What Is Your Post-Hiring Strategy?

Several studies have warned that unless we act swiftly, the United States will face an acute shortage of medical professionals in the coming years.

The pandemic has only aggravated the situation, with thousands of medical staff contemplating early retirement. Whether you are a nurse assistant or the Chief Medical Officer, the pandemic has proved that every employee is critical to keep healthcare services going.

I know for a fact that hundreds and thousands of dollars are spent every year to attract the best medical talent. But are there solid retention plans? Going by the attrition rates in the medical care industry, it doesn’t look like it!

Irrespective of the industry you work for, the cost of employee turnover is extremely high. Some studies suggest that if an employee’s salary is $50K, the average cost of the same employee leaving is $75K. Consider this; if an organization has 300 employees and a 10% turnover rate, the annual cost will be around 2 million per year.

Organizations are scared of admitting that employees are valuable to the company; perhaps, because they’re afraid of being held hostage. But wouldn’t the hospital suffer far more if the indispensable employee quit the job suddenly? It might well be worth doing the math for your organization.

An employee you retain is an individual you don’t have to replace. Individual is a key word here. Effective training programs and career advancement opportunities are some of the top employee retention drivers. Providing a healthy work-life balance, maintaining a friendly work environment, job security, and creating trust in senior leadership are other factors that drive employee retention.

We’ve seen a significant shift towards virtual recruitment where AI conducts initial CV crawls and first interviews. Second interviews are being driven by Zoom, Teams, or other remote video platforms. In fact, we’ve seen candidates shift from one side of the country to another without actually visiting the employer or the new location in person.

While this may seem exciting and creative, there’s a downside. The excitement of landing a new job soon fizzles when a new employee feels lonely in a new place with no family or friends for company. What if these feelings are compounded by the stress involved in the role? What if things don’t appear as anticipated? What is being done to prevent or negate such a situation?

If the new employee is feeling out of place, even the tiniest upset can tip the balance and reinforce the feeling of negativity and frustration. It could even make them doubt their decision.  This is something worth planning for in advance of this type of scenario.

A well-thought post-hire strategy emphasizes making employees feel welcome. They must have the freedom to express their ideas and observations. It pays when you take the time to check how a new employee feels and how things can be improved.

You may have promised something and failed to follow through. When this happens, seek help from the agency that helped you recruit the employee in the first place. It pays to share your concerns with an agency that already knows your background and can be the go-between during a discussion.

While this is true at the best of times, the pandemic has exacerbated things. Patience is wearing them among people who’re increasingly caught up in their emotions and feelings to look outside their own experience. Having someone in place who takes time to understand the new role and makes sense of what’s effective or not effective is valuable business intelligence.

1. They could be missing their old job, home, family, or friends. You have to help them feel more at home.
2. The new hire could be feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities or experiencing an impostor syndrome. How can you instil self-confidence in them?
3. The new transition can be challenging. Consider placing a buddy system where the new hire has a mentor to help the individual ease into the work culture
4. Look for ways where you make a meaningful check-in.

If you need assistance with developing a strategy to manage your new employees we can help. Just contact here and we would be delighted to help you manage this essential recruitment tool.