The healthcare industry is facing widespread staffing gaps—and it didn’t even take the pressure of COVID-19 to create them. Long before the coronavirus pandemic, we had been anticipating 45,000 too few primary care providers and another 46,000 specialists, along with everything from home healthcare workers to nurses in the next decade. This means recruiting and hiring teams will need to pull out all the stops in the coming years to find the best candidates. Many of these talented professionals will need to relocate to be hired. How can healthcare recruiters, HR, and hiring teams adjust their efforts for relocating healthcare candidate? What best practices can we share?
Tips for Recruiting a Relocating Candidate
Roughly 10% of the nearly 30 million Americans who move say they do it for a job opportunity. With remote work on the rise and a global pandemic to contend with, even fewer workers will likely relocate this year. The exception of course is in healthcare, where, unless the clinical encounter uses telemedicine, the giver and receiver of the service must be in the room. The latest Nurse.com survey showed that just over half (53%) of nurses say they would be willing to relocate for a job.
This means, if you haven’t dealt with a relocating candidate, you will soon. A relocating job candidate presents both challenges and opportunities for the hiring team or recruiter. Here are three suggestions for handling these delicate situations:
- Place the offer within a cost-of-living context. A relocating healthcare worker must understand how far the salary will stretch in the region they’re moving to. An eye-popping offer for a family doctor in San Francisco versus a lower salary in a rural community healthcare center without the context of the cost of living simply won’t offer perspective. Instead of allowing the candidate to get excited about the urban salary, make sure they understand how expensive everything is in the “big city.” Make sure the candidate understands the big picture by providing them with average home prices, taxes, and other living costs so they can make an informed decision.
- Share what it’s like to live in the community around the healthcare employer. Offer your candidate advice on the best realtors to speak with or share details of the school systems around the healthcare provider. Will they need a car or are they on the transit line? What are winters like in the region? Are there national parks in the area? The key to this process is simply getting to know your candidate and understanding what is important to him or her and their family.
- Offer flexibility to improve the transition for the relocating candidate. Can you accommodate a start date that coincides with school schedules? Can the candidate come out early for an orientation and then work remotely for a few weeks, or even part-time, as they are coordinating the move? Can your organization provide temporary housing while the employee is looking for a new home? Can a relocation bonus help with this transition?
Do whatever you can to make this a less stressful process and think outside the box whenever possible. UHC Solutions is skilled at handling these tricky negotiations. We always find the fine line between the candidate’s wants and the needs of your organization. Talk with our UHC Solutions team today.
