Unmasking the Pitfalls of Your Hiring Funnel: Strategies for Success
Introduction
Hiring shouldn’t feel like a never-ending obstacle course—but for most group practice owners, it does. Whether you're brand new to building a team or knee-deep in burnout from doing it all yourself, chances are your hiring funnel is doing more harm than good. And here's the kicker: you might not even realize it. In this post, we're digging into why your current system might be setting you up to fail, what to look for, and how to get back on track without losing your damn mind in the process.
The Myth of the Bad Hire
Let’s bust a big one: most “bad hires” aren’t actually bad people. They’re the product of broken systems. Reactive hiring—when someone quits, you're underwater, and you just need someone—leads to skipped steps, lowered standards, and big regrets. A proactive hiring process flips the script. It's about recruiting even when you're not desperate, writing job ads that filter for alignment, and building a process that reflects what your practice actually values.
Understanding Broken Funnels
A busted funnel is sneakier than you think. It looks like vague job roles, inconsistent screening, chaotic interviews, and decision-making that feels more like guesswork than leadership. If you’re rushing offers without structure or skipping red flags because you’re exhausted, your funnel needs some love. Quick decisions can be great—if they’re based on clear systems and solid info. Rushed ones? Not so much.
The Hidden Costs of Ineffective Hiring
A messy funnel doesn’t just cost you a good candidate—it drains time, tanks morale, burns out leadership, and wastes everyone’s energy (including the candidate’s). Every miss adds up. And if you're repeating the same hiring loop hoping for different results, it's time to stop and take stock.
The Role of EOS in Hiring
If you're using EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), your hiring funnel lives inside your People and Process Components. It’s one of your core HR systems. Documenting it doesn’t mean writing an encyclopedia—it means using the 20/80 rule: capture the 20% that covers 80% of the journey. EOS helps you build clarity and accountability into a process that often gets overlooked or duct-taped together.
Action Steps for Your Hiring Funnel
Audit What You’ve Got: If you have a hiring funnel, review it. Where do the right people drop off? Where are you letting the wrong ones in? No funnel? No problem—start by mapping your high-level steps from job ad to first 90 days.
Ask for Feedback: Talk to your newest hires or your team leads. Ask what was confusing, what felt smooth, and what could have been clearer. Their feedback is gold. Use it.
Conclusion
A strong hiring funnel won’t fix every problem in your practice—but it will stop you from making the same exhausting mistakes over and over again. Build it with intention, lean on EOS if you're using it, and remember that systems are there to support you—not just to “get done.”
If you want help refining your funnel, streamlining your process, or accessing templates and trainings that take out the guesswork, join the Culture Focused Practice Membership. You’ll get the tools, support, and community to hire smarter—not just faster.
See you inside.
About the Author
Dr. Tara Vossenkemper is a gently-candid consultant who’s been in the trenches of group practice ownership since 2017. With a hearty blend of depth, irreverence, and a solid dash of humor (or so she hopes), Tara helps practice owners navigate the can-be-messy process of hiring, culture-building, vision generating, people-y issues, and all the other things that keep you up at night. When she’s not consulting, she’s probably wrangling her animals or homeschooling her kids—because why not add more chaos to the mix?
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