The Optometric Minute

Use Personality Tests to Hire and Place for Success

August 3, 2016

Danny Clarke, OD, uses personality tests that introduce objective measures to the hiring process. Tests also help to place employees in roles where they likely will enjoy their work and be good at it.   

 

HIRE FOR ATTITUDE, TRAIN FOR SKILL. Hire based on the potential of a person to match your practice’s values, and their ability to be trained to do needed tasks.

USE PERSONALITY TESTING. Personality assessments like DiSC and Myers-Briggs enable you to see how employees are naturally inclined in what they like to do. That allows you to match them to the role best suited for them.

BUILD IDEAL PROFILES BASED ON ROLE.You can use DiSC profiles to assess prospective new employees on which specific role they match up best with, based on the employee superstars in each of those roles.

LET EMPLOYEES TAKE OWNERSHIP. Have employees report on specific areas of the business, allowing them to take ownership for a part of the practice they can impact, such as an optician taking ownership of frames and lens sales.

SHOW PRACTICE HOW TO WORK AS TEAM. For example, do an exercise in which the whole practice is shown how everyone can help the optician meet her goal of increasing frame and lens sales.

PUT PEOPLE IN ROLES THEY ENJOY AND WILL DO WELL IN. Cross train, but keep employees in the roles they have proven through personality assessments and experience to be best suited for.

Danny Clarke, OD, owns Clarke EyeCare Center in Wichita Falls, Texas. He also heads Modus: Practice in Motion, which offers open book management training to ODs and staff. To contact him: dbc@clarkeeye.com

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