Your candidate visit can be a deciding factor when it comes to hiring a doctor for your facility.
Why You Need to Plan the Perfect Candidate Visit
An impactful candidate visit will allow your practice to get to know the candidate better and see if they will be a good fit for the organization. The visit also allows the candidate to ask questions and get a feel for the opportunity and community. A successful candidate visit can be the difference between hiring a great doctor or making a poor choice.
Planning the perfect candidate visit can also be beneficial at the start of the hiring process. By being intentional and focusing on the details, you can identify what you want to accomplish and what you’re looking for in prospective doctors, making it easier to narrow down the candidate pool.
How An Exceptional Candidate Visit Can Help You Hire A Doctor or Other Healthcare Professional
When you want to hire a doctor or other advanced practitioner, it is important to make an impact during the hiring process. A tailored candidate visit can help you show talented candidates that you are interested in them.
In order to compose an exceptional candidate visit, there are three categories of needs you will need to address: personal, professional, and financial.
Personal Needs
If you want to appeal to a prospective candidate, you need to get to know them. It is important to learn about their personal interests and needs, including:
- Hobbies, from shopping and book clubs to horseback riding, hiking, and beyond
- Their marital and family status
- Their spouse’s profession and hobbies
- Their children’s educational needs and what public or private school options are available
- Their children’s extracurricular interests, including sports
- Religious affiliations
- The state of the local housing market and how it matches their budget
When you understand the personal needs of your candidate, you can address what is important to this prospective candidate and verify whether the external environment is supportive of their interests and affiliations to keep them in the area.
Professional Needs
Addressing the professional needs of your candidate is critical if you want to encourage them to accept a position with your practice.
From clearing a prospective candidate’s schedule and interviewing them to providing an impactful Before you invite a candidate to your facility, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- Are they a good fit for us?
- Are we a good fit for them?
You need to determine whether this candidate will have their professional needs met if they accept an offer to work for you. Professional needs can include:
- Sufficient work volume that isn’t overwhelming
- Adequate call coverage
- Supportive administration
- Talented, collaborative staff
- Multi-directional patient referral opportunities (i.e. are there higher levels of specialized patient care in the area, and will other physicians refer their patients to this practice?)
- Opportunities to embrace their professional interests and passions
- The ability to utilize their specific training, expertise, and talents on the job
- Cordial relationships among medical staff
When you work with a recruiting firm like Pinnacle Health Group, we can provide the answers to whether you are a good fit for each other before scheduling a visit.
Financial Needs
During the hiring process, you need to become familiar with candidates’ financial needs and expectations. While it is important to provide for their personal and professional needs, addressing their financial needs will also be a critical part of arranging a successful candidate visit.
If you are looking to hire a doctor, you need to assess the different types of financial compensation you are willing and able to offer, such as:
- Salary ranges and caps
- Competitive benefits compared to other facilities, like insurance and paid time off
- Student loan repayment opportunities
- Bonuses
- Call situations
- Buy-in opportunities and partnerships
- Contract language and inclusions
Doctors often have a lot of options when pursuing a new role, so you should be sure to end a successful candidate visit by providing the candidate with a letter of intent, a standard agreement, or a contract to consider.
Personalizing a Candidate Visit for Prospective Hires
If you are arranging a candidate visit for a prospective doctor to hire, you need to take the time to personalize practically every element of their visit. At this point in the hiring process, scheduling a visit means that you are seriously interested in this candidate, so you need to demonstrate your interest in tangible ways.
You should also keep in mind that it is unlikely you will find a candidate who meets your exact expectations, and waiting for a perfectly-qualified candidate will inevitably waste time and resources. You need to consider the opportunity cost of recruiting a new candidate; every day that you are without a physician correlates to lost revenue.
If you find a candidate who meets most of your expectations, this candidate will be a great option that you should strongly consider hiring.
Consider Every Detail
When you plan a candidate visit for a prospective physician, it is important to create the visit by thinking through every detail, no matter how minor. From the gift basket you leave for them at the hotel to the personalized itinerary (featuring contact information and team member pictures), you should do what you can to make the visit feel easy and seamless for the visiting physician.
All of this effort will make the candidate feel like they are wanted so they can spend their time considering whether your practice is the best fit for them.
Tailor Each Visit
Tailor the candidate’s visit to the candidate. Consider their needs and what would be most important to them, whether that means highlighting the school districts nearby for candidates with children or showing them to areas that are aligned with their personal hobbies and interests. Making an effort to welcome your candidate and make them feel recognized and appreciated will go a long way.
Engage Your Team
When you organize a candidate visit, it is important to engage your entire team rather than just the decision makers of your organization. While your CEO or recruiter should be leading the charge, you should create a recruiting team to engage and welcome the candidate.
In creating this team, you should select members who are well-adjusted to the practice and understand why you are recruiting this candidate. Furthermore, they should be prepared and enthused to sell the candidate on their team, not just because you need a new team member but because they feel positively about the team already.
When scheduling candidate visits, you should also be selective. Don’t play the same players every time.
You may also find that your team extends beyond the practice or hospital. It is important to curate a team that appeals to individual candidates and adds value to the experience. Your team may feature relevant figures such as:
- Local leaders, like the mayor
- Real estate agents
- Restaurateurs
- High school principals
- A school board president
When creating your team, prioritize making the experience beneficial to the candidate in every way you can.
Need to Hire A Doctor? Contact Pinnacle Health Group for Your Recruitment Needs.
If you are in need of a doctor or another healthcare professional, Pinnacle can help. We have the experience and resources to find the best candidates for your needs. We can work with you to create an impactful candidate visit that will help you hire the right person for the job.
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