These 5 Micro-Mistakes May Be Costing You Good Staff

I want to go over a few small—but costly—mistakes I see practice owners and managers make when it comes to staff. These are things that seem minor in the moment, but they add up and often lead to losing potentially great team members. The good news? They’re totally avoidable. 

Hiring When You Know It’s Not a Fit

You’ve got the resume. You’re hopeful. Maybe they said all the right things in the interview. But deep down… something feels off. You hire them anyway—“just in case you’re wrong.” 

We’ve all been guilty of this, whether it’s out of desperation, stress, or maybe you’ve interviewed 20+ candidates and decided you’ll just have to settle. Whatever the reason, don’t ignore that gut feeling. A good resume doesn’t always equal a good fit. 

I’ve seen this more times than I care to mention, and it can wreak havoc on your organization. You’ll spend time training this person, introducing them to your patients and team, and allowing them to work their way into your business. Best case scenario, that gut feeling you ignored was just telling you they were not trainable, they were lazy, or they were just too shy to work in healthcare. While each of these issues can be extremely detrimental to the office because they slow productivity and add unnecessary stress to the rest of the team, they aren’t the worst cases I’ve seen. 

Sometimes that gut feeling is warning you that this person doesn’t have your best interests at heart and plans to use your office as their own personal piggy bank. Every single client I’ve spoken to who has been embezzled from told me they had a feeling or “kind of knew” that the person wasn’t right, but they couldn’t put their finger on it, so they ignored it. While this isn’t a common occurrence, it does happen, and it’s devastating when it does.

The solution? Have a well-planned hiring process. Interview all candidates in person (I’m not a fan of video interviews unless absolutely necessary, like for out-of-town prospects). Call references, do background checks on every prospect, and most importantly, take the time to talk to the person during the interview. Don’t just ask the same questions everyone else asks. Get them talking. This will give you a much better feel for who they really are and help you decide if they’re a good fit for your office.  

Be mindful—don’t swing from hiring anyone to hiring no one. But do listen to your gut if it just doesn’t feel right.

The Firehose Training Approach 

Another mistake I often see is hiring someone and then immediately trying to teach them everything in the first few days. It’s overwhelming. They get hit with a firehose of information—systems, software, processes, policies—before they even know how to clock in. You don’t get a chance to see if they can actually get anything done, and they retain very little of what you’re trying to teach them.

Here’s what I recommend instead: First, test their ability to do tasks. Give them one simple job—like calling patients to confirm appointments or cleaning up the front desk area—and see how they handle it. If they get that done, give them another. Then, train them in the key basics of their position and add to it gradually as they show they understand and can achieve what’s been taught so far. 

Yes, this process is a bit slower. Yes, you have to actually invest time in your employees. But that’s how you make great employees. That’s how they win, and you win. 

And if you’re thinking: “I don’t have time to create manuals or job descriptions!”—AI is your friend. If you haven’t braved the new world of AI as a tool for creating job descriptions or manuals, now is the time. Take 30 minutes a day for the next week, or set aside a 4-5 hour period, and break down the job you’re hiring or training for into its various pieces. With the help of AI you can write a thorough but to-the-point guide on how to do each. Sequence it logically and away you go. Give the person one thing at a time and check their work afterward to ensure they really understand and can perform the task before moving on to the next. 

Letting Gossip Slide 

This is a big one. Gossip is a morale killer. Even small bits of unchecked gossip can destroy teamwork and turn an office into a toxic environment. It’s easy to ignore and hope it will just stop, but more often than not, it spreads. Your office becomes toxic. Usually, it’s only one or a small few doing the gossiping, while your other employees are trying to do their jobs. But this kind of environment is exactly the kind that productive people don’t want to work in. And they will leave. If you let gossip slide, you’ll continue to have a hard time staffing your office. 

Make it clear from the beginning that gossip is not tolerated—and take swift action if it starts. Pull the person aside and talk to them directly. Let them know you expect professionalism and respect in the workplace. If it’s a one-time slip, handle it swiftly and firmly. If it’s a pattern, you may have to make the hard call to part ways. Your other employees will thank you for it. 

Not Setting Clear Goals 

The next micro-mistake that can really cost you good staff is not setting clear goals. If someone doesn’t know what’s expected of them, how can they succeed? You know what you expect, but have you made that clear to them? And do you hold them to it on the regular? 

Define their goals. Set targets. Make their product—what they’re responsible for—crystal clear. Without this, people flounder. They spend their days unsure if they’re winning or failing. And when they flounder, they’re more likely to feel lost and non-productive. Then all that time you spent hiring and training them is wasted because they’ll leave, or you’ll have to let them go. 

So what does this look like practically? Let’s say you’re hiring a Scheduler. Their “product” might be: a full schedule with patients arriving on time. Their daily targets might include: “Confirm tomorrow’s schedule,” or “Make 10 new patient phone calls and schedule 5.” Whatever it is, make it explicit. Put it in writing, review it with them, and check in regularly to ensure they’re hitting those targets. 

Texting or Emailing as a Way of Staff Correction 

And finally—don’t correct or reprimand someone over text or email. It’s impersonal, tone can be misunderstood, and it doesn’t show leadership. As we continue to move to electronic solutions for every aspect of life, the art of communication and interpersonal relations becomes more and more lost. 

A good manager has to manage the team. And that means correcting them when they err or reprimanding them when they violate policy. But that correction should come with the intention to actually do just that: correct the employee. And that is very hard to do if you just send a text or email and assume they received it and will just correct themselves. It’s cowardly management. Additionally, you miss the opportunity to spot problematic personnel this way as well. How well the employee can receive the correction tells you a lot about how they will continue to perform on the job. 

The fix? Always correct staff face-to-face or via a video call if they’re remote. Do it in a private space where you can talk openly. Make sure they understand what they did wrong, why it matters, and how to correct it. Ask them if they have questions or concerns. Let them know you’re here to help them succeed, but also that there are standards that must be met. 

The Bigger Picture: Culture and Leadership 

When you add these micro-mistakes up—ignoring gut feelings during hiring, overwhelming new staff, letting gossip slide, failing to set clear goals, and correcting staff over text or email—they create a culture that repels good employees. You lose them to offices that are better run, where they feel supported, understood, and like their work matters. 

The good news? None of this is rocket science. It’s leadership. And it’s about being consistent. Make your office a place where people know what’s expected and see a future for themselves. That’s what keeps good staff around for the long haul. 

Summary 

These might seem like small things, but they have a huge impact. Avoiding these micro-mistakes can help you keep good staff and create a much more stable team. And remember in the long run, a stable team isn’t just good for your stress levels—it’s good for your patients, your bottom line, and your practice’s future.