Good help is hard to find — especially in health care. Part B News recently talked to experts about how to get ahead of the non-clinical health care workers shortage (subscription required). Here’s more advice from two of them:
Don’t rely on want ads. “The vast majority of organizations still think they can post jobs to fill them, and that just doesn't happen anymore,” says from Brigitta Glick, founder and CEO of Provenir, a recruiting, staffing and human resources consulting firm specializing in healthcare. “You have to go far beyond posting a position to your own website or a job board. You have to be proactive.” Health care recruiters are already proactively looking for these candidates and “having a dialogue with them long before there is an opening to fill,” says Glick; you might consider doing the same (or hiring someone to do it for you).
Build your brand. Having a brand image that gets “potential candidates to start considering you as an ‘employer of choice’” takes work and time: it’s a “slow-burn model built on rapport and longevity,” says Glick. But if you intend to stay in business, developing that brand image will pay off in long-term hiring dividends.
Offer more employee options, including flex time and home work. Traci Fiatte, CEO of Randstad Professionals and Commercial Staffing for Randstad US, points to a recent survey by her company showing that employees, including those in health care, increasingly like the idea of being able to work from home. While working remotely may not be feasible for most health care workers, she says, flexible and varying work schedules may be.
Show some appreciation. “The type of workers attracted to the health care profession are nurturers; they are part of the health care industry for a reason — to make a difference,” says Fiatte. “As a result, regularly showing your health care staff appreciation is probably the simplest way to keep your clinical and non-clinical staff members engaged and retained. Thank-you notes, as well as words of appreciation and encouragement, go a long way with [people with] nurturing personalities.”