By Michael P. Broxterman, Chief Operating Officer, Pinnacle Health Group
Recruiting physicians is tough work, so you don’t want information floating around online that could make it even more of a challenge. The debate over who controls your organization’s brand isn’t worth having, but perception is reality. Image matters, and it’s definitely in the eyes of the beholder.
To recruit and retain the best, most engaged physicians, your organization needs a squeaky clean image. Just like a less than stellar personal credit report, there is always something one can do to begin cleaning up any messes. But you have to know about them first.
Background-check your own hospital or physician group regularly. What shows up on the first and second page of the Google search results about you, your leadership and the organization? Are you proud of what you’re seeing? For most hospitals, the answer is yes. But what else should you check online to make sure you’re optimizing your physician recruiting efforts? Here are five things to search:
- How are your reviews from employees on Glassdoor.com? The website features a company review section for employees to leave information for the world to see. They provide an overall rating of the employer, pros and cons of working there and advice they’d like to share with management. Because people are often motivated to write a review when there is a problem, it’s smart to encourage current employees to leave positive information about their employment experience. It helps to balance out any negative reviews.
- Does your competition’s recruitment website make yours shine or dull its effectiveness? Gathering competitive intelligence needs to be a priority for in-house physician recruiters. It can be challenging to review your own website through fresh eyes, so invite candidates to share their opinions about it in the post-interview survey. It’s also important to look at the physician recruiting websites of your competitors. If yours is due for an upgrade, consider adding videos of your staff and the community, landing pages for specific specialties and a modern, engaging website experience.
- When was the last time you reviewed your own social media activity and privacy settings? Having a professional LinkedIn presence that is consistent with the organization’s mission, vision and values helps to create a positive image of the culture. Without a doubt, human beings are full of biases, and having an unprofessional bio could cost you a candidate. Manage your brand by providing new employees with preferred language for their LinkedIn profiles.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are other animals entirely and there are many reasons they allow users to block content from those you aren’t linked to. Use it. As a recruiter or senior leader, the last thing you want to see is a derailment because someone was offended by something in your personal life.
- Is your community well represented on third-party websites? Unless your hospital or practice is located in one of America’s biggest cities, chances are that physician candidates are going to research the town online. Websites like TripAdvisor and the local visitors bureau provide a wealth of information that is useful to someone who will be relocating.
While you can’t control the information, you can develop your own community profile to best sell the town and the organization. How? Engage your marketing department to produce a video of the facility, its key people, best community features and anything else that makes the opportunity more appealing. If a video isn’t possible, then create a specific webpage using one of the many free tools available to highlight these selling points. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words.
- What does online published content say about your organization’s culture? Leadership? Viability? Negative public relations can wreak havoc on the best recruiting efforts if not properly managed. Just think of all the companies that were in the news this past year for undesirable reasons. If your organization has received some poor press, be transparent about it with potential recruits. How are you mitigating the negative influence on your culture? It’s age-old advice, but honesty is still the best policy.
But good published content can significantly boost your recruiting efforts. Have you won any awards? Have any of your leaders or key employees submitted thought leadership for publication? Have they been interviewed? Have they given presentations at major healthcare conferences? What about philanthropic efforts? Promote all of these good deeds and industry successes on your own website or through a YouTube channel.
Recruiting physicians can be challenging to say the least, especially if you’re located in a more rural area or can’t offer the most competitive compensation package. And, since the web has made it easy for physicians to research information about your facility, it’s important to know how to make it work for you. Developing a marketing and public relations strategy that best positions your organization as a best place to work is a must. If you find potentially negative information, engage the help of your marketing department or even an outside PR firm. The caliber of your medical staff depends on it.
Pinnacle Health Group offers permanent physician search, Locum Tenens and advanced practice providers. Our sister company, PhysicianCareer.com is an industry-leading physician job board. Together, we’re committed to meeting your staffing needs. Call 800-492-7771 to learn more.