Hiring Isn’t Guesswork
Finding great staff has become one of the biggest challenges facing podiatry business owners. Many clinic owners rely on intuition, experience, or a good interview when making recruitment decisions. Unfortunately, that approach often leads to costly mistakes.
In this episode, Podiatry Business Coach Tyson Franklin speaks with performance expert Jay Henderson about a different way of looking at recruitment. Rather than focusing solely on behaviour and personality assessments, Jay explains why understanding how people think and make decisions can provide a far deeper insight into future performance.
Behaviour Versus Decision-Making
Many business owners are familiar with tools such as DiSC, Myers-Briggs, Kolbe, and Predictive Index. Jay acknowledges that these tools have value, but he believes they tell only part of the story.
According to Jay, most assessments measure behaviour after decisions have already been made. His approach focuses on understanding what happens before a decision occurs.
He explains that every person moves through a sequence:
- Perception
- Analysis
- Decision
- Action
- Results
By understanding how someone naturally perceives and processes information, employers can better assess how that person will perform in a role.
Why People Rarely Change
One of the most fascinating parts of the conversation centres around the idea that people remain remarkably consistent throughout life.
Jay shares observations from studying thousands of individuals and notes that while people gain experience, maturity, and education, their core hardwiring tends to stay largely the same.
For employers, this creates an important lesson. Many business owners hire someone, believing they can change certain behaviours or personality traits over time. Jay argues that this is often wishful thinking.
Instead of hiring people based on who you hope they will become, focus on who they already are.
The Danger of Hiring on Potential
A common recruitment mistake occurs when employers see obvious shortcomings but convince themselves that those issues will disappear once the employee settles into the role.
Jay explains that the opposite is often true.
Most candidates are presenting the best version of themselves during the interview process. As they become more comfortable within the organisation, their natural tendencies become increasingly visible.
This is why understanding a person’s decision-making style before hiring can be so valuable.
Self-Image and Business Success
The discussion moves beyond recruitment into a fascinating conversation about self-image. Jay believes our internal picture of ourselves influences almost every decision we make.
Whether it’s business growth, income, leadership, or career success, people often unconsciously operate within the boundaries of their self-image.
Tyson and Jay discuss how many business owners unintentionally limit their own growth because they struggle to see themselves operating at a higher level. If your self-image doesn’t support success, your actions will often pull you back towards what feels comfortable and familiar.
Expanding Your Comfort Zone
Jay uses the analogy of a stretched rubber band.
One end represents your current reality. The other represents your vision for the future. The tension between those two points creates discomfort.
Eventually something snaps. Either your current reality moves towards your vision or your vision shrinks back to your current reality.
This concept applies equally to business growth, leadership, and hiring decisions.
Practical Hiring Advice
Jay offers several practical strategies for podiatry business owners:
Define the Role Clearly
Before advertising any position, become crystal clear about exactly what you’re looking for. Don’t settle for vague descriptions. The more specific you become, the easier it becomes to identify the right candidate.
Build a Hiring Scorecard
Create objective criteria that can be used consistently throughout the recruitment process.
This removes much of the emotional decision-making that often leads to poor hiring outcomes.
Write Better Job Advertisements
Most job ads attract large numbers of applicants but very few ideal candidates. Because of the high volume of resumes, you can often get fatigued, and a great candidate can slip by unnoticed.
Instead, write directly to the person you want to attract.
Specificity creates better filtering. Yes, you will get fewer resumes, but they will be of higher quality.
Always Be Recruiting
One of Jay’s strongest recommendations is to maintain a recruitment mindset even when you’re fully staffed.
You never know when a great candidate may appear or when an unexpected vacancy might arise.
The Final Lesson
Perhaps the most powerful takeaway from this episode is simple:
Never hire subpar candidates simply because you’re desperate. The cost of a poor hire is almost always greater than the temporary inconvenience of waiting for the right person.
As Jay explains, many of the world’s best leaders share the same philosophy: It’s often better to make no hiring decision than to make the wrong one.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your podiatry friends and if you can spare 30 seconds from your busy schedule, consider giving the show a rating and review.
Do you want to make more money in podiatry?
If you want to make more money from your podiatry business and have more time off with your family, please visit my website at tysonfranklin.com to learn how I can help you make this a reality. Otherwise, feel free to email me any questions you may have about your business at tf@tysonfranklin.com.