Physician Recruiting Strategies That Work
The job market for doctors is booming, with fierce competition across the board and physicians taking advantage of the new opportunities. In fact, a 2019 survey found that over 20% of doctors were planning to make a career change in the near future.
With the increased competition, hiring managers must excel at persuading potential candidates into new job openings. To be effective in the current market, it’s vital to get to the heart of why a doctor wants to change jobs early in the recruitment process. From there you can then match recruits to their desired opportunities.
In the new year, it will be more important than ever to differentiate your organization and the job itself while you’re recruiting these valuable candidates. Here are some specific recruitment strategies you can use to convince a candidate that a job opening is the right fit.
Six Effective Physician Recruitment Strategies
Identify Nonnegotiable Candidate Requirements
As you engage available candidates, it will be important to identify any deal breakers. What do they consider important about the role, location, organization, responsibilities, social community, and more? This step will help target and vet multiple candidates.
Highlight Desired Benefits, Perks & Incentives
Many organizations offer top doctors incentives such as health benefits, malpractice coverage, relocation allowance, educational loan repayment, and signing bonuses. While these perks can go a long way in swaying many physicians to accept a job, make sure to highlight those that are important to your recruit.
Feature Work-life Balance & Vacation Time
Physicians can be overworked, stressed, or simply burnt out. So a key attraction to your open position will be offering a good work-life balance. Physicians love having time off and enjoying family time. And as the physician employment landscape changes, nearly 40% of doctors prefer working where they can more easily balance workload and free time.
Share Stories of Your Current Providers
Videos, bios, and testimonials are great ways to feature your doctors and their contributions to patient health. They can also be used to show the organization’s support for their work. Showing doctors in work settings, speaking with colleagues, interacting with patients (with permission), and so forth can be an effective recruiting tool. As such, stories about healthcare providers can help influence candidates who appreciate being featured as a key contributor.
Hype the Local Community
Often a key consideration for a new job is the local community. Knowing what attracts top doctors to a location can help you craft the most effective pitch for your position–whether you're hiring in an urban, suburban, or rural setting.
- Local dining & entertainment options
- Educational distinctions (gold star schools, national merit scholars, local colleges)
- Low crime rates
- Walkability of the local area
- Sports teams or venues (golf courses, skiing, country clubs, etc.)
- Historical attractions
For rural recruiting, call out the local environment (waterfront, forests, etc.) as well as activities for local enthusiasts.
Focus on Additional Influential Factors
You should also consider highlighting the following factors that can influence job acceptance:
- Loan repayment incentives
- An equitable, sustainable workload
- Access to community-based colleagues and institutions for consultation
- Local opportunities for spousal employment
- Adequate clinical coverage and staffing
- Professional development opportunities
- Autonomy within the organization
Ultimately, it’s important to start from a place of understanding a physician’s needs, wants, and desires in a new position. From there you can sprinkle in the unique attributes of working at your facility. Offering the right incentives, expectations, and local opportunities will help “seal the deal” and keep retention rates high.