If you are a hiring manager or a recruiter for a medical field, you are well aware of some of the challenges that come with healthcare recruiting. You may find that there is a lack of suitable or available talent, high rates of turnover, and a long time to fill the positions already.
Many companies in the healthcare field are demanding qualified specialists and it is hard to find a way to stand out from the crowd. When you are ready to ramp up some of your hiring efforts, it is a good idea to learn some of the best medical recruitment strategies. Some of the tips that you can follow to make this happen.
1. Use Niche Job Boards
While Indeed.com and other similar options may seem like a good place to start with your job search, it is not always the best idea to spend your time there. These will not find the true professionals that you want and could be a waste of time too. You really need to find a way to be more targeted with your reach.
There are several healthcare job boards that will provide you to get a good start on finding the job that you want. Healthcare-focused recruitment sites are a good option to try out. These help you to find the right healthcare specialists right where they are, rather than wasting time.
2. Invest in Some Recruiting Software
As a medical recruiter, you need to invest in a good applicant tracking system. This is a great tool to help you deal with your recruiting pains, including a high cost per hire or time to hire, or a limited amount of access to diverse candidates.
There are different things that you are able to do with this kind of tracking system. For example, you can use online tools that will make it easier to set up a referral system to reward your current employees when they help with your hiring efforts. It can also make it easier to do a passive search for candidates too.
3. Work on Your Branding
The next thing that you can work with is the branding of your company. With the jobs for healthcare in such high demand, it is so important to find a way to stand out so candidates will take a look at you. with a poor employer brand, you will stand no chance at getting some of the professionals in your door at all.
Take some time to rethink your employer brand and how you would like to communicate the vision and values of the company to anyone who wants to apply to work with you. a good place to start is by enriching the careers page. Adding pictures of typical daily work life can be a good place to start.
4. Consider the Soft Skills of a Candidate
To really have a chance to shine in their work, all health professionals will need to have an approach that is centered around the person and they will place a high value on helping others. Someone who is not able to do that will not perform well in this industry.
There are several things to consider with this one. Listening skills and effective communication are good places to start. The candidate also needs to be able to work under pressure quite a bit. To help you assess these soft skills, you should prepare the right interview questions ahead of time so you know how to test for those skills when they come in.
5. Offer the Right Benefits
Sometimes you will not be able to offer the highest salary to the employees you would like to bring into your company. There are a ton of options out there for potential candidates and you still have to stay within a budget. This means that you will need to work on offering some smart benefits.
Competitive benefits will be one of the best ways to recruit in a competitive market. Take some time to create a benefits package that is attractive. This can make sure that the candidates are going to come to you and may motivate them to stick with you rather than looking for a new job later.
Even if you are not able to pay the highest salary for the position, there are other options that you can choose from. Offering flexible working hours for the roles that have longer shifts, access to health and wellness programs, and more will help bring the employees in.
6. Know the Skills Gap
There is a new gap that has shown up between the standard rates of pay in the industry and how the job seeker will perceive the offer. This can lead to hiring hang up. On one side is the employer, they may perceive that the candidate does not have the right education or experience to handle the job.
There are problems on the side of the candidate as well. They may worry about the strict job requirements so they choose to not apply for some of the positions that they may be perfect for. To help address some of these issues, the employer may have to do a few things to get candidates in. these can include:
- Raise the wage
- Increase the amount of training offered on the job
- Do recruitment with recent college graduates
- Drive returns to work among those who recently retired.
Knowing the amount that employees will expect to get paid will make a difference. If you are offering way below the average, you will always struggle to get the right professionals.
Recruiting the Right Employees to Your Facility
The healthcare industry is competitive when it comes to finding the right candidates. You need to know where to look, have a good idea of the skills that you want the candidate to have, and offer the right benefits to help you out along the way. Follow some of our tips above and see how you can find the right candidates for your needs.