Recruiting Strategy
From Turnover to Retention: Tips to Recruit for the Healthcare Industry in 2020
HireHive Team
HireHive
HireHive Team
HireHive
HireHive Team
HireHive
HireHive Team
HireHive
A study of over 11,000 healthcare employers in the United States in 2017 found that the average turnover for healthcare employees was over 20%. This is a significant leap from over 15% in 2010. The critical nature of healthcare turnover is a worldwide issue and if organizations aren’t addressing it, the challenge to find and keep top talent will only continue to rise. When your facility begins losing healthcare employees, such as nursing staff, it’s important to switch gears and focus on retention. What you may not realize is that retention begins with the hiring process, not after.
You simply can’t retain top healthcare talent if you’re not hiring qualified candidates. We recently discussed the high cost of a bad hire, and just one bad hire can affect your entire staff. It’s essential to prequalify every potential employee before you bring them into your organization. Once you’ve hired them, your onboarding process needs to be smooth, engaging and welcoming.
Your environment also plays a major role in employee retention. If your healthcare team doesn’t want to come to work every day, it’ll be more difficult to keep them engaged. So how can you improve the environment for your employees? Ensure that the environment is comfortable, create policies that make your facility safe from bullying or harassment, and reinforce the shared values of your organization.
When an employee starts to feel that they’ve hit a dead-end, they’ll quickly become restless and look for new opportunities. Your job is to prevent this from happening by providing opportunities for advancement. Continued education is a good addition to their experience. Also, be sure to provide regular assessments and increased levels of responsibility based on their skills and interests.
Healthcare jobs aren’t known for their flexibility, but for many organizations, the issue has become critical. Healthcare workers can spend long, thankless hours on their feet, so it’s important you find a way to provide new levels of work/life balance. To attract and retain top healthcare talent, consider how you can implement a flexible schedule program so you maintain appropriate coverage but your employees aren’t overwhelmed or overworked.
The real cornerstone of retention might be gratitude. Everyone on your healthcare team wants to feel appreciated for the work they do. And this doesn’t just mean rewarding them when they go above and beyond. Simply saying “Thank you,” can go a long way to making your employees feel valued. Gratitude is contagious, too. You’ll notice that it’ll spread a culture of positivity throughout the workplace.
It’s important to note that healthcare staffing works differently than many other industries. There are all the typical aspects such as prescreening and interviewing employees, but there are additional considerations as well. Many healthcare professionals will need to have their credentials assessed to ensure they’re qualified to provide care to patients. This will vary based on your country or state, but it’s an essential part of the process.
That’s one of the reasons working with a staffing partner can benefit your recruiting program. Compliance will be top of mind. Other tips for hiring the best healthcare employees include:
Could the right staffing partner and software help you succeed this year? If you’re looking to hire top healthcare employees, contact HireHive today.
“HireHive makes the team a lot more productive. We’d be lost without it. Team Leaders can do it all themselves if needed or jump in at the right time and know exactly where everything is and what’s happening.”
Hilary Dempsey Head of HR at Life Credit union
