When it comes to recruiting and retaining quality health care professionals, small business owners face a number of challenges. For one thing, health care professionals are among the hardest to hire right now. In fact, according to recent CareerBuilder research, 7 out of the 10 hardest-to-fill positions in the country are health care occupations. Small businesses are competing with larger organizations for these in-demand candidates, and they cannot always offer the high salaries and comprehensive benefits packages larger health care organizations can.
What Health Care Candidates Really Want
The good news is that health care employees are looking for more than just money and benefits in their employers. A recent CareerBuilder study shows that a majority of health care candidates (62 percent) prioritize company culture when pursuing their next employer.
In the same survey, an employer’s reputation held almost as much weight as salary and benefits to be among the most important factors to job seeking health care professionals. Clearly, candidates want not only a place where they can fit in and feel at home, but a place where they are proud to work.
Experience Matters
One often-overlooked but extremely critical element of the hiring process is the candidate experience. That is, the experience candidates have when applying for jobs with – and being recruited by – potential employers. From filling out the application form to going in for an interview and everything in between, candidates are evaluating a company based on how they are treated during this process. For example, only 19 percent of health care workers say health care employers are responsive during the hiring process, a factor that could weigh on their decision to accept an offer with the company.
The candidate experience is so important that 69 percent of health care candidates say they would accept a lower salary if they were treated well during the recruitment process.
Investing in the Future
Another way in which small business employers can bring in quality health care candidates is by hiring candidates who may not meet all of the qualifications and then training them on the job. One of the biggest challenges health care candidates face when applying to jobs, according to CareerBuilder’s survey, is the feeling that they do not have the proper education, training or degree for a certain position. Not only will offering training help you bridge the skills gap at your own organization, it will also make you a more attractive employer, as it shows that you are invested in your employees’ futures.
