By AJ Suggs, Senior Vice President Marketing, Pinnacle Health Group
And the Oscar goes to…oops. While the recent Oscars Awards gave us some great material to discuss at the water cooler, I’m more intrigued by the “best place to work” variety. Several publications honor healthcare employers with such an award, but one that gets our attention as physician recruiters is from Becker’s Healthcare.
Becker’s Healthcare recently released its 2017 list of the “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare,” which honors hospitals, health systems and other healthcare organizations. It was noted that this year’s winners share a common trend in that each organization encourages professional development of staff. Because this is highly desirable to the best candidates, earning such a distinction can positively impact a hospital’s physician recruitment efforts. Considering the physician shortage is expected to climb to 94,700 by 2025 according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, anything a hospital can do to interest a physician candidate is critical.
Learn the five traits of a “best place to work” healthcare organization.
A patient-first mentality is already at the heart of a hospital’s culture, but the best organizations know that employees need to come first, too. The five traits to look for include:
- Total staff ownership of the organization’s mission and values. Do the physicians, nurses and other staff members buy in to the mission and values? How does that show up day to day in their work? Do you praise those who purposefully work towards upholding the mission and values?
- Leadership shows authentic appreciation and respect for all employees. Are all employees treated as very important players on the team?
- Employees have meaningful access to professional development opportunities. Whether a physician is working to become the leading authority in his or her specialty or a nurse is interested in transitioning into a leadership role, do you offer regular access to skill development?
- Employees feel that their work and personal lives are in balance. Millennials will continue to demand a better balance between work and life. In physician recruiting, this usually shows up as reduced call time or more time off to pursue mission work. Developing policies that allow staff to pursue their passions can often be just as important to the recruitment process as compensation.
- Employees display a high degree of passion in their roles and those who don’t are transitioned quickly to avoid a morale drain. Great leaders know how to elevate everyone to their level. They simply inspire better performance. But on the opposite end of the spectrum is someone who can bring everyone down. Do you identify both personalities quickly and take appropriate action?
The effort required to win a “best place to work” award pays for itself.
While the nomination and vetting process does require a commitment of time and resources by your human resources, recruitment and marketing staff, the results can be very positive for both recruitment and retention of physicians. In addition to boosting staff morale, the award can be shared via social media, your website, internal communication newsletters, and even through a formal press release.
This is especially valuable when other factors are making physician recruitment more challenging. For example, if you’re in a more rural setting or in a less desirable area of the country, sharing with physician candidates why working at your organization will feel like home can help to further a conversation.
One of our clients, Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, earned a well-deserved spot on the 2017 list by Becker’s Healthcare. Located in a land-locked region of the country with no major cities nearby can make physician recruitment challenging at times. When sourcing top physician candidates, we communicate CHH’s commitment to recognizing its staff and its industry-low turnover as one of the many reasons it could be the best place to work.
Don’t neglect to promote the award.
Take pictures of leadership receiving the award and post it to the recruitment section of your website. Use any logos or other graphics that the awarding organization provides as well. You could even attach them to your email signatures, print them on your recruiters’ business cards or add a sticker or pin to staff name badges. In short, don’t just place that well-deserved award on a shelf in the executive suite; promote it all year long.
Remember that physicians rarely quit jobs. Rather they decide to no longer work for the leadership team or to subject themselves to an unfulfilling culture. Winning recognition as a best place to work is interpreted as a commitment to leading an organization that truly values all employees, which is good for staff and physician retention.
Pinnacle Health Group offers permanent physician search, Locum Tenens and advanced practice providers. Call 800-492-7771 or visit phg.com to learn more.