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We recently spoke to certified Hiring for Attitude professional Elise Lacher of Strategic Veterinary Consulting, Inc. to catch up on how she’s using her Hiring For Attitude certification to help support her work with business owners and practice managers at veterinary clinics.
Q: Hi Elise, thanks for making the time to chat. You’ve been on the road for 6 weeks. How has Hiring for Attitude played into your schedule?
Elise: I just came from a workshop that was built around building systems for small business owners to increase profitability. One hot topic was whether you should hire for attitude or aptitude. As I listened to the discourse I found it interesting that even with all the smart people in the room, most people were strongly siding with one position or another. I finally said, “Why not hire for both?” And then, of course, went on to explain that while skills are important, even the greatest skills set in the world is not going to result in a successful hire if the person has the wrong attitude for the company culture.
Q: How is Hiring for Attitude helping your clients?
Elise: Right now there are a lot of veterinarians looking for positions. Two or three years ago it took six months to a year to fill an open position, but today there’s an overload of unsolicited applications being sent. And many of my clients, whether they’re the business owner or the practice manager, really struggle to find the right person for the job; someone that really fits the culture of the practice. Being able to tell my clients, “These are your Brown Shorts” (the key attitudes that define an organization’s culture) and then to help them build a hiring process around those Brown Shorts, including how the job ad gets written, has worked miracles. My clients get the Great Fit people they need and it makes my time more efficient.
Q: What’s the feedback like when you tell a client, “These are your Brown Shorts”?
Elise: A lot of veterinary business owners and practice managers have never stopped to consider what makes their practice unique; different from all the other practices out there. For many of my clients, this is the first time they’re able to say, “These are the attitudinal hallmarks that define my high and low performers.”
Q: Rewriting job ads that recruit for attitude is a really fun and effective part of the Hiring for Attitude process. What have been your experiences with Brown Shorts job ads?
Elise: The Brown Shorts ads work exceptionally well. For one thing, too many practices use the same language in their hiring ads. You see over and over the same things written like: “practice quality medicine” or “deliver great customer service.” It’s the same exact thing the practice down the road is saying. But when we work the Brown Shorts into the ad, when we tell people what it really looks like inside that clinic, then that really makes a difference.
For example, some clinics are very high volume. Great customer service in this environment looks very different than great customer service in a high touch, low-volume clinic. Both clinics want to hire people who give great customer service, but they need to know what that really means. For too many of them, they’ve attended some lecture where they heard, “Great customer service means you look the customer in the eye and chit chat with them about their kids and get them comfortable.” But you don’t want that kind of customer service in a high-volume clinic where you want to get customers into the exam room fast but without making them feel rushed or slighted. You can’t just recruit for “great customer service” and expect to find the right candidates. You have to recruit for what you are really looking for. And that comes down to attitude.
That’s why the Brown Shorts job ads make a difference. It’s a critical part of putting the whole Hiring for Attitude system together. You can’t just write: “High quality medicine practice looking for experienced technician that loves animals.” If you’re on the receiving end of that ad, you’re going to get overloaded with applications, and most of them won’t even be from people seeking tech jobs. You’ll also get a few hundred applications from associates or receptionists. And no one has time for that. You want to quickly narrow it down to the Great Fit candidates who have the right attitudes and the right skills. And that’s exactly what Brown Shorts jobs ads let you do.
If your team or organization struggles to find candidates you feel confident hiring and promoting or if too many of your recent hires just don’t seem to be working out, Hiring for Attitude Training and Certification is for you. Call 1-800-814-7859 or email info@leadershipiq.com today.
A professional corporate writer with over 20-years’ experience crafting just the right words for executives to use in challenging situations, Lyn is a passionate and adept qualitative researcher. Her seasoned skills as an interviewer make her quick to identify the unique attitudes and behaviors that define an organization. Lyn’s extensive expertise in public relations and persuasive communications translates strongly in her contributions to Leadership IQ’s custom-training programs.
