By: Mitzi Kent, RN, BSN | mkent@barlowmccarthy.com
Leadership engagement is a critical component to a successful provider recruitment program. Without the right leaders supporting the process, recruitment can easily seem fragmented for the recruitment team and worse yet, for the providers you are trying to bring into the organization. Leaders are vital to getting the right attention, dollars, and people necessary for recruitment success. As recruiters, we need to elevate our roles and collaborate with administrative teams in setting realistic priorities, managing the impact recruitment has on the strategic plan and ensuring there are adequate resources to get the job done. How do we do that? Here are four ways for you to partner with your internal leadership.
- The Strategic Why
Talk with your leadership about having a seat at the table during the strategic planning process. Often when we know the “why” behind the expansion or start of a new service line, we have a better understanding of how to sell the opportunity to the candidates. Providers want to know how their role can impact the organization; being part of the initial planning process gives you that insight.
- Market Realities
Provide awareness into the market realities of the recruitment priorities. What are the political ramifications of doing certain searches given an unsupportive medical staff? Will some of these searches take more than a year to fulfill? Which opportunities will be resource-intensive given demand/supply realities? Questions like these, show leadership how the provider recruiter can play a strategic role in the process.
- Leadership Touchpoints
Establish routine touchpoints with key members of the leadership team. This can simply be done with a bi-weekly conference call or a once a month sit-down meeting providing information regarding lead activity, barriers to success, and tactical adjustments to the search or the offering. Including a dashboard that illustrates days open, fill rates and time from sign to start, educates leadership on where there might be operational improvement opportunities. We also must make the connection between what we are doing and what they are trying to achieve.
- Must Haves
Lastly, make sure you have a clear, concise, and mutual understanding of the “must-haves” versus the “nice to haves.” If you can’t fulfill all the search priorities, which opportunities float to the top of the list?
Elevating the recruitment role in leadership’s eyes requires the recruiter’s expertise to understand the needs of the candidate, monitor competitive offerings, and ensure the organization is positioned effectively in the recruitment market. Our role as provider recruiters is to demonstrate that successful outcomes don’t happen by chance, but instead through intentional dialogue with leadership, and key stakeholders to ensure we’re meeting the needs of the candidate as well as the organization.