Retaining employees saves healthcare practices time and money.
However, none of us can predict the future. What we can do is alter our interview questions with new professionals and assess their fit for the company and their professional goals.
Here are five types of questions you should be asking during your interviews:
Stress Tolerance
Question: How do you handle stress or high-pressure situations?
Stress is a normal response to high-pressure situations. While there isn’t a “right” answer to this question, the candidate’s response can give you insight into how they react to stressful moments while on the job. With this question, we’re looking to understand the candidate’s behavior.
Make note of how they respond and examples from previous work experience to illustrate their answer. Their response should also include coping skills, organization, time management, and future goals they set based on the situation that occurred.
Collaborative Skills
Question: How do you handle conflict or difficult situations with coworkers or supervisors?
It’s common for organizations to rely on cooperation between coworkers, but this can sometimes lead to negative or confrontational attitudes. Handling such behavior can help you avoid distractions and focus on your work. As the interviewer, you should keep an eye out for these in the candidates’ responses:
• To Whom they seek support from
• How the conflict or issue is addressed
• Their perception of the conflict
• Example(s) of times they’ve been in a conflict in their previous roles
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Adaptability
Question: Describe a time a project or company goal was changed last minute. What first action did you take and how did you work with your coworkers to reach the changed, expected goal?
Adapting to change is a useful skill that helps you tackle new challenges with confidence. It involves embracing new opportunities without feeling overwhelmed. Developing adaptability requires a positive attitude and a willingness to accept change as it occurs.
Career Satisfaction
Question: How satisfied are you with your current job and what are you looking for in your next role?
Assessing a candidate’s satisfaction with their current career and life can help predict
their potential future behavior, including the likelihood of employee turnover. It’ll also give you the chance to ensure that the position you are hiring for is a potential match for the candidate. Let them walk you through their past experience and how that has illuminated their future career path.
Asses the following while the candidate responds to the question:
• Their level of self-awareness and career goals.
• Their understanding of the role and the healthcare practice’s values.
• Their ability to align themselves with the practice’s goals.
• Their communication skills and how they articulate their thoughts.
Job Fit
Question: What parts of our job description resonated with you most and your professional goals?
It’s important for employers to set accurate expectations during the hiring process to reduce high turnover rates among new hires. This includes providing a realistic preview of the job during the interview stage, rather than an overly optimistic picture. Good communication is key.
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How HR for Health Can Help
HR for Health has a variety of ways to help your veterinary practice grow and thrive and to protect it from HR problems like workplace bullying. For example, our document storage features can ensure that any issues are documented and that the actions taken are maintained. Furthermore, we can help you create an employee handbook with a strict no-bullying policy. Such a handbook can help protect you from any legal issues that bullying may cause.
Ready to get started with HR for Health? Contact us today to set up a fifteen-minute consultation and learn more about how HR for Health can help your practice grow and protect you from various HR challenges – including bullying.
