV can be attached.

Once the application form is completed, I review the answers and CV to determine whether to invite them for an in-person interview. I’ve created this workflow because only serious minded individuals will make it to the end."

Tough eh?

I can imagine some readers thinking that this Principal has higher ambitions than the market allows - but I respectfully differ - sticking to your guns is essential, even when the supply of labour in the market is at an historic low.

Recruitment is an elimination process, not an attraction process - and here, my client demonstrates that.

The consequences of allowing a bad apple into the barrel are far more damaging (on every level) than enduring a gap in the team.

It's The X-factor, you are the judge, be the bad cop like Simon.