The Importance of Screening Candidates

Your employees are the heart of your medical center, which means that each person on your team must be a valuable and qualified asset. But, finding the right applicants is an incredibly time-consuming task that you may not have time to properly prioritize.

The best way to prevent the wrong candidates from ever settling into your workforce is to work with a healthcare recruiter that knows how to find and recommend the best candidates through applicant screening. During these preliminary phone calls, recruiters assess the capabilities and personality of each applicant to determine the strongest ones to recommend for an in-person interview. Here’s a peek at how this process works and the areas it will improve around your healthcare facility.

Employee Performance

By understanding an applicant’s experience, qualifications, and salary requirements, a staffing agency determines if he or she meets the initial requirements of the position. This is the most crucial step in the phone screening process, because it eliminates unqualified candidates from ever reaching a face-to-face interview at your facility. A staffing firm evaluates if an applicant is qualified by asking questions such as:

  • “Can you describe your educational background?”
  • “Can you describe your professional experience?”
  • “What active medical certifications or licenses do you currently have?”

Company Culture

During initial phone screenings, a staffing consultant also asks a mixture of open-ended questions and questions provided by your facility to understand if the candidate fits in with your company culture. Behavioral questions to determine the candidate’s workplace preferences determine whether he or she is compatible with the mission, vision, and values of your center. A staffing firm evaluates personality by asking questions such as:

  • “What type of leadership style do you respond best to?”
  • “Are you looking for long-term employment or short-term?”
  • “Are you interested in growth opportunities in your workplace?”
  • “Do you plan on furthering your education?”

Facility Operations

A staffing agency will properly screen applicants to alleviate the need for your human resource department or medical executives to scan resumes and conduct wasteful interviews with unqualified candidates. By referring this responsibility to an experienced healthcare recruiter, your employees can put more focus on their own operations, improve the functions of your healthcare facility, and effectively evaluate the recommended applicants during the final interview.

Employee Turnover

Because staffing firms only recommend qualified and personally relevant applicants to your facility, you are more likely to hire candidates that will excel in their positions and completely fulfill their short- or long-term requirements. And, when less employees are shuffling in and out of your facility, you’ll notice a decrease in costs that come with additional training, temporary hires, and job advertisements.

Experienced Healthcare Recruiters

Perfecting your healthcare facility starts with your next hire. Luckily, the HealthCare Support team can place the perfect professionals in your healthcare facility through employment verification, reference checks, education verification, and more. Thanks to our multi-step screening process, you can feel confident that each applicant we recommend is qualified to excel in his or her job duties and blend in with your existing team of medical professionals. To learn more, visit our website at www.HealthCareSupport.com.

How to Increase Employee Retention

When one of your valued medical professionals gives their resignation notice, you may be confused as to what encouraged him or her to leave. But often times, there isn’t just one incident that decreases your employee retention, but a series of factors that need improvement.

After asking yourself what you could do to increase staff retention, ask your staff directly. Establish clear channels of communication, find out how to improve their satisfaction, and give them the tools to feel empowered and valued in their position.

Talkative Team Building

One of the best ways to encourage employees to start and continue working with your healthcare facility is to foster a professional community at work. In fact, 46% of active job applicants state that company culture is a “very important” factor that contributes to their job search.

Use team-building exercises to let your healthcare employees grow your company culture into one that fits every employee’s social style. You can take your staff to team-building sites, like obstacle courses and escape rooms, or bring the activities to your facility and research icebreakers and teamwork games that start conversations.

Clear Communication

Employees that don’t feel comfortable communicating with upper management are 16% less likely to stay with their current company, which means that communication must flow to and from employees. Encourage your medical professionals to start conversations by letting them know how. Send an email or company newsletter addressing communication and detailing the proper channels to use for their wants and needs.

Scrupulous Surveys

The proof is in the professionals. If you really want to know how you can improve your employee satisfaction, send out a company satisfaction survey to see which areas your facility excels or needs improvement. Up to 29% of employees would replace a high-paying job with a job that they enjoy, so it’s important to also use open-ended questions and understand what would make each employee feel more valued and content with their work.

Just as you ask employees for feedback, you should provide it to them. Evaluating employee performances lets them understand which areas they excel in and which areas they need improvement. This provides workplace goals that will keep your medical professionals engaged in their everyday operations and in their place of work.

Employee Education

Turns out, 86% of employees find learning opportunities to be an important part of any workplace. Of course, the candidates you hire must meet the essential qualifications for their job title, but continuing their education provides value while making employees feel valued. Offer digital, on-site, or remote training in areas that you feel employees need more improvement or general understanding. Depending on the level of importance to each employee, you can make certain training companywide or department specific.

Healthy Hiring

Hiring the right medical professional is a victory for any healthcare facility, but improper onboarding can determine how long your new hires will stick around. Companies that effectively prepare and integrate employees during the hiring process “improve new hire retention by 82%,” but you don’t have to optimize your onboarding alone.

Experienced Healthcare Staffing

Working with healthcare recruitment professionals can elevate the process that turns interviewees into employees. Having a thorough hiring process allows you to evaluate the long-term goals of each applicant, select the best candidates for your facility, and determine how to successfully integrate them into your team. To fortify your recruitment, consider hiring a healthcare staffing agency that knows how to properly place the right professionals in the right facilities.

At HealthCare Support, we offer a range of services that bring the best professional candidates to your facility and equip it with the tools to retain them. We offer onsite visits, team building events, continual coaching, and newsletters to keep your staff satisfied and keep your facility informed. For more information, contact us today at 407-478-0332.