How can Health & Social Care providers maintain a steady flow of candidates?

How can Health & Social Care providers maintain a steady flow of candidates?

The Health and Social Care industry is one of the largest employers in England with an estimated 1.58 million jobs in 2016, according to Skills for Care, and there has been a workforce increase of 19% since 2009 in the Adult Social Care sector alone. The overall turnover of staff was 27.8% in 2016 which left approximately 90,000 vacancies at any one point. With the uncertainty of the work force post-Brexit and the increasing demands of an ageing population, how can providers maintain a steady flow of candidates?

There is no silver bullet to address the issue, but there are a number of steps that can be taken to ensure staff retention and access to a large pool of candidates. In recent years, companies have been investing in staff benefits and training options as a means to promote internal staff. This helps with staff retention and morale amongst employees. Benefits like private healthcare, paid sick leave and performance bonuses have become just as important for the employees as generous pay.

Another way to address the market shortage is by engaging the services of a Recruitment Agency. This enables the employer to externalise their resourcing services by accessing specialised staff, minimising the internal resources being used on attracting candidates, while spending their time on brand awareness and employee retention.The most effective way of advertising is word of mouth, and in a world of Social Media this has become even more important. For every bad review a company has, it needs 12 positive ones to cancel it out. According to Reputation Builder, 88 percent of people trust online reviews as much as they trust their best friends’ recommendations. This is why most businesses are using “Refer a friend” incentives for current employees, paying cash rewards or giving other benefits to people who represent the company in a good way and also manage to attract skilled and dedicated new employees.

Working in a candidate driven market puts pressure on the employer when it comes to recruitment. We are seeing a massive shift in focus in the interview process from the candidate making various concessions when it comes to accepting a new role, to the company emphasising all the benefits of choosing to work for them. Clear career progression, a good work life balance and extra benefits seem to become standard in any new offer of employment.

However you choose to address the candidate shortage in the Healthcare Industry, the people supported are always at the heart of everyone involved, interviewer or applicant, recruiter or candidate, hiring manager or talent, and don’t forget “They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou)

This article was written by Carmen Neagu – Recruitment Consultant at ENS Recruitment
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