Importance of Recruiting Strategies in the Healthcare Industry in 2022

The need for dedicated, dependable healthcare workers has never been greater, yet the well to tap from has never felt drier.

Medical staffing, unfortunately, has hit a state of crisis. Here’s why you need a healthcare recruiting strategy that secures your brand and your day-to-day operations beyond a Band-Aid fix:

6 Reasons to Invest in a Healthcare Recruiting Strategy

If you’re feeling the drought of an empty candidate pool, it’s easy to blame the outside world and wait for the situation to improve. That’s fair, but we also count six reasons a more aggressive recruitment strategy could be a better remedy:

1. The competition is fiercer than ever
2. It’ll help you pivot quickly
3. You’ll stand out from the crowd
4. Recruiting has evolved
5. Great recruiting process = great retention
6. You need a break!
   
   

1. The Competition Is Fiercer

Let’s be honest: Workers are leaving healthcare (and other) jobs at higher rates than we’ve ever seen. 

Healthcare recruiters, whether in Texas or Toledo, may find themselves fighting over the same pool of candidates. That’s an extreme example, but the point is: You can’t sit back and assume that desperation or a fancy office sign will lead the right candidate to your door. If you don’t put effort into ID’ing and targeting your core audience, you might be left behind.

2. You Can Pivot Quickly in Times of Need

Because workers are changing jobs and careers so rapidly, it’s important to use a defined, planned-out process for quicker hiring. Even in “normal times” (Do those even exist anymore?), a sound medical recruitment strategy is a lifesaver when you suddenly need to fill several jobs, or one critical job, quickly.

Think of a firefighter. He doesn’t pick up his hose and ready the fire truck only when there’s an emergency. He reviews the necessary skills and procedures in between emergencies so he’s faster and more effective when the real thing comes.

The same level of preparation can benefit your practice when unexpected vacancies arise.

3. You’ll Stand Out From the Crowd

When’s the last time you looked your brand in the mirror? If you swapped it with another one, would the average candidate be able to tell the difference?

Today, applying and interviewing is a two-way street. Your applicant is evaluating your practice just as much as you’re evaluating them.

Identify the top three or so qualities that make your workplace stand out. Use them to persuade top candidates to work at your practice.

Ways to do this include:

• Preach the mission – Include the “why” statement in your branding and marketing. Yes, every healthcare pro loves helping others, but dig deeper and get specific.
• Post some proof – Create testimonials of positive patient outcomes and relationships. To ensure credibility, use real patients with real names and faces.
• Be an educator – If your only vehicles for visibility are junk mail and self-congratulating Facebook posts, viewers are liable to tune you out. Try being helpful instead by sharing useful content online or holding community-education events in person.

(Related resource: Creative healthcare recruiting strategies learned after COVID)

4. Healthcare Recruiting Has Evolved

Placing an ad in the local newspaper isn’t enough to attract top healthcare staff in 2022.

As a new generation blends into today’s workforce, it has new expectations for how you court and hire. Relying on old methods may cause you to miss that rising, young candidate your competitor is ready to pounce on.

Consider these ways to reach millennial and Gen Z workers:

• Social media – Share educational articles and useful health news. Post photos of your practice and recognize special employees. Not only will you raise awareness of your brand, you’ll also be able to better manage your reputation.
• Text messaging & other outreach – When the courtship process begins, ask the candidate how they prefer to keep in touch. You’ll be more likely to get quicker responses, and perhaps a quicker hire.
  
  

5. Great Recruiting Processes = Great Retention

Did we mention it’s hard to find and keep good help these days?

Reactive hiring tends to result in a rushed process and a smaller, less-qualified pool of candidates. That, of course, leads to a higher chance you’ll be replacing that hire again 6-12 months later. When these expensive mistakes become a habit, it lowers office morale and the quality of patient care.

With more organized and strategic hiring processes, you’ll be more likely to attract great-fit candidates you’ll want to keep for years to come. 

What better way to reduce the impact of the healthcare staffing crisis than to keep the ones you’ve got?

6. You Need a Break!

Every medical practice, no matter the size, feels “the avalanche” at times. A pandemic, a string of employee resignations, a new opportunity to expand your practice – these are impossible to manage effectively without a plan.

Laying out your medical practice recruitment strategy before things start snowballing can streamline your required time and effort. Then you can:

• Fill jobs more quickly
• Reduce stress on current staff
• Reduce turnover!

And if the burden of medical recruiting is still too much, consider hiring a medical practice management company to compound those benefits. Offices like yours nationwide outsource hiring for all sorts of work:

• Billing
• HR
• Marketing
• Credentialing
• A whole lot more

What’s Your Medical Office Recruitment Strategy?

Medical staffing may feel like musical chairs right now. But a little planning goes a long way toward a healthier staffing situation.

Analyze your practice – are recruitment efforts vast enough, and do they align with the needs of today’s workforce? With a crisis-proof plan in place, both your staff and patients will prosper.