Alan S. Adams shares his insights for building – and retaining – the very best talent and how businesses can communicate the right messaging to potential candidates.
It’s very much an employee market right now – with job vacancies plentiful, but available skilled workers scarce. The recent CIPD quarterly Labour Market Outlook reported that 57 per cent of employers have hard-to-fill vacancies, and 29 per cent anticipate significant problems in recruitment over the next six months. And so, it’s unsurprising that many clinics are struggling to attract and build the right team.
Without a strong, loyal, and dedicated workforce, businesses can undoubtedly be impacted – as it can lead to a disruption to workflow, a reduction in service quality or reputation, or even a loss of clients. For this reason, recruitment – and employee retention – should be the priority for clinic owners. Achieving this is much like appealing to potential clients, in that you want to showcase your clinic and what you have to offer to attract the very best talent within the industry.
Not only should sufficient time be spent dedicated to recruitment, but the messaging across all platforms should be consistent across every avenue, from social media to the website to face-to-face meetings within the clinic.
Structure
Before recruiting, it’s crucial that you review your existing team. Establish if each member is in the right role, and identify what gaps are missing (whether related to time or skills). Where it’s necessary, restructure and solidify your existing employees, before then focusing on introducing fresh talent to strengthen your team further.
It’s vital to review your own involvement in this, too. Many clinic owners that I speak to often share that they’re too embroiled working in their business and that they don’t have sufficient time to work on the growth and development of their business. It should be able to function day-to-day without any active involvement from clinic owners. Otherwise, very little business growth can be gained, and individuals are left to feel overworked, stressed and frustrated. If this sounds like you, address this first, and recruitment next.
And finally, consider using systems where possible. For example, using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software or outsourcing phone calls can free up your existing team to focus on delivering the very best service and value to your clients.
With all this in place, you can easily identify the gaps within your team, and really understand who and what the ideal candidate looks like. Meaning you can begin the recruitment process with firm ideas and expectations so that you’re on the lookout for someone who will truly enhance your business.
Resources
It’s been recently reported that 85 per cent of individuals will Google search a business before deciding to work with them. It’s paramount that your business aligns with their values, their career aspirations, and that – essentially – they like what they see.
Recruitment isn’t easy. And it requires a commitment of time, money, and effort from clinic owners. While many believe the timely element is during the interview and selection stage, preparation is absolutely key. And it’s vital that all recruitment materials – whether it’s a Facebook post, an Indeed ad, or a feature on the website – should be up-to-date, consistent, and exciting.
Showcasing your clinic to prospective candidates should always be at the forefront of your mind when communicating anything, regardless of your current recruitment status – whether it’s social media posts, newspaper articles, reviews, or your website. People make quick judgements, and first impressions always count. So, make it worthwhile. Potential candidates may come across you and your social media platforms months before you advertise for staff – so applying or reaching out can all but ride on that initial experience.
Retention
Finding and instilling the best talent into your clinic isn’t the end of the process. Far from it. In fact, the hard work begins as you must now ensure that they want to stay by your side, deliver the highest quality service to your clients, and uphold your brand’s values.
There’s no one-size-fits-all method to achieve this. But, as a clinic owner you must strive to deliver a positive company culture, where employees feel appreciated, valued and empowered. This could be demonstrated by supporting them through new qualifications (which enhances both their personal skillset, but also that of the clinic) or organising exciting social events – note: this does not mean enforcing old fashioned ‘team building’ activities.
“And with pay and benefits most commonly ranked across the three most important elements of an employer brand for attracting candidates, perks should also be communicated across all recruitment materials. This could include flexible working, an extra day’s holiday on your birthday, or a bottle of fizz on a work anniversary, whatever your unique selling points as an employer are.
They don’t have to be grand or expensive either, but a gesture that extends further than is contractually expected to show you genuinely care about your employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. As Richard Branson said, “train people well enough so they could leave, but treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.
Final top tips
- Be professional
Showcase your clinic’s credentials, including award wins, qualifications and existing staff members. This will help to build trust and rapport and ensure potential candidates will view you as the go-to clinic.
Plus, proof all copy first – there’s nothing more annoying than a typo to disregard professionalism.
- Be authentic
Whilst remaining professional, it’s important that candidates feel immersed in the clinic and get a true feel for your business, your brand, and your team. Introduce staff members on the website, utilise Instagram Reels to do a clinic tour, or share articles about exciting ventures (award wins, events, etc), on your social media profiles.
And this should encourage those who align with your brand to apply. While experience is key, having a compatible personality and values – with your business and your team – should be a huge contributing factor when considering candidates. Many skills can be taught, and experience can be gained, but kindness, work ethic and enthusiasm are much harder to inspire naturally. It can be a costly mistake to introduce someone not completely aligned with your brand, as it can potentially damage or disrupt your existing team.
- Be consistent
Ensure what’s on your website aligns with your social media platforms, and keep them updated - for example, if your team has changed, make sure this is reflected on the ‘Meet the team’ section of the website.
- Be transparent
While deemed a controversial topic, it’s important to state salary expectations on all and any advertisement for a particular job role. And yes, it can vary depending on experience and skills, but without it, you may miss out on brilliant talent reviewing your vacancy, or risk wasting time – both yours and that of prospective candidates – if finances don’t align.
Final Thoughts
By reviewing your existing team, preparing sufficiently, and ensuring consistency across the board, you can ensure you can attract, recruit and retain the very best talent. We’re in a truly beautiful business, and with some realignment, effective recruitment processes can help you both deliver the highest quality service to your clients, and to achieve the business growth you desire.
References available on request.