This month, MedHQ is hosting their first Heart of the Business Conference and participating in an event that is important to the organization: the American Heart Association’s Metro Chicago Heart Walk. MedHQ’s mission is to help healthcare organizations better serve their patients, and building healthy, sustainable habits is a vital part of our company culture.
Leading up to the Heart Walk, we have shared a workplace tip each month based on a favorite MedHQ mantra: “We are at the heart of healthcare businesses.”
Our final tip is: recruit and retain your employees. Catch up on our previous tips.
Build a company culture that attracts your ideal employees.
Be intentional about the culture you want to create – it won’t just happen on its own. Listen to input from current employees. Imagine how you want people from outside your organization to describe your values and character. Envision the type of teams you will build to support a positive work environment and deliver value for your customers. Define your company culture through a formal process that engages all of your employees, then document it in a written statement and model it from the top down. You must also be able to articulate each core value in terms of the behaviors that demonstrate how each value is realized by employee performance.
Recruit strategically.
Attracting and hiring the right team requires much more than writing a generic job description and hiring for a set of qualifications. Hiring managers often make the mistake of assessing candidates based on limited criteria – for instance, only applicants who have 7 years of office management experience in a healthcare organization and a degree from a prestigious university.
But this approach doesn’t necessarily tell you if a candidate will be a good fit for the position or your organization. Look instead for qualities that pertain to each position. What are the critical characteristics that the candidate must have to be successful in the position? How does a candidate’s intelligence, persistence, or flexibility, for example, matter for the position you are trying to fill? Also, find out if the candidate’s past performance demonstrated behaviors that complement your company values.
An internal referral program is also a valuable recruiting tool. When you encourage current employees to refer their own contacts, they will put forward only candidates they feel would do the job well and be an asset to your culture. And you end up with a list of pre-vetted applicants.
Prioritize training and onboarding.
Once you have hired a new employee, make sure their transition into your organization is smooth from Day 1. Outline clear expectations for what you want them to achieve and in what timeframe, and then support them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
Don’t just throw them into the deep end and expect them to figure it out. Define key milestones, pair them with mentors, and schedule regular check-ins as they’re getting settled.
Establish a structured onboarding process that covers practicalities like setting up a computer and completing paperwork, as well as longer-term exercises like scheduling ongoing training sessions and developing personal career plans.
Invest in your new recruits, and your organization will benefit by retaining them as strong, dedicated team members.
Download our Heart of the Business eBook for more heart-healthy business tips.
