By: Mitzi Kent, RN, MBA | mkent@barlowmccarthy.com
Whether it is the lingering effects of pandemic virtual work or other stressors within your team, the resulting uncertainty can impact your recruitment team’s motivation at work. You may see some of your star team members needing help to perform.
As leaders, we too can become distracted and fall into productivity traps. We may need to look at ways to get ourselves and our teams back on the right track. With limited resources, recruitment leaders need to supercharge their teams, increase engagement and getting new energy.
Feature a team member’s success. Research shows that the simple act of expressing even the smallest success can change the way we feel. Develop a weekly 30-minute coffee break – vitual or in-person – featuring one employee who successfully identified a new candidate, a new sourcing technique, or created a unique job posting. Make a point to include shout-outs to deserving individuals in your communications. Start meetings with something you’re personally grateful for in and beyond the workplace. You’ll be surprised how quickly the gratitude bug spreads, causing others to experience a lift in their mood and morale.
Consistent one-on-one feedback. Too often, recruitment leaders share feedback that’s rooted in the past and prescriptive. The best feedback helps others understand their strengths and provides encouragement and guidance to develop those strengths.
If your team continues to be virtual, provide them with “Open Office Hours” several times throughout the week. Spend time with your recruiters reviewing their sourcing strategies and augment feedback by asking them how they would do it differently. When leaders shrink their voices, they sharpen the vision of others.
Ongoing education and training. Ongoing learning is critical for recruiters. When you invest in a recruiter’s education, your organization improves. Your recruiters are happier, which means you may experience less turnover and even see a higher quality of recruits – a win-win for everyone. Whether it’s a refresh on sourcing techniques, assessing for clinical/cultural fit, or working with key stakeholders. By offering recruiters additional training opportunities, you’re investing in advancing their careers while adding more value to your organization. The more successful and capable your recruiters are, the better the physician talent they will find.
Encourage team creativity. When leaders seek creative input from their teams, they often brainstorm. Try bumping up your team’s creativity by providing more time and space for individuals to think. Try exercises like Start-Stop-Continue. For example, look at your current recruitment process and what you need to start, stop, and continue doing. Another approach to try is the “6-3-5,” in which a group of six must come up with three ideas in five minutes. You’ll let all voices be heard, and the best ideas succeed.
These are still uncertain times, and no one can predict what the future will look like. But as recruitment leaders, we can ensure our teams will feel supported and ready for whatever the year brings to keep them right on track.
Supporting teams and leaders is what we do at Barlow/McCarthy. Are there things we can help your team work through? I would love to find a time for us to connect so I can learn more about your team. Reach out at mkent@barlowmccarthy.com.