Across America, hospitals and health systems are looking for ways to bridge staffing gaps and strengthen their recruitment initiatives. One of the ways your healthcare organization can vastly improve its recruiting goals is by placing a renewed emphasis on your employer brand.
SHRM does a perfect job of summing up why it’s so important: “Employer brand affects recruitment of new employees, retention and engagement of current employees, and the overall perception of the organization in the market.”
Your employer brand is integral to both sustaining and scaling your business. Let’s take a deeper dive into why you should leverage branding in recruitment to drive tangible results.
What Is Employer Branding?
In today’s fierce war for talent, your employer brand plays a pivotal role in positioning your organization as an ideal place to work for potential candidates. By strategically voicing your organization’s culture, values, mission and even personality, you have the power to impact both current and future employees’ perceptions of your company. What’s more, showcasing your employer brand helps target candidates that align with your values in a purposeful and meaningful way.
To be clear: leveraging branding in recruitment is about defining your unique value proposition and NOT about misrepresenting your organization to garner candidate interest. In the long run, dishonesty will wind up damaging your reputation. Because let’s be honest, today’s digitally-savvy candidates won’t shy away from voicing their negative experiences online (just like patients do).
When positioning your brand in the marketplace, ask yourself: In terms of culture, perks and benefits, what do we offer our staff in exchange for the skills and experience they bring to the table? Make sure to weave your employer brand into every touchpoint you have with potential candidates – from initial outreach on LinkedIn all the way through an employee’s exit interview. Authenticity is key. It’ll lend to a positive candidate experience and ensure you’re optimizing ROI when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent.
Employer Branding vs. Recruitment Marketing: What’s the Difference?
You probably hear the terms “recruitment marketing” and “employer branding” thrown around and used interchangeably quite often. So, what exactly is the difference? While closely related, these terms serve two different purposes:
- Recruitment marketing involves communicating what it would be like to work at an organization like yours. You can think of recruitment marketing as a tool for promoting your employer brand.
Think: growth options, professional development, flex scheduling, great benefits and special perks, etc.
- Employer branding, on the other hand, refers to the process of defining and positioning who you are as a company and what you stand for.
Think: teaching hospital, evidenced-based medical practice, culturally-sensitive care, personalized medicine, etc.
The Importance of Branding in Recruitment
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely disrupted the recruitment space – especially for healthcare organizations. Even as the crisis passes, the effects will be felt long-term in the form of worker shortages and burnout. To ensure you’re maintaining a competitive presence, it’s imperative to meet the evolving needs of today’s workforce.
That means implementing new protocols, like investing in corporate wellness programs, strengthening internal culture and offering perks such as flexible scheduling. Discussing these benefits and integrating messaging into your employer brand that explains why you value these things, will set your recruitment efforts up for success.
Stand Out in the War for Talent
From your bottom line to positive patient outcomes, your facility is only as strong as your people. And top talent wants to be aligned with organizations that are purpose-driven and genuinely care for their employees.
A well-crafted recruitment strategy requires being proactive and continuously building relationships with potential candidates – even ones that aren’t currently job searching. Your employer brand is your secret weapon in capturing candidate interest as well as competing with big-name companies that have name recognition. It not only levels the playing field, but it can tip the scales in your favor.
In the healthcare field, having this edge is crucial. Think about it: a top surgeon will attract more patients and a high-level manager can implement practices that cut costs while driving improvements. And targeting these candidates requires a compelling, thoughtful employer brand.
Strengthen Employee Retention
A strong employer brand equates to higher satisfaction, increased productivity and lower turnover rates. Why? Because you’re proactively investing in the needs of current and future team members, meeting them where they are and establishing a culture that recognizes and rewards staff.
When employees are happy, they also serve as natural brand ambassadors, sharing their experience and attracting like-minded individuals to the organization. Word of mouth is powerful, and it can help improve your employer brand without having to invest heavily in marketing. Satisfied employees and low turnover will also lend to a better patient experience, which will drive long-term revenue for the organization.
Need help getting started? Here at Polaris, we’re helping hospitals and healthcare organizations drive revenue and improve patient outcomes through flexible, effective healthcare staffing solutions. In a time when healthcare workers are needed now more than ever, our team of recruitment experts can help your facility implement an innovative recruitment strategy. To learn more, contact the Polaris team today.
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