Best practices for Healthcare IT Hiring

Best practices for Healthcare IT Hiring

IT recruiting in the healthcare industry, particularly in hospitals, can be challenging to HR recruiters for a number of reasons. Hospitals are somewhat at a disadvantage because qualified candidates may perceive the healthcare field as woefully lagging behind in technology programs and providers haven’t done a great job at presenting themselves as modern and progressive. Furthermore, there’s a shortage of IT people skilled in the area of optimizing electronic health records and other healthcare systems. However, there are a number of best practices that when put in place can help improve the hiring of good IT employees for hospitals to support the rapid changes in healthcare technology.

Know your high-risk areas

In an effort to minimize turnover, facilities can take a proactive approach to assessing and identifying the areas that are at a greater risk of having a shortage in talent. Employees are more likely to leave from these high-risk areas for three reasons 1. Their particular area of expertise is in great demand 2. Their salaries are not on par with peers or industry standards, and/or 3. The organization is not performing well. Once this assessment has been completed, hospitals will be able to prioritize the positions to be filled and gaps and develop measures to combat frequent departures.

Write compelling job descriptions

Hospital IT department job descriptions should include compelling details that attract strong candidates like relevant industry-focused job titles, well-worded and attractive descriptions of the job’s responsibilities, an overview of the culture of the hospital, as well as perks such as being able to work remotely, casual dress or flexible work schedules. By writing creative, inspiring job postings you’re more likely to pique the interest of good, potential candidates who may have several job options to consider.

Communicate IT hiring goals 

It’s also important to make sure that the HR department understand the hiring goals of the IT department. Communicate to the candidate’s initial point of contact what the hospital’s resource management objectives are, what the hiring priorities are, and inform them about how processes should be handled like how the interview will be conducted. They should know the specific qualifications that the IT department is seeking in the candidate. This will ensure that HR and IT are on the same page, which will prevent delays that may cause you to lose solid candidates.

Know your competition

Pay attention to other organizations who have similar openings and may be looking to recruit your talent away from you. Track industry recruiter activities in your region and get out in front of messaging that would suggest to your team that the grass is greener elsewhere.

Outsource

Also consider hiring a third-party to support and serve as an extension to your IT staff.  Infovision’s team of IT experts can provide you with in-depth knowledge, experience, services and talent that bring valuable perspective, best practices and experience that will keep IT projects on track and on budget.