It has been said that it takes talent to find talent. Apart from the word ‘talent’ being in a recruiter’s job description, not many people know all the effort that goes into the role of a recruiter. Healthcare recruiters work full time, and often overtime to fill roles in different settings from small hospitals to large healthcare systems, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, home-based care, and more.
Each year on the first Tuesday in June, National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day provides an opportunity to highlight the work healthcare recruiters do and is a day to recognise their essential role in the healthcare system as a whole.
One of ICG Medical’s priorities is recruiting and retaining top clinical talent to deliver quality patient care. Without our talented recruiters, we would not be able to achieve this goal. Our recruiters engage with thousands of clinicians throughout the year, and we are proud to recognise them on this important day.
To gain a bit of perspective into the role of a Talent Acquisition Specialist at ICG Medical, we asked a few colleagues to get involved and answer a few questions.
Starting with the top priority of their role, the answers of all respondents were all aligned - to find the best talent! Megan adds, “Becoming the best in what I do, by continuously learning and understanding the needs of the hiring managers, but also learning what type of experience candidates need to have to succeed in the various roles”.
Having shared goals and effective communication results in a unified effort to reach ICG Medical’s vision of improving patient care. Our recruitment team remain focused, grounded and engaged in their service offering, and this is well observed across the board.
Having shared goals means having shared processes and procedures of recruiting top talent. When asking the team how they go about recruiting top talent, the main form of sourcing has come through market mapping competitors and being informed on how they can remain competitive in the healthcare recruitment industry. Megan adds that they use various job boards, social media and also referrals.
Kyle says that to recruit top talent, you need to understand what a success profile at ICG Medical is. “Identifying top talent that match this profile, targeting advertising, communication and brand messaging, building relationships, and understanding the right time to have a recruitment conversation to hire this talent into our business” states Kyle.
The need for nurses has grown over the last few years and has amplified due to COVID-19. This number is predicted to increase in the years ahead. This has also had a ripple effect on the recruitment process, where many people are looking for hybrid or remote work. The effects of Covid have made it quite difficult to place candidates for onsite roles, especially for a business that is returning to the office. “Convincing them to work often takes some finessing” says Natalie. However, Kyle adds that they now have an opportunity to tap into a global talent pool and not a pool that is location dependent.
COVID-19 has forced many companies to transfer parts or all of their operations online, proving that location doesn’t need to be a limiting factor for many business transactions — including talent recruitment. Where the search for the perfect candidate used to be limited by geography or relocation budgets, now companies have the opportunity to tap into a much bigger talent pool.
Part of the ICG recruitment process includes the referral scheme that is in place. It is a very attractive scheme, but only the recruiters would know how well this works. When asking them about it, all respondents agreed that there are pros and cons, and that there is also room for improvement. More time needs to be invested into communicating the criteria of the role so that the right referrals are shared with the team globally. This being said because the quality of the referral is lacking.
Megan states that they are definitely reaching a lot of candidates, some which may not have known they were recruiting, but the negative side is that many candidates do not have the experience that is required. Due to the high incentive attached to the referral process, people would refer multiple candidates that are not always of standard.
This leads to an important point on how ICG Medical can improve the recruitment process. Aspects to look into could be a CRM system that will make the recruiters jobs more efficient, and which will avoid doubling up on work. Natalie touched on 3 key elements, Candidate Engagement, Response Time, and Market Mapping. By investing in tools and systems that enable a TA to support the growth of the business would enable the team to deliver a world-class experience, adds Kyle.
Refined recruitment processes are efficient, productive and pleasant for both candidates and hiring teams. Every interaction with candidates shapes their impression of the company. Improving the company’s hiring is an ongoing process. By tracking useful metrics to assess improvements will identify ways to revamp recruiting.
Most importantly, making employees feel valued in the work they do can ultimately improve the environment of a workplace, the individual and team performance, and can help an organisation reach its goals.
Collectively, the response from our TA team was positive, with all staff feeling greatly valued and appreciated. Recognition is a big part of the company culture, where all efforts are acknowledged, and the team is praised for their performance and for reaching targets.
“Talent is at the heart of our business. It is what we do!” says Kyle. But like everything else, there is room for improvement. Enhanced recognition programs can be put in place that is both tangible and intangible to further motivate and encourage this amazing role that can often go unnoticed.
While recruiters might not see all the lives they touch each day, we want you to know your role is very valuable to the entire healthcare system.
To all healthcare recruiters, we praise you for the extraordinary service and commitment you have made to your profession. Here’s to Healthcare Recruitment Recognition Day!
As we continue to grow, we are always looking for more talented, motivated people to join our team. If you think you have what it takes, please get in touch with us today!
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