3 Healthcare Recruiting Tips to Consider in 2019

3 Healthcare Recruiting Tips to Consider in 2019
Marketing Manager

Recruiting top talent in healthcare is no easy feat. With growing staffing shortages and a tight labor market, healthcare recruiters continue to face challenges unique only to the field. For example, according to research by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), only 39 percent of respondents said that they had adequate staffing with the right knowledge and skills at least 75 percent of the time. This is in part due to an aging workforce exiting the field as well as the expansion of healthcare coverage since the Affordable Care Act. Since then, hospitals and other healthcare facilities have been struggling to keep up with the rising demand.

In light of National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day, we want to highlight some of the latest issues impacting the industry and offer tips on how you can remain effective and compliant in 2019 and beyond.

1. Implement a Diversity and Inclusion Program

Topics such as diversity and inclusion are becoming more prevalent in the workplace and candidates are taking notice. In fact, according to a Glassdoor study, 67 percent of job seekers said a diverse workforce is important when considering job offers. When reviewing prospective employers, candidates can simply judge an organization’s diversity practices by visiting the company’s leadership page. There, they can see if the company’s culture and hiring practices reflect the nation’s growing call for increased diversity related to gender, age, race and ethnicity in the workplace. 

Research continues to show that when you invite different perspectives into the conversation, it fosters more creativity, higher innovation, faster problem-solving, and better decision-making, just to name a few; in turn, this improves employee engagement, turnover, and ultimately, the bottom line, says Kristina Martic, Head of Marketing and Employer Branding at TalentLyft.

2. Manage Negative Online Reviews

Today, a company’s reputation is largely shaped by the reviews posted by its consumers and employees online. Top review sites such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Yelp have become popular avenues for sharing both positive and negative reviews about a company. Understandably, this modern method of “word of mouth” can be unsettling for many businesses because it can leave a lasting impact on its brand, reputation and success.

However, it’s not the end of the world when unfavorable comments are posted about your organization online. A survey by Indeed reveals that 70 percent of job seekers were willing to change their minds if employers responded to a negative review. “Every review offers an opportunity to gain feedback about your company,” says Bryan Chaney, a global talent sourcing and attraction strategist, in a RecruitingDaily article. “Responding to the review not only shows that you’re reading what people are saying about your company but highlights that you’re constantly listening and improving whenever possible.”

3. Understand GDPR Compliance

Under the European Union’s (EU) recent GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) law, it is unlawful to use an EU citizen’s personal data without his or her consent. This affects all companies that deal with personal data, even those who are non-EU based companies. GDPR impacts companies who are hiring in the EU as well as those who are employing citizens of the EU who live in different areas of the world.

What does this mean for recruiters? The citizen’s “personal data” includes consumer information as well as candidate information. GDPR fundamentally changed the way recruiting teams can engage with candidates who are citizens of EU countries in areas of resume, application storage, candidate data collection, employment branding activities, and candidate sourcing strategies. Recruiters are no longer permitted to send emails to users who have not opted into their mailing list. You may want to consider grouping candidates in the EU into a different category than candidates elsewhere (who are not impacted by GDPR). Today, you must obtain affirmative consent before collecting or sharing candidate data. However, this involves more than just adding a clarification and a checkbox to data collection forms. Your vendors such as your ATS, payroll and recruiting software must also be GDPR compliant.

Attracting and retaining quality talent is no easy task to perform alone. We hope these tips help provide guidance the next time you review your healthcare organization’s recruitment initiatives. If you feel we’ve missed something, please share in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

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