The shift to value-based care means a shift of priorities, starting from the very beginning: hiring quality caregivers and staff. So how do you identify a person that will thrive in your organization?

Hiring the right candidate goes beyond assessing their competency and knowledge. During your hiring process, ask skills-based interview questions to identify candidates who already have the building blocks to learn and grow on your team.

Many companies have had to shift their culture to accommodate a virtual work space. Have you gone through the process of aligning your organization’s new culture with your interview questions?

A skills-based approach to recruitment gives your organization more hiring options and with technology tools to train and certify for any gaps, upskilling your team will lead to higher retention rates and satisfied patients.

Tips for the Interviewing Process

A well-defined approach and documented interviewing process can have a positive impact on the quality of hires for your organization. Keep in mind that you should interview each candidate with no expectations of matching or imitating employees previously in the role. Trying to replace a person with another who has the same skills, traits and personality will limit your talent pool and often leads to systemic prejudice.

• Systematic Approach to Interviewing: Structured interviews with a set of questions and follow-up questions in the same order are most effective. This also helps to alleviate bias hiring. Multiple interviewers can assess scores for each candidate and average their responses to reduce individual bias. A rating system with five levels, ranging from low to high or a pass/fail format, can also be helpful.
• Assess Interpersonal Skills: Finding the right candidate extends beyond identifying the right skillset for the open position. This should also be someone who builds rapport with co-workers, supervisors and any clients they may interact with. These interpersonal skills can be identified during the interview process.
• Technique Puts Candidates at Ease: While interviews are inherently structured, this does not mean it should be a test. Instead, you should aim to make the experience seem more like a conversation. This puts your candidates at ease and helps reveal their personality. The tone of the interview should be one of helpfulness and friendliness to minimize any barriers to clear communication.

Remember to allow the candidate time to adjust to the interview environment. This will also impact how the candidate views your organization, regardless of whether they are selected.

Unless you put them at ease early in the interview, your potential new team members may be unable to reduce their level of anxiety, causing you to miss out on a quality candidate.

Axxess, a cloud-based home health, hospice, palliative and home care software, offers continuing education training for employees of all levels through the Axxess Certification Program.