As a physician, what happens if your Office Manager (or Practice Administrator) suddenly resigns? Chances are, there won’t be enough time for your Office Manager to advertise, interview, and find you the best replacement before she is gone herself. While we certainly handle Practice Administrator/ Office Manager searches for our clients here at DoctorsManagement, here are some guidelines and tips for you if you prefer to strike out on your own:
First, decide what you really want your Practice Administrator to do. What they should focus on – and be an expert in. Do you need someone to supervise both front and back office, or is front office and billing more important? Do you need a Jack (or Jill) of all trades? If so, make sure your job description for the position is updated and reflects what you really want in the position.
Finding Good Candidates
Then, decide how you want to go about finding good candidates. It can be kismet when someone you know and trust already is aware of an available qualified candidate – but what if you don’t have that? Your next step may well be to start with a free ad on Indeed, and possibly try ZipRecruiter or some other job board. If you are active on LinkedIn and have a good number of connections, you can post that you are looking for an Administrator… at no extra charge. And then, if it’s in the budget, there’s always the option of advertising on the MGMA website or some other online job board. In your posting, decide what skills and experience might be listed as preferred, and which are required. Here’s a tip: If you list skills as preferred or strongly preferred, you may cast a wider net into the talent pool – as opposed to saying a certain skill is “required”.
In your job posts, we recommend that you request both a resume and a cover letter from candidates. That’s one way to see if the candidate is good at following directions – and actually takes the time to forward a cover letter.
What to Look For in a Resume
So what should you be looking for when you review the resumes that you’ll receive? There are so many factors… but just to scratch the surface: Of course, check to see if this person has been in a management position previously, and try to get an idea of how many employees and/or which departments they were directly responsible for. Check the resume and cover letter for decent grammar and spelling. Also, read the flow of the resume and get an idea if this person seems to be on a good trajectory for their career. And what about gaps in work history? May well be something to address in an upcoming interview…
How to Interview Candidates
And… speaking of the interview: How about some things to consider – and things to avoid? Suppose you have narrowed the field down to your top candidates, based on the resumes and cover letters provided. It’s usually a good idea (and a time-saver) to do a brief phone check-in prescreening, asking some very basic but important questions you may have. For example, do you need a manager who actually has some clinical skills as well? You might clarify that in a brief screening call. Do you have unusual operating hours and need someone who can work until 7 pm on a moment’s notice? I recommend asking that right up front before you get too far into the process with any given candidate. It’s also good to verify that the candidate is amenable to the salary range you are willing to pay for the position.
In any interview of depth (in person or by video) you probably want to pose questions that will give you insight into how adept this candidate would be at handling real life management situations. Don’t focus on questions that could be answered with a “yes” or “no” – rather, prompt for responses with lead-ins like “Tell me about the different kinds of patient complaints you have been faced with – and how you handled it?” Keep the questions job-focused, and stay clear of any that veer to the personal, especially if they seem related to the protected class factors (Age, gender, marital status, national origin, religion, etc.)
If helpful, you may want to have other people interview your top candidates as well – possibly a colleague or long-term employee within your practice.
In the final phase, it’s usually a good idea to get at least 2 or 3 meaningful professional references from individuals your candidate reported to in the past. (Not their best work buddy in a similar position at the company.) To wrap it all up, there’s the process of obtaining criminal background checks and then checking the appropriate sanction lists, such as the OIG Sanction List.
Find Quality Practice Administrators With DoctorsManagement
If all that sounds like a lot, it certainly can be. That’s why we offer the full service to our clients to find quality Practice Administrators and Office Managers – as well as non-physician providers like Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Let us know if we can put our years of successful recruiting experience to work for you!
