Ep #63 - The Clinic Owner's Hiring Playbook From Job Post to First 90 Days

If you've ever hired someone who looked great on paper and completely flopped in your clinic — this episode is for you.

Most clinic owners never got a manual for building a team. So they post a generic job ad, interview a handful of people, go with their gut, and hope for the best. And when it doesn't work out, they blame the hire — when really, the breakdown started long before anyone walked through the door.

In this Thursday 5er, I'm walking you through the four-part hiring framework we use and teach inside The Accelerator — from writing a job description that actually filters for the right fit, to managing your hiring pipeline like a sales funnel, to the one interview step most clinic owners skip (but really shouldn't), and what great onboarding actually looks like in the first 90 days.

This is the stuff they don't teach in clinical training. But it is absolutely the stuff that determines whether your team becomes your biggest asset — or your biggest headache.

Topics covered:
• Why most hiring problems start with the job description
• What a great job ad actually does (and what yours might be missing)
• Treating applicants like hot leads — and why speed matters
• Where to source candidates: referrals, job boards, and social
• The screening call, in-person interview, and shadow day framework
• How to use behavioral questions and scorecards to remove the guesswork
• What onboarding really should look like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days
• How to run a 90-day review that sets your new hire up to stay

All of the templates mentioned — job description builder, interview scorecard, 30/60/90 framework, and 90-day review worksheet — are inside The Accelerator.

👉 Join at accelerator.acceleratedmedicalpractices.com

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🎙 Connect with Jody:
Email: jody@acceleratedmedicalpractices.com
Website: www.acceleratedmedicalpractices.com
The Accelerator Training Platform: accelerator.acceleratedmedicalpractices.com

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This podcast is powered by Accelerated Medical Practices, where we believe hormone and wellness care should be both life-changing and profitable.  If you own or run a clinic and are interested in being a guest on the show, please complete the form here and let's connect!  Or email Jody at Jody@AcceleratedMedicalPractices.com.

