Dr. Woo

Hiring the right staff is crucial. People usually think the doctor is the most important person in the practice, but it’s actually the staff. At my first job, we had such great staff who really connected with the patients. Because of their great attitudes, incredible personalities and empathy, patients gravitated toward them.

I encourage people to hire based on the candidate’s personality — it’s much more important than skill level. Some of our best employees have had no eye care experience. They’ve been former hairdressers, restaurant servers or baristas, and that’s because of their attitude and their work ethic.

At my practice, we always conduct a phone interview first. You can get a feel for a candidate’s personality that way. If they seem promising, we have them come in for an interview. Then, we pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues. I have found that body language is a valuable clue to decide whether a candidate will be a good fit.

When hiring someone with no experience, training is a huge concern. It does take time. But remember: It’s much harder to break old habits than to build new ones. When you train someone from the ground up, they’re much easier to mold into exactly what you want. OM