The most important thing that I learned in Management 448/548 is that there is significant benefit to be had by focusing hiring efforts in areas other than the actual hiring and interviewing process. It also makes complete sense.
I found the modules on Job Analysis and Performance Criteria most specifically rewarding, because I am a person who prefers to surround myself with quality people who I can trust to do a good job. I’ve worked in both a university faculty/clinical setting as well as private practice as a veterinarian/surgeon, and like most industries we are hurting for qualified support staff (and veterinarians!) who want to work. I have also worked with incredibly wonderful individuals who make my life easier as well as individuals who made my life extremely difficult due to their incompetence/lack of caring/inability.
During these weeks I imagined this perfect world where during hiring “downtime” one could focus efforts on conducting a thorough job analysis and determining KSAOs of the positions that are vital to me in my career – veterinary technician, veterinary assistants, and reception staff. There is often a fair amount of turnover in our support staff positions, and while I understand some parts of it being due to entry level positions etc., we are also operating in an industry where many of our business/hiring decisions are made by individuals with a degree in veterinary medicine and not business or human resources.
By nature, I am an organized person, and so conducting a thorough job analysis of positions and determining good performance criteria for selecting quality employees seems to set you up for greater success in the long run. Knowing which essential functions/qualities are most important and how to best measure those prior to even filling a position seems to almost set you up for success. I have been on several faculty search committees and involved in hiring support staff in private practice, and have yet to see this in practice. I am looking forward to using this and sharing the benefits with many of colleagues.
