Teamwork is a critical and essential part of any organization. This is true regardless of the industry or the size of the company. Part of teamwork is creating a team in which the members of the team are a "good" fit. When a team member is not in an ideal position, this has the potential to impact the entire team. In EMS, this can impede the delivery of services and may even lead to calls that do not run as smoothly as they potentially could.

It is generally agreed that an organization's most valuable asset are the employees. It has also been noted that one of the most significant liabilities of a company is to have an employee in the wrong position. This can raise an important question: How does a hiring manager or team select an individual that is likely to be the best fit? While this is not always easy to answer, there are some general guidelines that may be useful.

When considering adding a new member to a team, the hiring manager has a significant decision to make. One goal for the hiring manager is to hire the "ideal" candidate. This is not inconsequential. Hiring an individual that later reveals not to be "effective" or a "team player" can present a variety of challenges. Examples include performance issues, attendance issues, as well as the overall ability of the new employee to "fit in" with the team.

Depending on the organization, when a vacancy opens there might be the desire to fill the position as quickly as possible. A vacancy may result in other staff having to do more work with the same or fewer resources. This can cause stress that can ripple through the team. Because of this potential, there may be significant motivation to hire a new team member.

How this is accomplished may vary. For example, the job vacancy may be posted for a defined period of time, applications received, and interviews scheduled. Based on the number of "qualified" applications, and after conducting interviews, the "right" person is hired. Once the individual has been hired, the goal is to "get them up to speed" -- as quickly as possible. Sometimes this process is accelerated, and subtle yet important details may be overlooked.

When possible, the hiring process should not be a rapid-fire-process. It should allow for due-diligence and thorough candidate review. While this may take time and may appear at times to be a painful process, it may prove to be extremely worthwhile. The concept of "filling the open position as soon as possible" without an established interview process may result in hiring an individual that is not the best match.