Remember the joy of medicine? The passion for helping others? The thrill of scientific discovery? The fulfillment of making a difference in people’s lives?
Unfortunately, in this era of permanent staff shortages and post-pandemic burnout, that unbridled joy is often hard to find. But some healthcare leaders are on a mission to change that. They’re rethinking their approach to recruitment and retention—and, chances are, you are, too.
To that end, consider these four ways to inspire more joy in your current and future workforce. And yes, one of them is rethinking their relocation experience.
1. Start with Fewer, More Flexible Hours
What’s more appealing: an endless workday or better work-life balance? Exactly!
Many healthcare professionals want to scale back—and/or have more say over—their work time. That’s why some organizations are creating more part-time/job-sharing roles and offering flexible scheduling options.
For example, Paramus, N.J.-based Bergen New Bridge Medical Center recently introduced a flexible scheduling app that allows nurses and nursing assistants to sign up for individual shifts as they go, rather than commit to a set weekly schedule.
It’s working so well—and has proven to be such an effective recruiting and retention tool—that the hospital is extending the app to social workers, physical therapists and numerous other roles. Well done!
2. Build Careers—and Long-term Relationships
At Johns Hopkins Medical in Baltimore, the focus is on creating such a rewarding culture that employees won’t want to leave. One initiative: helping employees build a whole career at Hopkins, rather than think in terms of a one-and-done job.
In a recent Becker Hospital Review interview, CEO Theodore Weese, MD says, “We are… launching an innovative new program to help employees navigate career development opportunities—offering resources like career coaches to help employees build new skills, enhance their education, and meet their personal career goals.”
3. Find Ways to Wow Your Candidates
Five years ago, the Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus launched a new Physician Recruitment and Licensure Team as part of its Joy Initiative. The objective: provide a “Ritz-Carlton recruitment experience” for physician, scientist and C-level candidates.
Under this approach, team members orchestrate every step of candidate interviews, conducting tours, managing communications and keeping packed itineraries on schedule—while warmly welcoming potential new hires.
And once a physician is brought on board, they assist with their medical licensing requirements, speeding up their onboarding process.
4. Turn Relocation into a Joyful Adventure
Now, here’s a final strategy for getting new hires off to a happy start: provide them with an exceptional relocation experience that kicks off their tenure on an upbeat note. That means:
Make it Exciting
…by providing candidates and new hires with a detailed view of all the awesome things your area and organization has to offer—schools, housing options, amenities, etc. Did you know that a whole section of the UrbanBound platform is dedicated to this?
Make it Easy
…by providing incoming employees with complete relocation support. At UrbanBound, we do this by pairing a team of relocation specialists with cutting-edge relocation software, which gives employees:
- An overview of their benefits, plus guidance for using them
- A running, real-time tally of their expenditures
- Direct access to our supplier network
- Access to their relocation support team
- Helpful info about what to expect, including great tips from coworkers
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Make it Goofproof
…by working with a relocation partner that’s already troubleshooted the many ways a move can go sideways. For example, a common pitfall is choosing an unreliable moving company or inexperienced real estate agent who doesn’t deliver as promised.
That’s why we rigorously screen and manage all our suppliers. This way, plans are executed as intended—so when new hires show up on their first day, they’re relaxed and ready to join your team.
Make it Personalized
We’ve relocated more than 10,000 healthcare workers to date, and we can say with authority: everyone’s wants and needs are a little different.
Offering flexible relocation benefits and a range of suppliers allows new hires to plan their move on their own terms, resulting in calm, content new hires who can’t wait to get to work.
It’s true that bringing joy back to medicine is a complex task with many moving parts. When it comes to the relocation part, we’ve got you covered.
Learn why leading healthcare organizations are happy they entrusted their relocation programs to us—and how we’ll work to delight you and your people.
