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What’s the secret to finding great employees with genuine soft and hard skills? How do you build trust with new hires and existing employees? Which interview techniques can you use to assess trustworthiness?
In this Scaling Series podcast episode, Nicole Ball speaks about building a trustworthy team by finding and training the right people.
Podcast Sponsor: WellReceived
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Meet Nicole Ball
Nicole is the owner of Mental Wellness Counseling in Traverse City, MI. Mental Wellness Counseling serves all of Michigan with its virtual telehealth options, and clients in Northern Lower Michigan with face-to-face counseling and walk-and-talk therapy options.
Nicole uses a holistic counseling approach that focuses on all aspects of a person’s life including physical, mental, and spiritual. She is also a full-time Professor of Social Work at Ferris State University, where she teaches social statistics and research, advanced interviewing skills courses, and research mentorship.
Visit The Mental Wellness Counseling Website, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
- Some key elements of trust
- How to build trust
- Interview techniques to assess trustworthiness
- Ask for feedback
- How to maintain trust over time
Some key elements of trust
Some of the following components are invaluable in employees, and even more so when you can find more than one in one person;
- Reliability: doing what they say they will do, with staff, the clients, and with you as their boss.
- Competence: taking their education and expertise seriously so that you can trust their approach to work. You must also trust your gut in this, not just their resume.
- Integrity: You want to hire people who are going to tell the truth, admit when they may be wrong, and do the right thing even when no one is looking.
Trusting that someone is going to do the right thing even when nobody is looking can be tricky, but we want people who demonstrate that integrity, and that we can trust will uphold that integrity. (Nicole Ball)
- Transparency: You want clinicians who are going to be upfront with people about their needs and expectations, especially when they are and are not being met so that effective communication can take place.
- Empathy: People assume that licensed and trained clinicians demonstrate empathy, but that’s not always the case.
How to build trust
Before we hire someone and onboard them, there are some things that you can do;
- Set the example as the leader
We need to model that behavior. I think we tell our clients a lot [about] the importance of modeling that behavior with their children, and with their co-workers … And I think it’s a nice reminder that we are setting that example for the folks who are on our team as well. (Nicole Ball)
- Communicate openly and transparently
- Make space for fostering a genuine professional relationship
Interview techniques to assess trustworthiness
1 – Listen to your gut as well as your mind: A great resume doesn’t guarantee a great employee, and a great employee won’t always have a great resume.
You will have to listen to both your mind and your gut when assessing a new potential hire for both their soft and hard skills.
2 – Ask questions that go beyond the scope of their expertise and help you to understand them as a person.
When I’m interviewing people, I’m hiring them based on my gut, and something that helps me do that is asking questions not related to their modalities! Or how they work with clients. I’m interviewing [with] questions like, “Tell me about a time when you really struggled”, or, “Tell me about a time you weren’t happy at your job and you took action to address that.” (Nicole Ball)
3 – Give them a sample client case to see how they respond to a spontaneous situation.
Ask for feedback
One of the best ways to create a cohesive and happy team is to ask for feedback and utilize it as the boss.
Your staff can see so much about the inside of the business, and maybe other aspects of what you would normally expect. Invite their advice and ask about their experience so that you can respect and expect one another, to be honest and constructive.
Furthermore, as the leader, set the example for taking accountability.
When you take responsibility for your mistake, that goes back to that integrity piece, and you are holding yourself accountable and taking responsibility for it, it shows other people [in your practice] that it’s safe to do that. (Nicole Ball)
How to maintain trust over time
- Recognize and address signs of eroding trust
- Take accountability for your mistakes and actions to show your staff that they can do the same without being punished for having committed the mistake in the first place
- If you notice difficult, inconsistent, or disruptive behavior, have an open yet professional conversation with the clinician to see why this situation keeps happening or is the way it is
- Recognize when it is time for things to come to a close and off-board an employee without burning bridges
Sponsors Mentioned in this episode:
- As a Practice of the Practice listener, you can get an exclusive 50% off your first 3 months of service. Head to WellReceived.com/joe to start growing your practice today.
- Find out more about the Group Practice Boss Conference!
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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