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Every practice's hiring dilemma: Train from within or recruit?

The answer depends on the abilities of your employees, staff morale and the qualifications of outside job-seekers.

By Mike Norbut, amednews staff. Aug. 11, 2003.

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When he first started his practice, pediatrician Budd Shenkin, MD, often made the same mistake when it came to filling office staff positions.

"I overpromoted," said Dr. Shenkin, whose Oakland, Calif.-based practice, Bayside Medical Group, now has 27 primary care physicians. "I would move the employee to a level of incompetence."

Making good personnel moves often is a challenge for even the best human resources experts, let alone a doctor without management training. At the crux of the dilemma is whether to promote someone from within and provide training for the job, or to recruit someone with the qualifications and experience to perform the duties immediately.

Both approaches can be costly and risky. In promoting, for instance, you run the risk of demanding too much from an unqualified employee, while in recruiting, you could alienate current staff members and damage office morale.

With the U.S. unemployment rate reaching a nine-year high of 6.4% in June, physicians are finding a larger pool of candidates for the jobs they open to outside applicants. For example, HEALTHeCAREERS, which administers online job networks for several medical associations, including the Medical Group Management Assn., reported more job postings, online responses and posted resumes during the first four months of 2003 than during the same period in 2002.

But consultants caution that more interest doesn't necessarily mean a better pool of applicants. In fact, the first thought of many physicians, especially during difficult economic times, is to evaluate the open position to see if it's even necessary, consultants said.