 🚀 Grow your clinic with proven systems at AcceleratedMedicalPractices.com

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Welcome to Beyond Hormones, the Business of Wellness, the podcast for hormone and functional medicine providers who want a thriving, predictably profitable practice and maybe a little less stress along the way. Hi, I'm your host, Jody Lane, and I've worked with lots of clinics in marketing, sales, and business development. And I have seen what works and what doesn't. And here's what I believe hormone and wellness care should be available to everyone who wants it. And while providers know the medicine, many struggle with the business side of their cash practice. And that's where I come in. See, this podcast is here to share real strategies, real stories, things you can implement in your practice right away. So I am so glad you're here. Come on, let's go. Hey guys, welcome back to Beyond Hormones, the business of wellness. I'm your host, Jodi, and today we're going to talk about something that nearly every single clinic owner I know has struggled with at some point or another. And that topic is hiring. And I'm not just talking about the I have to post the job part, which has its own challenges, of course, but I mean the whole thing. The job description, reviewing the resumes, doing the interviews, sending the offer letter, the first 90 days of onboarding, all of it. Now, why is this so important? Well, I always say that the most important product you have in your business is not your hormones, it's not your supplements, it's not your treatments, it's not even your providers. It's your staff. See, your patients are going to interact with your staff more than you, more than any of your providers. And if your clients don't enjoy the experience, they will eventually seek out another clinic to go to. It's just a fact. And while most of you learned how to treat patients, and you may have even gotten support on maybe some training on business operations, rarely do business owners and clinic owners get a full course in how to build a team. So you wing it. You think, how hard could it really be? I post a job that shares the skills I'm looking for, the kind of person I want. And then I interview a few of those people, and I go with whoever I had the best conversation with. And then I'm going to cross my fingers and pray that it works out. And then a few months later, you wonder why it didn't work out. And you may have to start the entire thing again. Now, I'm not sharing what I think I know. No, I've actually been there. I think every business owner and clinic owner has at some point. And after many years for myself of trial and error in the hormone clinic that I managed, as well as all the businesses I had prior to, I have figured out a system, a great methodology for hiring the right people to fit the needs and the culture of the company. And so today I am going to share with you that hiring framework so that you can use it and you can implement it time and again when you need to hire new people and when you are building out your team. Because I'm telling you, once you have a system, yes, we're using that word system again, once you have a system in place, the whole process gets just a lot easier. So let's start at the very beginning: the job description. See, most clinic owners post a generic job ad. And I get it, you're busy, you're got lots to do in your day, you don't have time to sit there and write a very lengthy job description, and you just need someone to fill the role. Maybe you even go to Claude or Chat GPT and you have them help you write it. You type in the position title, you hit generate, and out comes something that sounds perfectly fine, but could belong to literally any clinic in the country. And that's the inherent problem. See, a vague job description will attract vague candidates. A great job ad actually does three things for you. First, it attracts the right person. Second, it sets clear expectations from the very start. And three, it is apparent, it is transparent about pay and benefits. But here's what most people miss. Specificity is what makes a job ad work, not bullet points, not just using industry buzzwords, instead, actual real details about what it's like to work in your clinic. So, what does it look like to put those things in? Well, first let's talk about the pace and the environment. Are you a high-volume, fast-moving clinic where someone needs to be comfortable juggling 10 things at once? Or are you a boutique practice where the energy is slower? It's more relationship-driven, and every patient interaction gets real time and attention. Whatever it is, go ahead and say that. Because the person who thrives in one environment will absolutely struggle in the other. All right, the other thing is what technology do you and your team use? If you're running using a specific EMR, say which one it is. If you have a CRM, customer relationship management software that manages leads and follow-ups, then mention that. If you use Slack for internal communications or WhatsApp or whatever, or you use some kind of specific telehealth platform, put all of that in the ad. See, this will filter for people who already have relevant experience, and it signals to everyone that's reading that you have good systems and that matters to good candidates. All right, another thing, what does a real day in the office look like? Not just a list of responsibilities for the role, but an actual picture of what their day could look like. Does this person open the clinic? Are they fielding patient calls from nine to noon and then doing admin work in the afternoon? Are they supporting two providers, one provider? Is it mostly in person or is it mostly remote or online? Just paint the picture. All right, another thing is what is the culture of your team? How does your team communicate? Do you do weekly huddles or staff meetings? Do you have monthly all-hands meetings? Do you eat lunch together? Is it everyone's head, is everyone just heads down at their desk? This stuff tells a candidate whether they're actually going to like showing up every day. Even if they enjoy the role, they may not love the culture. And it will tell them something about, it'll tell you something