December is already upon us. Many leaders use this time of year to organize, reflect, and strategize about the coming year. One area many HR leaders will likely be thinking about is hiring. With everything going on in healthcare, it will be especially important to be strategic in your hiring and retention practices.
If you’re working on your hiring strategy for next year, consider these five questions as you plan. They’ll help you organize your thoughts and gain clarity on the steps you can take to build and maintain an outstanding workforce.
5 Questions to Ask While Making Your Healthcare Hiring Plan
1. Priority: Which openings need to be filled first?
Every opening has its own level of urgency. Some hiring searches will be urgent – you will need to find a replacement or fill a key skill gap on your team. Other openings, however, will be “nice to have” additions that will benefit your organization in the long run. If time and resources allow, plan for a mix of both of these recruiting activities during the coming year. This will ensure that you have capacity to deal with the unexpected, while also being proactive about keeping your team robust, current, and growing.
2. Budget: What’s your budget for hiring next year?
Budgeting is a key part of recruitment planning. What kind of budget does your organization have for new hires? Does that budget change depending on the department or location you’re hiring for? Make sure to connect with your associates in accounting to understand the hard numbers and the true resources available to you so that you can plan accordingly.
3. Technology: Does your organization need to update any of its digital tools?
Every year, digital recruiting tools become more advanced and more numerous. Has it been a while since you’ve reviewed the software and subscriptions on the market? If so, consider taking some time at the end of the year to review your current needs, your current tools, and what other tools are available. Digital software can help with a range of recruiting activities, including organizing candidate information, doing research, sharing job postings, making offers and even processing and storing signed paperwork. You never know when a new piece of technology will increase your efficiency (and decrease your stress!) by innumerable measures.
4. Partners: Who can I work with to make the recruiting and hiring process easier?
Trusted partners are an essential part of healthcare recruiting. Consider your network and make sure you have connections who can help you with all aspects of the hiring process. Examples of partners you might turn to are legal advisors to help you stay compliant; medical school directors who can connect you with up-and-coming graduates; and specialized recruiters who are familiar with the healthcare field and can support executive searches and hiring efforts of all kinds.
5. Retention: What am I doing to retain the great leaders we already have on staff?
An oft-overlooked part of the hiring plan is retention efforts. Part of managing hiring is making sure that you are taking care of your current staff members, from onboarding new hires to developing employee wellness initiatives that support senior staff. Review your current practices and think about any updates or additions you’d like to make. Are resources available for additional wellness offerings? Is now a good time to send out an employee satisfaction survey, to get a pulse check on how various work teams are feeling? The end of the year is a great time to take stock of where your workforce is and what your team can do in the coming year to continue providing support.
These are just a few of the many considerations that go into developing a yearly hiring strategy. If you’re in the thick of planning, we hope these questions have helped guide your thinking and sparked new ideas and initiatives. Happy hiring!
Lauren Bencekovich is the founder and Managing Director of Lauren Recruiting Group, a boutique healthcare recruiting firm that matches healthcare executive candidates with hospitals and health organizations. Do you need a strategic partner to help you think through your 2024 hiring plan? Visit our contact page to schedule a 30-minute intro call with one of our team members. We look forward to connecting and sharing our expertise!