17 Jan Seasonal Hiring Strategies for Healthcare Facilities
Now that the new year has arrived, what better time for hospital administrators, hiring managers and HR professionals to get busy on their recruitment plans for 2024.
And that includes, strategizing how your recruitment needs may change throughout the year.
The truth is, the peak season for recruiting in healthcare varies. Hiring in healthcare depends on different factors, such as the healthcare niche and the location of the medical facility.
From a financial viewpoint, healthcare organizations may see increased hiring activity during the first quarter of the year. That’s when healthcare managers are reviewing and renewing hiring budgets and launching new initiatives.
On the other hand, there may be increased hiring activity in the summer months. At that time of year, existing staff tend to take vacations, relocate or change jobs – creating more job openings. Many new doctors and nurses graduate in the spring and are available for hire in June and July.
Lastly, certain specialties or locations may experience peak hiring at different times. For example, rural areas may have a higher demand for healthcare professionals during winter due to seasonal illnesses and physician shortages.
Ultimately, seasonal recruitment should be seen as a year-round program that takes into consideration the ebb and flow of necessary staffing. Here are some examples of the steps to take to build a long-range recruitment strategy:
Begin Planning Early: By starting early, healthcare management teams can create a more robust hiring strategy and take proactive steps to overcome potential roadblocks along the way. Begin formulating hiring goals, reaching out to recruiters and finalizing recruitment campaigns sooner rather than later.
Build a Talent Pipeline: During slower hiring periods, healthcare recruiters can focus on building a pipeline of qualified candidates for future hiring positions. This involves identifying potential candidates through various channels such as social media, job boards, and referrals. Establish relationships with healthcare recruiter sand keep them informed about future job openings. And don’t forget to consider current employees who may be in a different department but have great skills!
Learn from Last Year’s Hiring Season: It’s important to keep current hiring efforts well-documented to proactively track staffing trends. Revisiting the data from last year’s hiring season can help determine staffing priorities and identify peak hiring periods vs. slower timeframes. Using prior year data should also establish the number of hires made throughout the year, identify high turnover rates, show where the most qualified new hires were sourced from, etc.
Leverage Referrals: Employee referrals can be a powerful tool for healthcare recruitment, especially when needing to quickly hire. To implement a referral program, hiring managers and HR departments can actively encourage current employees to refer their colleagues – offering incentives such as bonuses or other rewards for successful hires.
Utilize Social Media: Healthcare hiring managers should focus on social media campaigns using platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook to engage with potential candidates, promote their organization’s culture and values, share job openings and establish relationships with potential candidates for future positions during the peak hiring seasons.
Contact Annashae Today
At Annashae we’re dedicated to the placement of highly-skilled clinical practitioners in short and long-term positions. As a nationwide medical staffing and consulting firm, we provide a range of services that enable our candidates to quickly find the career opportunity that fits their needs. For information on how you can further your clinical career, contact us today.