Recruiters and human resource managers, worldwide, face increasing challenges in hiring highly qualified healthcare professionals and support staff. Recognition of the problem as an impediment to growth calls for innovative strategies to attract the required workforce. The Weston Family Practice Clinic faces a similar predicament partly due to its stature as a small institution. However, its potential for growth implies facing the challenges other players in the sector encounter when hiring personnel. The most prominent hiring challenges the Weston Family Practice Clinic faces include low supply of talent, difficulty in finding quality employees, location related issues, limited diversity, the lengthy recruitment process employed in the healthcare industry. Despite its size, the Weston Family Practice Clinic needs to ensure that its service delivery attains the global standards of care, which requires cultural diversity in its workforce. Based on this knowledge, the paper develops competency model for the clinic to facilitate hiring of an officer manager in tandem with its mission to expand service delivery.
The competency model seeks to address most of the challenges the clinic is likely to encounter, and recognizes the complexity of the hiring process for non-medical personnel working in clinical settings. An office manager falls in this category of staff, but working in the health sector means, they must possess intricate knowledge operational dynamics of the field. An office manager may not be required to have medical skills, but understanding of how the elements of the healthcare system work to facilitate access to care is mandatory. The initial steps taken by the founders of the Weston Family Practice Clinic are similar to those by the founders of Mayo Clinic. The implication for the Weston Family Practice Clinic is that it must develop and inculcate a culture of hiring the most qualified people to be part of the team to advance its objectives. According to Berry and Seltman (2014), Mayo Clinic success comes from a culture of prioritizing the patient’s needs, a team-based practice, finding the right people to be part of the team, and creating a sense of shared governance. Therefore, the prospective candidate for the position of the office manager must apprehend the complexity and magnitude of the task the position requires.
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Summary of the Key Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities of an Office Manager
An office manager performs a range of duties and operates in an environment that calls for integrity, dependability, self-control, stress tolerance, and attention to detail (O-Net Online, 2019). The office manager plans, directs, coordinates administrative activities of the clinic. However, the dynamic nature of the healthcare filed calls for specificity in the skillset of the potential candidate for the position. From the case, it is evident that the clinic is poised to ensure the successful candidate integrates into the workplace quickly and seamlessly. The observation draws from the fact that the presence of Dr. Eric Weston, who has experience in running administrative duties and finances of the clinic a crucial factor. The doctor can play a critical role in addressing some of the factors identified in Grandy and Holton (2013) as essential in leadership development in the healthcare industry. The factors include creation of space at the workplace for leadership development, drawing on partnerships, and coaching and training. The process is necessary to counter the assertion about talent management for administrative positions receiving little focus due to their perception as less valuable in addressing specific problems of health units (Ingram & Glod, 2016). While the new recruit would benefit from coaching and training, they must demonstrate knowledge and possession of skills and attributes considered minimum entry qualifications for the position.
The office manager engages in the collection of information from diverse sources, communication with superiors, subordinates, and peers, organization and planning of work, decision-making and problem solving, and scheduling work activities. Other activities that fall under the jurisdiction of the office manager are hiring and firing of personnel, preparing budgets, directing administrative and support services, and monitoring of the facility to ensure security and safety. In a modern healthcare setting, these activities require knowledge of diverse systems and skill sets as follows:
Knowledge:
Understanding of the clients and customer service concepts for satisfactory service provision through needs assessment, quality assurance, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and management knowledge to facilitate processes such as resource allocation, strategic planning, decision-making, delegation, scheduling, information management, and conflict resolution.
Computer knowledge in accounting software use, database use and management, digital calendars, electronic mail, enterprise resource planning software, and human resource management software.
Financial knowledge in bookkeeping, budgeting, accounting, invoices, financial statements, and compliance.
Clerical knowledge in office systems management such as files and records management, design of forms, word processing, transcription and translation, among others.
Skills:
Communication skills to ensure productive encounters with clients, superiors, subordinates, and peers, hence must demonstrate skills in oral and written communication, active listening, reception, and phone etiquette (Doyle, 2019).
Computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite, software troubleshooting, spreadsheets, operating systems, file sharing, and email management.
Analytical skills demonstrated through creativity, optimization, critical thinking, problem solving, deductive and inductive reasoning, and process management.
Skills in time management.
Report writing.
Auditing.
Abilities:
Leadership abilities that is critical in motivation and coordination to achieve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Requisite leadership abilities include teamwork, coordination, interpersonal relationship, motivation, setting and managing expectations, supervision, and collaboration (Doyle, 2019).
Attention to detail in dealing with logistical duties hence must demonstrate ability in recordkeeping, proactivity, intuition, detail-oriented, accuracy, and identification of system problems.
Communication abilities including oral comprehension and expression, written comprehension and expression, and interpersonal relationship (O-Net Online, 2019).
Adaptability.
Frameworks for Assessment of Potential Candidates for the Position
The objective of the assessment is to ascertain suitability of the candidates, and how link to the organizational mission, objectives, and culture. Therefore, the formal online assessment tools identified for use are HireSelect and Hoops. HireSelect provides pre-employment assessment tests on aptitude, personality, and skills, hence, can be employed to the exercise. On the other hand, Hoops is an online platform that links talent to the mission and culture of the organization, hence, facilitates selection of the candidate considered as the best fit for the clinic.
