The search for physicians to add to your practice or hospital staff roster can be time-consuming. When you invest time and effort into recruiting a candidate, their rejection of your offer can be frustrating, as well as a setback, adding to your costs, increasing lost revenues and impacting patient care. Not every provider will be a good fit, of course, but you can prevent some rejections from candidates by adjusting some of your recruitment practices, specifically addressing the efficiency of your recruiting process and stakeholder alignment.
“I Found Another Job” Because You Took Too Long to Offer
In the current market and for the foreseeable future, the demand for physicians in the United States exceeds the supply, which results in increased competition for candidates. Half of residents in their final year report receiving more than 100 job offers and another 20 percent received between 50 and 99 offers. Time is of the essence since your competitors can take advantage of your delays, wooing your candidate and presenting an offer sooner than you. Your delays in closing also can be interpreted as a lack of interest or commitment on the part of your organization, which in turn dampens the enthusiasm of the candidate or interest in joining your team.
An inefficient screening and interview process will extend the recruiting timeline and prolong vacancies. Through a thorough assessment of your organization’s processes, identification of key metrics and developing benchmarking you can identify areas in the recruiting process where greater efficiency and effectiveness could expand the candidate pool, reduce the number of interviews conducted and lower the overall cost of filling a vacancy. Below are a few notable statistics about physician recruiting timelines for comparison with your organization’s figures.
- According to one survey, in 2017 family medicine doctor hires averaged 22 days from interview to offer acceptance.
- A typical recruitment timeline from initial candidate response to offer acceptance and signing averages 19 weeks, though best practice generally is six weeks.
- One industry survey reported that in 2016 Advanced Practice job openings were filled in 96 days, while Specialty Care positions took 149 days. Primary Care and Surgery specialties averaged 125 and 151 days, respectively.
Inconsistencies in Candidate Interactions and Contradictions Among Staff
The recruitment process itself, especially during on-site visits, can significantly affect candidate perceptions of a job opportunity. A lack of stakeholder alignment can play a role in rejections of your offer and prolong the physician position vacancy, and inconsistencies in the information communicated to the candidate can repel recruits. Pay attention to even the most minor details of the candidate experience so you make a favorable impression of organizational competency and interest in the candidate.
Potential recruits can be derailed during the interview process by lack of alignment among stakeholders on a variety of issues. For example, citing a certain salary at the beginning of conversations with the candidate and then offering a lower figure breeds distrust. Hearing different or even contradictory information from different contacts along the recruiting process instills uncertainty, suggests a lack of organizational cohesion, gives the impression that you are not being entirely honest about the position or practice and inspires the candidate to look elsewhere.
Contact Adaptive Medical Partners, a premier physician recruiting firm, for assistance in streamlining and improving your recruiting strategy and processes.
