Episode Summary: 3 Key Strategies to Hiring Employees You Can Trust

Private Practice Startup Podcast — Episode 165
Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Katie Lemieux
Guest: Sid Upadhyay, Co-founder and President of WiseHire
Release Date: December 7, 2019

Episode Overview

This episode centers on a crucial stage in private practice growth: hiring reliable, trustworthy employees. Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux sit down with Sid Upadhyay of WiseHire to discuss the biggest mistakes practice owners make during hiring, why traditional approaches cause burnout and disappointment, and—most importantly—Sid’s three key strategies for hiring team members that will help practices thrive. The conversation blends practical business strategies with psychological insight, focusing on empathy, systems, and aligning values through tools like the DISC profile.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding DISC Profiles in Hiring

What is DISC and Why Use It?

• Sid explains DISC: “The D for decisive, I for interactive, S for stabilizing, and C for conscientious. We use this at work ... it's a super useful tool that helps us break down barriers, to really like, understand what's driving you, what motivates you.” (04:30)
• Personality-awareness helps assign candidates to roles where they will thrive.
• Sid notes: "You have your natural self ... you can adapt temporarily for certain tasks. But if you're doing that every single day... that's going to be an injury pretty soon." (12:02)

Hosts Discuss Personal DISC Styles:

• All three realize they're “high Ds,” leading to decisive, take-action behavior.
• Katie shares an anecdote about giving space to her co-host to avoid micromanaging, highlighting how self-awareness of work styles improves collaboration. (05:02)

2. Traditional Hiring Pitfalls and the Need for a System

The Problem with Old-School Hiring:

• Sid: “Most of our customers don't come to us from the beginning. They've tried all the other tools. They've posted jobs, been inundated with candidates and overwhelmed... And then they're afraid that, hey, I'm about to bring someone on. If I make a mistake, what could happen?” (07:41)

Real-World Pain:

• Dr. Kate describes her own overwhelming hiring experience—thousands of resumes, too much time filtering, and not knowing about recruiting services until later. (08:35)
• The typical approach is reactive and inefficient, leading to burnout and often the wrong fit.

3. Sid’s Three Key Strategies to Hiring Employees You Can Trust

Strategy 1: Know Your Hiring Landscape

Timestamp: 14:24

• Research Candidate Supply:
  “Go to a job site ... look at how many other [companies are] your competitors, what are they saying? [Then] go to the resume section and actually type in the job that you're about to hire ... The pool drives down dramatically.” (14:24)
• Be Realistic About Timelines:
  “Being cognizant that, you know, sometimes that right person might take a little bit longer and being okay with it.” (16:15)
• Don't expect to fill specialized roles quickly; understand the local job market and candidate availability.

Strategy 2: Write Job Ads That Attract the Right People

Timestamp: 16:15

• Distinguish Job Ad from Job Description:
  “The job description, it's legalese, it's internal ... But when you start taking that for the perspective of like writing it, I’m putting it on a job board ... it's all about selling the job.” (16:15)
• Language Matters:
  "It's better to instead say we're seeking someone that can speak calmly and help our patients and overemphasize the details to make sure the day is going to run smoothly." (17:18)
• Empathy in Communication:
  Use empathy to write to your ideal candidate, using their language and motivators, especially for personality types like S/C who “are going to spend the time actually reading the ad.” (17:53)
• Twice as many quality results come from well-written, targeted ads.

Strategy 3: Take a Holistic, Thorough Approach to Interviews

Timestamp: 19:29

• Well-Rounded Interview Process:
  “You're about to make ... probably the biggest decision in your business to make the extended offer to that first hire ... So it's important you spend time and have a really effective interview process.” (19:29)
• Go Beyond Assessments — Seek Character & Grit:
  "The personality assessment is telling us behavior motivators, but it's not going to tell us character ... That's where we encourage employers to ... really dig in." (20:07)
• Favorite Interview Technique:
  Sid likes to ask: “Talk about a time when you've been so motivated to get something done ...” leading to stories that reveal a candidate's actual drive and character (21:03).
• Practical Exercises:
  Ask candidates to perform sample tasks relevant to their responsibilities and use follow-up interviews to discuss the thinking behind their work (23:50).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On empathy and candidate experience:
  “Throughout the process, just really, really be courteous to job seekers ... We all work in a small market. The courteousness you show to a job seeker is going to pay dividends when they refer you to their friend or whatever is the case.” — Sid (24:23)
• On retention:
  “When a job seeker finally gets into that right role, if you've taken all these steps ... we're seeing retention on jobs that's double the average.” — Sid (26:09)
• On the power of alignment:
  “When you take care of your team, they’re going to take care of your clients, and your clients will take care of your business ... It's this beautiful reciprocal process.” — Katie (25:23)
• On non-monetary benefits:
  “People really don't leave jobs because of money ... our VA told us that we are her ideal bosses ... even though we don’t pay her as much as she was being paid because she got so much more.” — Katie (27:13)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:14 — What is the DISC profile? Why it matters in your practice.
• 07:36 — Problems with traditional hiring in private practice.
• 14:24 — Strategy 1: Understanding your job market.
• 16:15 — Strategy 2: Crafting effective job ads.
• 19:29 — Strategy 3: Improving your interview process.
• 21:03 — Sid’s favorite interview questions.
• 23:50 — Practical ways to test candidate fit with the job.
• 24:23 — The role of empathy in hiring and employer reputation.
• 26:09 — Real-world results: Double the retention rate.

Conclusion & Takeaways

Sid’s three strategies highlight that hiring trustworthy employees means going beyond résumé keywords, and instead:

• Allying empathy with clear systems,
• Writing job ads as you would a marketing campaign—with your ideal hire in mind,
• Using practical and behavioral interview methods to focus on fit, not just technical skill,
• And always remembering the human side of the equation, for both better retention and a healthier practice.

Resources and a listener exclusive discount from WiseHire are available at wisehire.com/privatepracticestartup.

For mental health professionals starting or growing a team, these tips from Sid and your Startup Nation hosts will help you hire wisely, humanely, and for the long term.