Recruiting excellent C-Suite healthcare leaders has never been an easy task, but in today’s tight labor market, hospitals face greater challenges than ever before. The low unemployment rate and high competition for skilled healthcare leaders means hospitals must be more strategic in their recruitment process or risk losing top talent to competitors. If you’re currently searching for a C-Suite-level healthcare leader, here are five best practices for recruiting and interviewing in a tight labor market.
#1 – Review and Refine Your Employer Brand
A strong employer brand can help you attract the candidates who are the right cultural fit for your hospital. Review your employer brand and make sure it accurately reflects your company culture. Be transparent about your mission, values, benefits program, and career development opportunities. Make sure your online presence on social media or Glassdoor reviews aligns with your messaging, as job seekers use this information to determine if they want to apply.
#2 – Be Agile and Proactive in Your Hiring
In a tight labor market, hospitals need to move quickly while keeping the quality of hire high. If possible, get buy-in from stakeholders in advance so you can streamline the hiring process, from job posting to offer letter. An even more strategic approach is building a talent pipeline before you have an immediate need for new healthcare leaders by attending job fairs, sourcing passive candidates, or building relationships with local educational institutions. This approach allows you to be flexible and hire quickly when you need to.
#3 – Use Effective Interview Techniques
An interview is an important opportunity to learn more about a candidate and assess whether they are a good fit for your hospital. Use situational questions that ask candidates to describe past challenges or scenarios, as their answers will give you insight into how the candidate thinks, strategizes, and handles situations.
In addition, the interview is also an opportunity for a candidate to assess a hospital’s culture and working practices. Because of this, it’s important to double down on making a positive, professional first impression and providing an excellent experience for the interview candidate. A bad interview can damage your brand quickly, as candidates are more likely to share their negative experiences than their positive experiences with others.
#4 – Provide Competitive Compensation and Benefits
During the hiring process, it’s important to share transparent information about compensation and benefits. This allows the candidate to determine whether the total compensation aligns with their expectations and simplifies the hiring process for everyone. In addition, to attract and retain top talent, offer a package that is competitive with the market. Ask candidates if they have salary and benefit requirements and try to provide an offer that addresses their most important items.
#5 – Leverage Technology
Use current technology to simplify, streamline and automate the hiring process as much as possible. Posting jobs on online job boards (like Indeed or LinkedIn), using applicant tracking systems to store and manage resumes, and leveraging video interviewing are just a few examples of ways you can use technology to your advantage. By embracing new technology, you’ll be able to reach a broader pool of applicants and save time during the recruiting process.
Recruiting and interviewing in a tight labor market can be challenging, but following these best practices can make it a little bit easier. Hospitals that focus on their employer brand, move quickly, use effective interview techniques, provide competitive compensation and benefits, and leverage technology, will have the best chance of attracting top talent to their healthcare leadership teams.
Having trouble recruiting the best talent for your leadership team in this challenging market? Contact one of our experienced talent advisors today!