Getting great people working for you and more importantly, wanting to work for you is more than just putting an ad out on Seek or other job site and hoping (and praying) that this is the time the right person is looking for work, sees your ad and applies for a job with you.
It really has to be a proactive process that begins long before you really need staff. Building a network of potential candidates that you can call upon when the time is right makes it a lot easier to get the right person, at the right time (We don’t get this process perfect either, but sometimes we do and it makes life much easier).
Be present and involved in your association, which puts your in front of potential candidates
Last year I again became involved with my association, the Australian Physiotherapy Association. In the middle of the year, I was involved in a presentation that involved a panel discussion about working in the private sector and what to look for in your first job as a physiotherapist. As an outcome of being part of that panel, I have been approached by a few physiotherapists and now keep in regular contact.
Some have some come into the clinic to see what we do and find out more about our workplace. Another I catch up with on a regular basis to discuss business and give business advice and others I regularly contact via LinkedIn.
I did not intentionally plan to be on the panel in order to gain a certain number of contacts, but as result of being present and “putting myself and the clinic out there”, the relationships have been formed. This has now increased the potential pool of candidates that we can approach when a position becomes available.
Is there a trade group or association you can get involved with that puts you and your business in front of your potential employee market?
Student placements
I have written about this extensively in the past, but student placements have been a major source of new staff members for our business. At present, over half of our current technical staff members have been students of ours.
The student placements have several massive positive benefits for the business. Firstly, it allows you to see potential candidates for not just an hour or two during the interview process, but for at least 4-6 weeks. By that stage, you have a much better idea of what they are like to work with and whether they will be the right fit for your organization.
In addition, it also means that these candidates have often started your staff training program (getting ready to be good staff members at your organization), before they even commence working for you, so they can hit the ground running and reduce your initial training time when they do start working for you.
Thirdly, it improves your current staff’s ability to train other people. As they get used to the process of training students, they are much better at training junior staff members.
Have you spoken to your universities or training facilities about taking students for placement?
Be active on social media, especially LinkedIn
LinkedIn has been a great social network to connect and start conversations with other professionals. Articles like this give me a chance to connect and have great conversations with other professionals.
The articles are not to sell, but to start a conversation. As a results of some of the articles that I have written over the last couple of years, I have had some wonderful conversations and gotten ideas that we have brought back to the business (that were not initially even my radar).
Be present and active on the appropriate social media. People are more open to conversations, as long as you NOT SELLING. You’d be amazed who you will end up having a conversation with and what ideas you will discover beyond your current sphere of knowledge.
Are you having conversations with other professionals on the appropriate social media network?
Group Mastermind – Do you want to get involved ?
Every Wednesday at 11.15am – 12pm, we hold a group Mastermind session to:
- Brainstorm strategies
- Discuss marketing ideas
- Work on each other’s business problems
It is FREE of charge and a great way to interact and pick the brains of other allied health business owners.
Join the discussion and have your say?
- Comment below!
- Call us on (03) 9857 0644 or (07) 3505 1494 (Paddington)
- Email us at admin@mdhealth.com.au
- Check out our other Health Business blog posts here
Our clinical staff would be happy to have chat if you have any questions.
