Lately, my conversations revolve more and more around personnel issues.  From probable scams to personality incompatibility, HR challenges can take their toll.  Of course, each case is different, but there are some steps we can take to help mitigate any negative ramifications of what can be emotionally charged challenges. As an employer, you are expected to know certain things and behave in certain ways.  As an employer in the health care field, you have Federal and State agencies creating requirements for you.  I think the most important thing you can do is ensure that you are setting clear expectations for your workforce.  Before the interview, before the job posting, you need to unambiguously document what you are going to expect of the person performing the job and what you are willing to pay for those services.   

How do you define quality? Who fabricates? Do you expect a certain number of hours to be worked? Or a certain dollar value of deliveries over time? Who selects components? When does clinical documentation occur? Exactly what do you want that person to do?  Are you going to pay a flat salary? Or is pay based on productivity?  Or a combination?  How do you define productivity? Volume? Hours? The $ value of U&C? Dollars billed or dollars collected?  Does everyone know?  Are your expectations realistic? 

Once you have documented all of that and have incredible clarity around the issues, how do you choose the candidate? Cultural fit is extremely important, I am sure you have heard it said you hire for attitude and aptitude.  You can train skills.  So, if you are upfront about your expectations, you can screen for attitude. Professional certification in O&P is a good indicator of aptitude.  Remember, however, professional certification is a measure of “minimal competency,” not expertise.  Don’t confuse the ability to learn and perform with the skill and expertise to do something well.   

Finally, once you make the decision to hire, you have to make sure they are “hirable.”  Are they on the OIG exclusion list? Are there felony convictions or other things in their backgrounds that might make them unsuitable for the job?  If they pass those tests, and you hire them, within 20 days there is reporting you must do (did you know that?).  Every state has requirements that you can find by a simple Google search.  I found a list on the Society for Human Resource Management’s website and another one at a site called Employer Pass. Don’t forget that your Customer Success Manager can help you get in touch with our HR firm if you are eligible through your OPIE tier.