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Healthcare Recruiting: Improve Retention and Internal Referrals

April 1, 2021
April 1, 2021

This blog post is another installment in our ongoing TALENT TUESDAYS weekly series focused on how to improve talent management at healthcare organizations. This is the final featured excerpt from our Industry Perspective paper, 7 WAYS TO EASE THE PAIN OF HEALTHCARE HIRING.

Whether you are talking about new customers or new employees, the rule is the same: it costs much more (7-10 times as much) to find a new one than to keep the one you have happy. Put another way, there is no better way to reduce recruiting costs than to reduce the amount of recruiting you need to do.

The idea here is to work both sides of the funnel. So much of recruiting is focused on attracting new talent, as it should be. However, working to improve retention and internal referrals can be one of the most effective recruiting strategies you can employ. Here are some effective strategies to consider:

  • Make Retention Part of Recruiting – The ultimate success of recruiting lies in the retention of your top talent. Healthcare recruiters can play a big role in this process as they have one of the greatest impacts on a new hire. Some easy ways to boost retention of recruits include:
  • Create a Communication Plan – Map out how you connect with your candidates during the entire hiring and onboarding process. Highlight the touch points and note any glaring gaps. Remember, this is an overwhelming time for them and our job is to make it as easy as possible for them.
  • Set up a Socialization Program – Help new hires get acclimated to the workforce faster by connecting them with colleagues they will be working with.
  • Implement Stay Interviews – In the book The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave by Leigh Branham, it’s estimated that 35% of American workers quit in the first 6 months. One way to boost your retention is to implement stay interviews as part of the onboarding/ training process. Stay interviews are a simple one-on-one meeting between a manager and the new employee designed to identify reasons the employee might stay or leave. Implementing stay interviews at the 90-day mark can be a great retention tool.
  • Re-Recruit Your Top Talent – Remember all of those great hires you had? Hopefully they are still there and looking for a new opportunity within the organization. Recruiting internally can be a great way of sourcing the talent you need. Internal job boards, career sites, and communications are all effective ways of spreading the word to your existing workforce.
  • Employee Referrals – In most cases a candidate referral from an employee who fits your “target profile” results in the best quality candidates. Not only do you avoid the time and costs of recruiting (estimated to be $30K and up for most medical positions), but also you often begin the relationship with a warm introduction from a trusted colleague. Create an incentive program to encourage your employees to refer great talent, and watch your recruiting team grow.