How to Attract and Retain Quality Healthcare Candidates

As a healthcare staffing agency, we know how important it is to attract and retain quality talent to avoid a shortage of employees. Healthcare facilities often don’t have time to worry about employees being late, not showing up to a shift, being underqualified, and so on. You should never have to settle for less, so we’ve created a list of tips for attracting and retaining candidates that are highly valued in the healthcare industry.

How to attract talent

Offer a flexible work environment

When healthcare professionals are looking for a job, they often want to make sure the employer is somewhat flexible. Since these healthcare workers are also expected to be flexible with their time, it doesn’t hurt to show that you too can be flexible. This will reduce feelings of rigidness and feeling stuck in a workplace, which will inevitably attract these healthcare professionals.

Making the hiring process simple and straightforward

Don’t let your healthcare facilities hiring process be drug out for too long. If the process is too complicated and takes a long time to complete, your candidates will not hesitate to choose a different healthcare facility if they have other job offers (Jorgovan, n.d.). Instead of complicating the process, give your candidates a clear description of the next steps to take so they can be prepared and the onboarding process can operate as smoothly as possible.

Have a competitive compensation

Offering higher pay rates than other healthcare facilities is a sure-fire way to attract more candidates. While this is true, you will still want to ensure that you are hiring quality talent by weeding out the less serious candidates. A good way to assess if you are offering competitive compensation is by researching the pay and benefits that other local facilities offer their employees.

Emphasize work-life balance

Prioritizing work-life balance will attract candidates because it shows that you care about them as a person and not just as an employee. This will also give the talent hope and assurance that they will be much less likely to experience burnout at your healthcare facility.

Offer good employee benefits

A large deciding factor when looking for a new job has to do with the benefits that the company offers. Employees need to ensure that they are getting adequate benefits that will fit their needs as well as their potential families. By offering good benefits, you will be much more successful in attracting quality talent.

How to retain talent

Set clear career paths

By setting clear career paths, you will show your employees you are proactive and serious about their career growth. Having set career pathways will give your employees something to work toward, which will make them want to stay at your healthcare facility for longer. Employees need to know that they can work to advance in their roles, so prioritize setting goals for them from the beginning (National Medical Staffing Network, 2023).

Support continuing education

You will also want to make sure that you are investing in your employees by supporting their continuing education. This will not only benefit the candidates, but it will also allow for more experienced and qualified healthcare professionals in your healthcare facility. Supporting their education will also enhance employee retention because it will show them that you want to help them further boost their careers. If employees know they will have the opportunity to further advance their healthcare careers, then they are more likely to continue working for you.

Offer employee assistance programs

Companies that offer employee assistance programs are often able to retain their talent because of how much they benefit employees. Access to support and resources will entice candidates who might need additional help if they face certain challenges (National Medical Staffing Network, 2023). If you don’t already have an employee assistance program in place, it would be a good idea to implement one so that your employees can be the best they can be. This will not only improve retention rates, but it will also boost productivity.

Create employee recognition programs

Recognizing your employees' hard work is essential, but providing incentives by utilizing an employee recognition program will be even more effective. Employee recognition programs motivate your candidates even further to reach their goals. This helps retain employees because many healthcare professionals like to work towards their goals, and being recognized for it can feel even more rewarding.

Treat per diem and agency staff as you would your regular staff

Healthcare facilities that treat per diem and agency staff as their own are those that have some of the highest retention rates. This is one of the easiest strategies for retaining quality talent because all you have to do as an employer is be inclusive and fair. If you have traditions or events in your workplace, include your contingent staff. This simple strategy will leave the temporary employees wanting to come work for you again or even on a permanent basis.

By practicing these simple strategies, your healthcare facility will have a much easier time attracting and retaining quality talent. We hope these tips help, as it is essential for healthcare facilities to retain employees to reduce the chances of a labor shortage. Partner with Favorite and solve all your staffing needs today!