Office managers perform a wide range of responsibilities, which implies that the appropriate candidate must demonstrate desirable knowledge and understanding of operational and administrative processes in a healthcare setting. The assessment test also targets to establish the presence of the following soft skills: organizational, communication, problem solving, time management, and software use skills. The assessment test for the office manager uses questions and exercises drawn from real life scenarios that the candidate is likely to face in their daily work routine. In most cases, it is logical to ask the candidate to provide a solution to the problem and an explanation of their thought process. It is important to understand that most assessment questions do not have one particular right answer, but seek to determine the candidate’s approach to the matter. The most important office manager knowledge, skills, and abilities can be determined using the following assessment tests.
Assessment of Organizational Attributes
Under this section, ask the candidate to develop and write a sample meeting confirmation email for an overseas business partner coming to the office to meet with the CEO of the clinic. The assumption is that the visitor has never been to Florida, hence, the candidate must include all pertinent information needed to ensure a pleasant stay. Ask the candidate what they would include in the email if asked by the CEO to be creative.
From thee exercise, look out for demonstration of proactiveness in sending the email with the correct information and content (spelling and links). Suggestions for the most efficient transportation and routes, tourist attractions, and questions on the guest preferences, including a calendar invitation with a link to the office address show the candidate is ideal. On the other hand, incomplete or inaccurate information, and failure to inquire the visitors’ preferences are red flags to look out for.
An experience candidate for the position would know which tasks are most important, for instance, they would prioritize emergency related tasks and list them on the top. They should also show concern for urgency. Candidates lacking prioritization skills are a red flag because they may perform task to please the boss.
Assessment of Communication Attributes
Here, it is important to assess for diplomacy and politeness depending on the scenario presented. Knowledge of the organizational hierarchy in dealing with diplomatic issues shows competency and suitability for the position. Appropriate candidates should know what details to include in their communication and should be capable to provide sufficient guidance to clients. Creativity and proactiveness in exercises requiring planning and interpersonal relations are desirable attributes for office managers. For instance, when planning for a function venue, the candidate must provide costs estimates, draft invitations, and offer transportation alternatives.
Problem-solving Capabilities
Under problem solving, the candidate needs to show objective decision-making. They must demonstrate their ability to solve workplace issues using data obtained from polling or interviewing colleagues on the best strategies to improve or solve the situation faced. The candidate must show the ability to incorporate research in all aspects of management.
Time Management Skills
Candidates possessing time management skills must demonstrate flexibility, punctuality, fast thinking, and follow up capabilities when dealing with scenarios require the skill. They must have knowledge of communication channels to facilitate delivery of messages and information in a timely manner during emergencies.
Computer Knowledge and Skills
Here a candidate can be asked to draft a Google Calendar invitation for a meeting between the clinic’s CEO and a business partner and screenshot it because they are overseas and in no position to physically arrange the meeting. A suitable candidate will take into consideration the difference in time zones in scheduling the meeting. Moreover, they would furnish information on the addresses and links for the venue. The candidate can also be asked to perform a simple function in the spreadsheet that has a definite correct answer.
Strategic Link between Competency Modeling, Assessment, and Organizational Objectives of the Weston Family Practice Clinic
The competency modeling and assessment frameworks adopted herein assume a general approach for the position of the office manager. The knowledge, skills, and abilities required of any candidate applying for the position cut across the board irrespective of the sector. While the office manager in the case study would be performing general duties under their jurisdiction, the Weston Family Practice Clinic setting may call for additional competencies. However, few candidates may be in possession of such competencies, hence, the need for coaching and training. Knowledge of the Weston Family Practice Clinic organizational culture can only be inculcated into the office manager through coaching and training, a process that falls under the responsibility of the outgoing administrative manager. The implication for the hiring process is that the candidate for the position must possess the attributes desired to integrate seamlessly into the organizational culture. They must be motivated to work in the healthcare setting because the Weston Family Practice Clinic vision, mission, and objectives are related to effective delivery of quality and safe healthcare services.
References
Berry, L. L., & Seltman, K. D. (2014, February). The enduring culture of Mayo Clinic. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 89, No. 2, pp. 144-147). Elsevier.
Doyle, A. (2019). Important job skills for office managers. Careers. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-office-manager-skills-2062446
Grandy, G., & Holton, J. (2013). Leadership development needs assessment in healthcare: a collaborative approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 34 (5), 427-445.
Ingram, T., & Glod, W. (2016). Talent management in healthcare organizations-qualitative research results. Procedia Economics and Finance , 39 , 339-346.
Johansson, A. (2017). 5 major recruitment challenges in the medical field. Recruiter. Retrieved from https://www.recruiter.com/i/5-major-recruitment-challenges-in-the-medical-field/
O-Net Online (2019). Summary report for: 11-3011.00 - Administrative services managers. Retrieved from https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3011.00
