We seek to hire employees with strong problem-solving skills. When did you successfully resolve a problem in the workplace?

"I worked in a clinic where the primary population was low-income. We had a lot of concerns with patients not showing up for appointments when expected. The staff wanted to start double-booking patient time slots. Instead, I got permission to spend a day in a highly-rated clinic serving the same population. They had 'drop-in mornings' with a common waiting room. I took these methods and incorporated them into our setting. We did that twice a week, and it completely solved our scheduling problem."

"In my most recent position, we had a consistent problem with employees arriving late for their shifts or calling in sick at the very last moment. Rather than the typical documenting and reprimanding style that management usually takes, I decided to track the results of an accountability reward system. For 180 days, I rewarded my employees for coming to work 10 minutes early. I also added a bonus for every month with zero sick days. Ultimately, we awarded those with perfect attendance a 600 bonus. In the end, the bonus cost us less money than the cost of lowered productivity due to absent employees. The program was successful, and upper management chose to keep it implemented for another six months. We will re-assess in December, but it seems to work very well."