You’re an HR pro, not a marketing guru, so terms like “branding” don’t usually catch your eye. But in a talent-challenged industry like healthcare, it’s in your interest to embrace employer branding—because you can leverage it to improve your recruiting outcomes.
Not up-to-speed on branding? Okay, here’s the least you should know.
What Is Employer Branding?
Employer branding is the process of shaping and promoting an organization’s image as an employer, in order to help attract and retain talented employees.
It’s like consumer branding, except your customers are current and prospective employees, not buyers.
At the heart of branding is the value proposition—a statement of the unique benefits every brand has to offer. When it comes to employer branding, these are called “employer value propositions,” or EVPs for short.
In a nutshell, your EVP is the why—i.e., the reasons—that healthcare professionals want to work for you and not someone else. A clear, compelling EVP is a powerful recruiting tool. So yes, you need one.
Benefits of Employer Branding in Healthcare
When a healthcare organization projects a strong, well-defined employer brand, it helps attract talented candidates, which results in numerous benefits:
- Lower recruitment costs – because the brand itself attracts candidates, less advertising is needed
- Fewer, more quickly filled openings – because employers have a larger candidate pool to choose from
- Higher retention – because employees who connect with your employer brand are more likely to be a good fit
- Higher engagement – because articulating your EVP will draw candidates who share your values
In short, strong employer branding can differentiate your organization from your competition in the highly competitive healthcare market.
Healthcare Employer Brands: What Candidates Want
Some things are a given. Every job seeker wants to be compensated generously for their work, receive ample time off, and work for an organization they can be proud of.
In addition, these key qualities are increasingly important to healthcare professionals:
Work-Life Balance
In the post-pandemic healthcare universe, many professionals are prioritizing work-life balance. To demonstrate that you also highlight any flexible scheduling options, mental health benefits, and wellness programs you offer employees.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
Many healthcare professionals are driven to continuously learn and advance their careers. Showcase the opportunities you offer by describing your training programs, mentorships, continuing education benefits, and internal promotion rates.
A Deep Commitment to Patient Care
Many healthcare professionals choose their careers because of their commitment to patient care—and they seek employers that share their passion. To that end, communicate your organization’s missions and values, ethical practices, and standards of care, using awards, recognition programs, and patient success stories to make your case.
A Supportive Culture—and Caring Employer
Healthcare employees want to feel valued, respected, and supported. Describe how you foster a collaborative environment, support diversity and inclusion, and encourage a team mentality. Describe the employee benefits and perks you provide and how you foster employee well-being. And if you’ve got impressive retention rates, flaunt ‘em!
How to Polish Your Employer Brand
For most healthcare organizations, employer branding is a multi-departmental project that involves HR, Marketing, and employees throughout the organization. It also includes these key steps.
- Identify your core values: what you prize, your guiding principles, and what makes you unique.
- Collect employee insights via surveys and focus groups to learn what they value most about working for you.
- Use that info to craft an authentic EVP that communicates the benefits of working for your organization.
- Optimize your website—especially your careers page—to showcase your EVP. Use employee testimonials, videos, and stories.
- Engage in community outreach initiatives such as local health fairs/programs and charity events. Encourage employee volunteerism.
- Share social media content that reflects your employer brand, such as behind-the-scenes looks, employee achievements, and community initiatives.
- Engage on review sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed, and Healthgrades to actively manage your image. Develop a strategy for responding to both positive and negative reviews.
- Share patient/employee success stories that highlight how your staff has made a difference in patients’ lives.
Enhance Your Candidate/New Hire Experience
No matter what employer brand you project, every candidate and new hire will perceive it in terms of their actual interactions with your people and digital presence. To that end:
- Make sure your job application process is fast and smooth
- Curate candidate visits to ensure they’re impressive and positive
- Ease the relocation process for employees moving from afar
- Provide a holistic onboarding experience
Stay up to date
Subscribe to the blog for the latest updates
A strong employer brand is built step by step. At UrbanBound, we help healthcare organizations elevate theirs by providing candidates and relocating employees with the support, information, and technology they need most—resulting in a terrific employee experience. For more on what that looks like, click here.
