Hiring skilled nurses and care staff has become quite challenging in the current healthcare climate. Hospitals and care homes have improved their brand image to attract qualified professionals. However, there are still many aspects in which healthcare institutions are lacking when it comes to recruitment. However, recruitment agencies have taken the lead in their stead and have helped transform staffing strategies.
By following advanced practices and adapting to the age of social media, recruitment agencies have figured out how to transform staffing strategies. With the help of these agencies, hospitals and care homes can also find the best care professionals.
Here are some of the ways in which healthcare agencies have improved the staffing process in recent years:
Focus on the Needs of the Client
The biggest reason behind the success of recruitment agencies is that they understand the needs of their clients. Before agencies start the recruitment process, they ask their clients:
- What positions do you need to be filled?
- What are the responsibilities associated with each position?
- What’s your budget?
Knowing the answers to these questions can help agencies connect the best candidates with their clients. By asking for the budget of the client, agencies can ensure that the most skilled workers also get paid the highest.
Mapping Out a Timeline
One of the reasons why hospitals and care homes miss out on hiring qualified professionals is a drawn-out, unstructured recruitment process. Devising a structured plan of recruitment and mapping out a timeline enable agencies to complete the hiring process effectively.
By creating a timeline, agencies also make sure that their clients don’t have to wait for long for a care worker to join their team. The timeline is often map out depending on how soon the client needs the position filled.
Thorough Vetting to Transform Staffing Strategies
The quality of care provided in hospitals and care homes depends on the skillset of the staff, which is why healthcare recruitment agencies thoroughly vet candidates. Healthcare institutes often don’t have the time and resources to conduct background checks, but if they hire a recruitment agency, they won’t have to.
Through their vetting processes, healthcare agencies ensure that only the most skilled and qualified care staff ends up working for their clients. Moreover, agencies are always up-to-date about the changing rules and regulations in the healthcare industry and can make sure that you don’t make any mistakes when hiring care staff.
Maintaining the Talent Pool
It has become extremely challenging to recruit and retain qualified healthcare staff. However, a good recruitment agency knows how to maintain its talent pool so it can connect its clients with the right professionals whenever needed.
Maintaining your talent pool requires work. Agencies have to reach out to the candidates from time to time. It could be accomplish either through an automate email or a regular check-in call. However, the effort is worth the payoff because agencies don’t always have to search anew every time there is a job opening thanks to their talent pool.
Modern Staffing Solutions and Management
With the advancement in healthcare technologies, it is also important for hospitals and care homes to adopt modern technologies. Through modern technologies, healthcare agencies simplify the recruitment and management process for their clients.
Healthcare agencies and staffing platforms like ESGO also make use of modern tools to give hospitals and care homes the opportunity to effectively manage their staff on the go. With ESGO’s mobile app, managers can easily keep track of their staff’s duties and make sure no patient is ever left without the care that they need.
Employee Culture & Benefits
A structured recruitment plan alone will not attract qualified professionals. For a nurse or a care worker, the work environment, flexibility of work hours, and pay will be equally important when choosing an employer. Nowadays, healthcare professionals only apply for jobs where they can maintain a work-life balance.
A lot of hospitals and care homes fail to realise the importance of flexible work hours and a flourishing employee culture. By offering incentives to the candidates, recruitment agencies have been able to find some of the best talents in the healthcare industry. The success of healthcare recruitment agencies has also helped hospitals realize the importance of a positive employee culture.
Promote Diversity & Inclusion
An inclusive and diverse hospital or care home can effectively manage the expectations of its patients regardless of their ethnic or racial background. However, founding a diverse workforce on your own might not be easy. Healthcare recruitment agencies can help recruiters connect with a diverse pool of nurses and carers.
Through diversity and inclusion, hospitals will also be able to improve their brand image, making it easier for them to attract skilled workers in the future.