Retention issues are industry-agnostic, but the healthcare industry specifically deals with a great deal of turnover. Unfortunately the stakes are much higher than other professions, as your patient care hinges on the quality and longevity of your hires, so keeping your team around matters a lot.
In order to combat turnover, you have to look at all areas of your organization and see what’s causing individuals to jump ship. Additionally, you have to work on attracting the right people who are keen on sticking around. With an effective recruitment strategy, you’ll be able to get the word out about your organization and what makes working for your facility a cut above the rest.
Here’s how to build your recruitment strategy around retaining top talent.
Develop your employer brand
How employees and patients view your organization matters a great deal to individuals you want to hire. Stay focused on improving your employer brand by checking and responding to your online reviews, staying active on social media, and advertising your team and culture on your career site. Address concerns former or current employees have to make sure you’re creating an environment that new staff members will want to enter into. And make sure this is a continuous process rather than a one-and-done situation to keep evolving your employer brand.
Differentiate yourself
What makes your place a better place to work than the healthcare facility down the street? Do you offer outstanding patient care? Are your benefits a mark above the rest? Does your company culture make people want to come to work? Any and all of these are things you’ll want to advertise on your career site and social channels. Doing so will allow applicants to picture what it would be like to work at your organization and give them a better sense of how they’ll fit in. Additionally, it will help them decide to apply to your organization over your competition.
Feature employees
Your employees are your best tool for promoting your organization, as job seekers want to hear from individuals who know what it’s like to work at your facility. Feature employee testimonials on your career site, highlight awards employees have received, and even shoutout new employees on social media. These personal touches make attracting the right people much easier because it shows them that you care about your employees and value them as individuals.
And don’t forget to feature and team or organization-wide outings or get-togethers. Showing that your employees can have a good time together helps to demonstrate your culture to prospective candidates.
Make your application process easy
A drawn-out application process will deter qualified candidates from applying to your open roles, so focus on keeping your application concise. This blog outlines the dos and don’ts of creating a solid healthcare job application, but the gist is to keep your application as short and sweet as possible, and rely on pre-screening surveys and your job descriptions to make sure your applicant pool is full of promising candidates. Mobile-friendly applications are also essential to catching a great deal of applicants, as 61% of healthcare applicants use mobile devices to apply to jobs, according to our Applicant Experience Research.
Offer continued training
Your onboarding process should be thorough and allow employees to feel comfortable with their day-to-day, but ongoing training can make an important difference to those that are looking to grow with your organization. Offer job shadowing, extended learning courses, and other opportunities to build on current skills or learn new ones. Implementing these initiatives will keep your employees around longer and make new folks want to work with you.
Continue to improve
Feedback should always be welcome in your organization, no matter the topic.
Ask for feedback on all things organization-related, such as your onboarding process, your culture, and your employee satisfaction. You can do this through an anonymous survey or through regular manager check-ins. Aggregate the feedback and discuss with your leadership team where changes need to be made. Make this a yearly venture to make sure you’re keeping up with the times, as well.
Following these guidelines will help you curb turnover at your healthcare organization, as well as help you hire new employees. If you want more tips on attracting the candidates that will stick around, check out our Career Site Playbook.
