Home Health & Hospice Week

Follow these tips for getting the most out of your interviews. The more you can get potential employees to talk about how they'd handle themselves in certain situations, the better you'll be able to determine whether they'll be a good fit for your home care organization.
 
The key to gleaning essential information from applicants is to get them talking. Ask interviewees how they would deal with a particular work-related situation or how they have handled a particular issue in the past, advises health care recruiting consultant Steve Passmore with Healthy Recruiting Tools in Murray, KY.
 
"When candidates share their specific stories, I get a better picture of how they would mesh with my staff and with our organization," says Redge Campbell with Harrison Hospital in Bremerton, WA. Tap Into Decision-Making Skills Create questions that help you evaluate a candidate's resourcefulness, recommends Rachel Romano Kelly with Sentara Healthcare in Chesapeake, VA.
 
Word to the wise: Don't expect anyone but the crme de la crme of your interview pool to be able to answer such questions skillfully.
 
"I know that candidates have had all the pertinent experiences, but I estimate that as many as 60 to 70 percent just can't provide concrete examples," says Karen Eyberger with Genesis HealthCare System in Zanesville, OH. Assess Integrity Make sure a candidate's answers to questions about performance in a previous job match the feedback you've already received from her former supervisor.
 
For example, Kelly says she asks prospectives: "In your last performance appraisal, did your supervisor suggest any areas needing improvement? If so, how have you worked on those areas? If not, do you see any areas that you would like to improve? How do you think I can help you do that?"
 
These questions serve two purposes, Kelly explains. In addition to checking for honesty, she can evaluate whether "candidates are willing to work on their weaknesses." Appraise Flexibility You may call on your employees to shift duties and make adjustments as your organization grows or downsizes, so you should determine how well they'd handle transitions. Ask candidates to talk about a major change they've experienced in the workplace and to describe strategies they used to cope with the change, Eyberger suggests.
 
Best advice: Once you've made your decision, be ready to close the deal or move it to the next level quickly, Passmore stresses. "Nothing is worse than leaving the person hanging."