When you think of speed dating, what comes to mind? Likely, it’s something along the lines of: Meeting with multiple potential suitors and asking a series of questions over the course of just a few minutes, all so you can get a sense of whether that person is right for you.

So can the concept of speed dating be applied to the recruiting process?

Perhaps. As one of the top medical staffing agencies in Northern California, we know that many medical schools are now using this type of approach in order to interview students and better assess their communication skills. While they don’t call it “speed dating,” they do call it MMI, or multiple mini interviews.

Why this new approach? 

One of the biggest patient complaints in the health care field isn’t necessarily related to the medical skills of a physician, nurse, or therapist. It’s more about the communication skills – or lack thereof. This is critically important because lack of communication has been identified as one of the top causes of medical errors.

And through MMIs, the idea is that you can get a better sense of a candidate’s communications skills. Obviously, these shouldn’t be the be-all, end-all of your hiring process. But done right, MMIs may be able to help you to better assess “soft skills” so you can make a good hiring decision for your health care organization.

That said, MMIs aren’t right for every health care organization.  

For instance, if you don’t have enough trained staff in place – who know the right questions to ask and how to interview effectively – then the process likely won’t run smoothly for you.

In addition, candidates may not be as comfortable with this process. They may also not feel comfortable interviewing in a room with other candidates out of fear that their job search could be exposed. If that’s the case, you can modify the process and interview each candidate privately, rather than interviewing candidates simultaneously. Again, though, this would take a good amount of staff resources to get it done this way.

The bottom line is that you need to hire qualified medical professionals with strong communication skills. How you get there depends on your unique needs and the resources of your organization. Integrating MMIs into your recruiting process may or may not work for you. But it’s certainly something worth considering.

And if you need additional help with your hiring process, please give us a call. As one of the top medical staffing agencies in Northern California, we can help ensure your facility is staffed with the medical professionals you need, when you need them. Contact us today to learn more.