Recruiting for healthcare staff is challenging right now, and specialized roles like NNPs are certainly no exception. While staffing challenges persist, healthcare organizations that work to build and strengthen their employer branding may have the best odds of recruiting top talent. Here’s a closer look into how you can make employer branding work for you.
What Is Employer Branding?
In healthcare, employer branding is the strategy hospitals and other organizations use to showcase their corporate values, communicate their overall mission, and demonstrate their quality of care. Organizations can use this messaging to build trust with potential candidates.
What are the three components of employer branding?
Each organization’s approach to employer branding can be as unique as the hospital itself. In general, however, there are three main components of employer branding:
- Reputation: In employer branding, reputation can be defined by the three Cs.
- Career catalyst: Will the job move the candidate’s career forward?
- Culture: What are the shared attitudes, values, standards, and behaviors of the workplace?
- Citizenship: What impact does the organization have on the community?
- Proposition: Your employer value proposition is the “give and get,” or the expected behaviors and rewards that define the employer/employee relationship.
- Experience: The employee experience is a major component of building a brand reputation. A positive employee experience is largely based on your ability to deliver on the promised employer value proposition.
How important is employer branding for recruiting?
When done right, employer branding can be a powerful way to make your desired impact on your audience. It creates a first impression for potential hires, enabling them to form a positive opinion of your organization and what it would be like to work for you.
With the ability to research companies online, it’s no surprise that 75% of jobseekers will research an organization’s reputation before they even consider applying for a job. Half won’t work for a company that has a bad reputation, even if it comes with a pay increase.
What are some employer branding strategies for healthcare?
Create personas.
When refining your recruitment strategy, create candidate personas to consider what each group of jobseekers might look for in a role. The goals, challenges, and behaviors will be different for each set of candidates; for instance, an NNP may not look for the same qualities in an employer as a radiologist. Creating and delivering content that expresses your brand’s value to each unique audience can help attract candidates more effectively.
Optimize your online presence.
Most employees’ job search begins online. Make sure your company website, career pages, and social media content are all delivering a clear and consistent message about employment. Similarly, ensure your job descriptions contain enough information to allow your candidates to envision what it would be like to work for you. Include details about company culture and what it would take to be successful in their role.
Showcase your values.
Company values allow candidates to form a connection with your organization and are therefore an important aspect of employer branding. Consider using employee-narrated recruitment videos to give an insider’s account of what it’s like to work for you. Highlight details about patient care, career progression, teamwork, and diversity and inclusion. Make sure the content is transparent and authentic to create a meaningful impact on viewers.
Creating a strong employer brand is just one piece of the recruitment puzzle. Ensearch is experienced in every aspect of helping healthcare organizations attract, recruit, and retain NNPs. We maintain an excellent success rate in helping hospitals and other organizations grow by filling their openings with the most qualified talent. Get started on your search by scheduling a consultation with Ensearch today.
