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While labor shortages have been hitting many industries over the last few years, healthcare has been experiencing noticeable issues. Around 20% of healthcare workers decided to leave their workplaces in 2020, with the infamous nursing shortage beginning long before. Clearly, labor shortages are affecting healthcare in quite significant ways, but there are still some tactics providers can use to attract and retain quality talent. To that end, here are some efficient healthcare recruitment strategies that might help you attract great candidates as well:
Focusing more on social media
Social media has become an unavoidable aspect of our lives, but it turns out it’s just as crucial for recruitment as well. A significant percentage of the workforce considers social media to be an efficient place for finding new and rewarding career paths, a fact that can be especially beneficial if you’re looking for younger candidates. LinkedIn still remains the best platform for finding great industry professionals, but even websites such as Facebook and Instagram can be helpful, by sharing positive patient reviews, highlighting employee achievements, and conveying compassion through community involvement.
Making job postings accessible
If a candidate finds your medical practice to be appealing and is eager to apply to an open position, consider how easy it would be for them to actually find your job postings. To increase visibility, consider including a ‘Careers’ section on your website that lists all current openings and serves as a space for online recruiting. You can also post these same listings to social media platforms for higher outreach. Then, aim to optimize the ‘Careers’ page for a more candidate-friendly recruitment process that makes it simple to search through job openings and reduces the steps needed to complete the application process.
Communicating the company culture
While clearly communicating the company culture might be important for any recruitment strategy, it’s particularly crucial in healthcare. This will help to demonstrate the type of workplace you provide, the typical pace of work that can be expected, and the usual relationships between coworkers, among other factors. With this picture, candidates will have a better idea of whether they are actually a good fit for your team, encouraging them only to apply for a position if they know it’s the right option for them. In turn, you won’t have to weed out inexperienced applicants or explain to a care facility nurse why patient recovery might not be suitable for them. Additionally, addressing practical concerns, such as whether are Medicare premiums deductible for employees, can provide clarity and enhance your overall communication.
Showcasing your unique work
Along with building a strong social media presence, this also means showcasing the work they’ve previously done on patients on their website, as well as describing the general work environment through images and videos. This has shown to be quite an effective and inexpensive way to attract candidates without having to contact them directly; they are often engaged and interested enough that they reach out to you. As long as you follow patient privacy laws, you can consider implementing a similar work-first strategy as well.
Seeking advice from your staff
In cities across Europe, on the other hand, it’s common for the entire staff to join the healthcare facility’s recruitment efforts. Employees are often offered incentives that motivate them to share job postings on their social media channels as well, thus reaching out directly to potentially interested connections. The current staff can also help by being more careful about how they represent your practice online. If you’d like to ask your staff to aid in recruiting, consider implementing a detailed social media policy for your employees. For example, they shouldn’t share privileged information, belittle patients or colleagues, talk about controversial topics, etc. This will help to ensure more streamlined operations.
Accessing untapped channels
When it comes to recruitment, it often pays to be creative. Accessing untapped channels can provide you with highly skilled and experienced candidates you might not have been able to find otherwise. For doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other highly specialized roles, this could mean leveraging employee referral programs, revisiting previous runner-up candidates, hosting professional seminars, and looking outside typical sources, like contacting international or recently retired professionals. In terms of unspecialized healthcare roles, keep in mind that you’re competing with all other high-volume employers. Tactics you could utilize here also include referrals, along with more unique methods such as hosting public job fairs and partnering with volunteer groups in an effort to make a big impact and convert top talent.
As the demand for qualified professionals of all skill levels continues to increase, healthcare recruitment will likely get even more challenging and competitive. Use the recruitment strategies mentioned above to streamline your processes and ensure you can always deliver the highest quality of care to your patients.