Don’t promise partnership as an “automatic” right

Competition for good candidates forces many physician practices to reduce time to partnership today. The typical two-year wait is dangerously short already - that's not much time to evaluate a new associate as a potential partner. But the market often demands recruiting practices to promise a fast track.

However long a recruit must wait, don't make partnership automatic - only promise eligibility. Then follow these principles when deciding whether to "promote" your associate:

·         Use frequent evaluation and discussions to gauge your new associate's progress to partner suitability.

·        Recognize that clinical skills don't equal owner/leader skills. Determine if the candidate has qualities like judgment, decision-making skills and trustworthiness.

·         Watch for major differences in philosophy.

·        Regardless of the length of time to partnership you promise, base the   start date on your fiscal year rather than employment anniversary date. That avoids having to produce a mid-year set of books to arrive at buy-in and income amounts.