about who applies. Hey listeners, whether this is your first episode of Beyond Hormones or your 50th, I hope you can tell by now how much I love working in the hormone industry and sharing my tips, experience, and guest stories to help you succeed. Your success is truly my personal joy. So if you don't mind, I want to take a quick moment to share a product of ours that I know will truly help many of you build the clinic you have been dreaming of. It's called Practice Automation System. Now here's something that most of the clinics I've spoken with that have scaled past seven figures have quietly figured out. Most marketing doesn't fail trying to get leads, it fails after you've already reached them. According to studies, up to 87% of people don't pick up unknown calls anymore. Isn't that crazy? But deep down, I bet you realize it's true. I know I don't answer unknown phone calls, do you? So that means even if your front desk is being incredible and calling them as soon as they come in, there's a good chance they're not gonna reach them. And if that's all you try, your marketing dollars just vanished. Not because your advertising didn't produce, it's because your message didn't get through. The practice automation system is what we built so that doesn't happen. To reach someone these days, you need to nurture them. They used to say it took five to seven touches to reach someone. Now it can be as high as 20, 30, or even more. We help you text them within five minutes, nurture them automatically for weeks and months. The pipeline keeps moving even when your front desk is busy. I spent years running and growing a hormone clinic in Orlando where we grew to over a thousand patients, four providers, and 23 staff members. So we know this works. You know why? Because we used it ourselves well before we turned this into a product. We're not guessing what hormone patients need because we experienced it. To find out if Practice Automation System is the solution you've been looking for, go to accelerated medical practices.com slash automation. That's acceleratedmedicalpractices.com slash automation. All right, let's get back to the show. All right, next, talk about what onboarding looks like. This one is underrated. Most candidates have been thrown into a job with zero training and tried to figure it out. And they may even wear that as a badge of honor, but nobody likes that. If you have a real onboarding process, if you do shadow days or structured training or the 30, 60, 90 plan, which I'm gonna talk about in a little bit, then tell them that upfront. It's your competitive advantage. It signals that you invest in your people. And when you have a good candidate, they're going to like that. When you write a job ad that answers all of these questions, you stop getting applicants who just need a paycheck. Well, you might get some of those, but you'll also get people who actually want to work in your specific type of clinic. The wrong ones, sometimes they'll opt out on their own. And that is not a loss. And that is the filter working exactly the way that it should. Now, once the applications start coming in, here's the mindset shift that I really want you to make. I want you to treat every applicant like it's a hot lead. And I know that sounds like sales language, and yeah, maybe it kind of is. See, you're trying to sell the right candidate for the job the way you try to sell the right patient for the treatment that you offer. Every day you leave a good resume sitting unanswered. Well, that person is interviewing with other places. And those top talents, they don't wait. Top talent does not wait around. You need to be quick and responsive. You need to be organized and you need to carve out time, even if it's just 30 minutes a day, to actually work your hiring pipeline. Go ahead and put that in your calendar, your patient calendar. Block off the time. Hiring cannot be a side task when you have an open role. It's got to be a priority. And the more you make it a priority, the faster you're going to get that role filled. For sourcing your best candidates, they often come from inside your own team. So remember that referrals are gold. I always recommend offering a referral bonus to your team, something like a $250 bonus if the new hire stays past 90 days. After that, you've got job boards like Indeed and ZipRecruiter. There are your work courses. You can even go to other industry associations. You could try LinkedIn. It is a little bit more pricey, but it does work better for higher level positions. And if you need somebody super quick, you can always try a temp to permanent job placement company. I've done it a couple of times with success. It does cost a little bit more. And if you find someone you like, you can't hire them for a specific length of time. Oh, and don't forget about your own social media, especially if you've taken the time in your marketing to build out any kind of following in your community. It's a great place to share that you're looking for somebody. And it also looks good to those that are looking at your social media to see that you're growing. So go ahead and share when you've got an opening on your channels. Now let's talk about the interview itself. See, the biggest mistake I see is that people try to wing the interview. When clinic owners go in without a plan, they just hope the conversation goes well. Something goes terribly wrong. So here's a just a simple structure that I have done in the past that really works. First, start with a quick screening call. 15, 20 minutes just to confirm alignment on the basics like schedule, pay, and expectations. But also, did you have any rapport with that person? You don't need to go deep into their background at this point. Just have a lively conversation and see if it goes well. If it was like pulling teeth by trying to talk to them, then it's probably not going to be a good fit. But if it felt good, then move on to the next, which is an in-person interview. And then before you make any kind of offer for any kind of role, bring in your top candidates, the top two for a shadow day. The shadow day is the part most people don't do, they ignore, or don't even think about because it's not typical to do in a medical practice. But in my experience, the