Competitive Healthcare Recruiting Part 2: Relocation

We’re back with more! In Part 2 of our Competitive Healthcare Recruiting series we’ll talk healthcare relocation and how it fits into your overall recruiting strategy. While healthcare recruiting is hard enough on its own, relocation can add even more complexity. Specifically those more common in the wake of COVID-19, like housing shortages and the need to fill gaps in education about location. 

Our experts at University of Vermont Medical, Mayo Clinic, and Katon Direct shared tips on how you can use relocation as one of your healthcare recruitment strategies, educate candidates on your location, and align the employee relocation experience with your patient experience.

Let’s dive in:

 

Educate candidates on your location

1. Go digital! Using technology (more on that in Part 3) to provide location education to candidates, even before the interview, sets the stage for a better candidate experience. Access to non-biased local information helps candidates assess the area - and to imagine themselves living there. Neighborhood insights, transportation information and school district intel can tip candidates off to what their future hometown is really going to look - and feel like. Pre or post-decision, this information is extremely valuable.

2. Sell, sell, sell! During the interview process, make sure your interviewers educate candidates with location insights and start to "sell" the area. Encourage the candidate to ask questions about the employer/company location, and gather appropriate answers and/or resources to ensure the candidate’s questions are answered. The more comfortable your candidate is with where they're going, especially if they can't travel there ahead of time, the more likely they are to accept your offer.

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Align your candidate or employee relocation experience with your patient experience

In healthcare, you're hyper-focused on the patient experience, including providing a top-notch standard of care. But have you thought of it this way? How you treat your employees will directly impact how they treat their patients. Providing a "white-glove" experience, as UVM puts it, helps reduce relocation anxiety for your employees and also helps them to settle in quickly and get acclimated to their new location. Relocation assistance like dedicated consultants to answer questions and guide them through their move, and access to temporary housing or other necessities, shows your employees that you care about them just as much as your valued patients.

This also means aligning with your internal values and understanding that the relocation experience is a direct reflection of your organization. (Psst... it's also one of the first experiences your new employee will have with you as an employer). If a relocation goes south, the employee's focus will naturally be elsewhere while the issues get resolved. And worse, it sets a negative impression for the long-term employment experience. But, if you manage the relo experience properly, your new employee will be ready and free to focus on the work ahead of them once they're in their new destination. 

As Katon Direct points out, in healthcare "the people are the product." A better candidate experiences, better relocation experiences and better onboarding experiences all lead to a better employee experience. This naturally creates a better patient experience.

Family moving house with cardboard boxes at the background

Support partners who will relocate with the new employee 

Remember that your new employee often isn't the only one moving for their new role. Many new hires have partners and dependents also making the move. Helping the whole family get settled in makes a major impact. Here are a few ways to help:

  • Involve accompanying partners through an internally developed program at your organization.  Look for other opportunities within your organization or network that might be a fit for them.
  • Use local resources. Organizations such as the local Chamber of Commerce may have programs to help new families settle in, including opportunities to connect with community programs and broader area resources. 
  • Provide destination services like neighborhood intel, coworker insights, and even personalized area tours for the employee and their crew. The more info you can provide ahead of time the better, but at minimum provide these tools as soon as your new hire arrives in their destination to help them get settled.

 

Want more? Dive into the digital transformation of healthcare relocation and how to LEVEL UP your recruiting game!

 

 

A special thank you to our awesome panelists:

Becky Kapsalis; Director of Talent Acquisition at UVM (University of Vermont Medical) Health Network

Rachel Rautenberg; Recruiting Coordinator at Mayo Clinic

Anthony Gentile; Partner at Katon Direct

 

Disappointed you missed out on this event? No worries, we recorded the full panel discussion - you can still get the recording of the full session!

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