Hiring can be daunting, especially when you’re at capacity and desperately need that new practitioner to service clients or the administrative team member to shoulder the burdon of some workload.. 

Whether you’re hiring a physiotherapist, chiropractor, occupational therapist, remedial massage therapist, practice manager or any other member of your team, it can be challenging to know what questions to ask during the interview process to ensure you’re bringing on the right person.

Despite having, at the time, 10 years experience in HR and having hired hundreds of employees in corporate roles. 

I’ll admit, when I first started hiring when I was running a clinic a few years back, I made some mistakes that on reflection are easier to make as a small business owner when you are SO invested in everything. 

 Here are a few of my early fails:

1. After a few weeks, I realized a candidate’s salary expectations were completely unrealistic, consuming over 80% of potential revenue.
2. I hired someone who wanted to work in a relaxing day spa setting—while we were a remedial clinic focused on chronic pain. A serious mismatch!
3. I brought on practitioners who, despite being paid an hourly rate, didn’t want to do any work when they didn’t have clients, leaving downtime unproductive.
4. I even hired a receptionist who had admin experience but turns out dreaded making follow-up calls—one of the main tasks of the job!

Over time, we refined our hiring process, and I learned one critical lesson: the biggest mistake you can make is hiring someone just because they have the right skills and experience. 

Yes, qualifications and technical skills are essential, but if they don’t align with your clinic’s culture, vision, and needs, it can cause more harm than leaving the role vacant for a bit longer.

A bad hire drains energy—not just from you but from your whole team. The squeaky wheel starts to spread its negativity, impacting other staff members and, worse, your clients. 

So how do you avoid this? You ask the right questions.

Here are three of the most effective interview questions we have asked for any role: :

1. When you get stressed at work, what do we as a business need to do to support you?

Stress happens, and how your potential hire handles it is critical to their success and happiness in your clinic. This question sets the tone that you, as a business, are aware that stress is a part of the job, but it also puts the onus on the candidate to think about what kind of support they need. 

Can they recognize their stressors? Do they understand how to communicate their needs, or do they tend to stay silent, building resentment? 

This question not only opens the door to understanding their stress management but also indicates whether your clinic can provide the environment they need to thrive.

2. We’re 12 months into the future and you’re looking back at your best year yet career-wise… what happened?

This question allows candidates to paint a picture of what success looks like for them. Are their goals and aspirations aligned with what you envision for their role in your clinic? 

Are they motivated by growth, making a difference in patients’ lives, or perhaps leadership opportunities? 

Understanding what drives them will give you insight into how long-term they see this position and whether their definition of success aligns with your business objectives.

3. What would we need to do as a business to make you leave us?

Yes, it’s bold. But this question brings out deal-breakers early on. Whether it’s work-life balance, company culture, or workload expectations, this question can reveal any red flags or areas where your values may clash. 

It’s better to have clarity upfront so you can decide whether their non-negotiables align with the environment you want to foster.

The Key to Successful Hiring in Allied Health

No matter how challenging it is to source qualified practitioners, don’t rush into hiring just because someone checks the right skills box. 

Skills can be trained and developed, but finding someone who aligns with your clinic’s values and culture is the key to long-term success.

To help streamline your next interview, we’ve gathered 29 of the best interview questions for practitioners and administrative staff—designed to ensure you hire for both skills and cultural fit. 

And the best part? We’re giving it away for free.

Insert a form to Active Campaigns to download the freebie, if not possible will have to put in a Button which sends them to a landing page to put in their details – I don’t think we have one yet for this topic so you’d have to duplicate one of the existing pages (eg LM Recruitment) and updated the text and the AC form.