shadow day is one of the most valuable steps in this whole process. You get to bring somebody in for at least four or six hours and see how they actually show up in your environment. Does she ask questions? Is he engaged with the other team members? Is she on her phone the whole time, texting her friends? Do they offer to help at all? Do they join uh there do they join any team members for lunch? That stuff doesn't show up in an interview, but it shows up immediately in real life. And yes, please pay them for their time. It shows a lot about you. And it's basically cheap insurance. You spend a couple of hundred bucks today, but it could save you thousands in a bad hire. Now let's move on to the interview themselves. Don't rely on generic questions. You want to ask behavioral questions. Things like tell me a time when you had to handle a difficult patient interaction. What happened? What did you do? And what was the outcome? And then you actually want to listen. Let there be silence if they need time to think about it. You'd be amazed at what people say when you just stop talking and wait. Then there's also scorecards. Now, if you're struggling to compare multiple candidates after interviews, then try a scorecard. What you do is you determine what attributes about this role is the most important. Things like communication, culture fit, different skills, attitude, and assign each assessment to them after they interview. It takes all the emotion out of a decision and that can easily get clouded by just your gut feeling. All right, last piece, and this one's big onboarding. The offer letter to your potential candidate is not the end of the line. It's just the beginning. I cannot tell you how many clinic owners invest weeks in finding the right person. And then they show up on day one to a desk with no logins, no computer, no orientation, no plan. And the new hire is immediately wondering if they made the right decision. So set them up before they arrive. Have their workspace ready. Have a welcome gift. Seriously, something small, a plant, a coffee mug. It tells them that we were expecting you, you matter here, and that you're excited that they're there. Now I live in Orlando, and in my early 20s, I got a job at the Walt Disney World Company. It was in the wedding sales department, and I was so nervous. But on my first day, feeling very overwhelmed and very worried that I wasn't sure this was the right fit, I got to my new office and there was a plant. There was a bunch of Disney swag and my name tag. It made me feel very welcomed. And in turn, I was excited to start my new job. And that lesson taught me then forward to always do something to make my new roles first day really special. Another thing that I love is what I call the 3060-90 framework, meaning that in their onboarding by day 30, they should understand the role and be performing it with support. Then by day 60, they're mostly independent and trending in the right direction. And by day 90, they should be fully integrated and working confidently on their own. And on the 90-day mark, do a real conversation, a review, not just a quick check-in, but really sit down, recognize what's working for them, talk about what they can improve, set goals together for the next stretch. And a lot of this is on you because if you're not training them from the start, so they get to that 90-day goal of being able to do the job, then you have to go back and fix your onboarding process. All right, here's a quick version of the whole framework. Write a job description that actually reflects who you are and what you need. Work your pipeline for your potential interviewees just like a sales funnel. Stay on it every day. Interview with intention. Use scorecards and do the shadow day. Trust me, you will not regret it. And onboard like you mean it with a clear 30, 60, 90 plan. Hiring can feel very overwhelming and like a never-ending headache. But when you have a system, it becomes something you can actually manage and even get good at and improve every time you have to bring in a new role. This whole framework, including job description templates, interview scorecards, and a 90-day review worksheet, is available inside the accelerator at accelerator.accelerated medical practices.com. It's all inside our workforce module. And if hiring has been a pain point for you, then I really want you to get in there and give it a shot. As you know, if you've listened to other episodes, you can sign up for free. You can purchase courses as you need, or you can go ahead and sign up for the $99 PowerPass and get it all. Okay, guys, I hope that you have found several golden nuggets from today's podcast that you can use in your clinic. And the next time you have a new role to hire for, go ahead and follow these steps. You're going to see that if you put each one into place, they build upon each other and it makes the entire process easier. But more importantly, you have a much better chance of getting the kind of candidate that is going to stay for a very long time. So you don't have to do it again, which is the goal. All right. Thank you so much for being here today. I hope you've enjoyed today's Fiverr. And I will see you on Monday because the next episode, we have a very special guest, Dr. Ivan, who is the owner of Lifestyle Medicine down in Miami, is going to talk to us about he grew his clinic with no marketing, no memberships, just giving excellent patient care. And it's really a game changer. All right, I will see you then. Thank you for listening to Beyond Hormones, the business of wellness. I hope that you're walking away with fresh ideas and real strategies you can use to grow your practice with profit and purpose. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow the show so you never miss a conversation. And if something you heard today resonated with you, do me a favor, share this episode with a friend or a colleague. It's one of the best ways you can support the show, and it might be exactly what they need to hear right now. If you want even more tools and support, go ahead and head over to accelerated medical practices.com. Until next time, keep doing the work that matters. Your patients need you, and I am cheering you along every step of the way.