With so many options for students when they graduate, how does your practice stand out compared to the others? As a business owner, I ask this question all the time and unfortunately, what worked before does not necessarily work today.
Every year, the new group of students are fresh to the course and usually haven’t heard of your business. You have to build your reputation with them from scratch. Like marketing to a new area or market, they don’t know you and you have to go through the uncomfortable process of building visibility and creditability once again.
Although I can’t give you a short cut to this process, I can discuss a few methods that have worked for us in the past
Student placements
This has been one of our most effective recruitment strategies, with about half of our current clinical being former clinical placement students of ours. I have written previously about the multiple benefits of taking on students (https://mdhealth.com.au/staff-development-the-benefits-of-a-student-program-for-professional-practice/ ), however, the most obvious is recruitment. The beauty of student placements is that the students get direct exposure of what it is like to work at your organization and you get direct exposure of what they are like as potential employees. It is much better to really see what a potential employee is like over a 4-6 week period, than in a short, series of interviews.
In addition, the students’ get a realistic exposure of what work at your organization is really like, warts and all. This means that hopefully, once they do start working for your organization, there will not be false expectation and the staff member walks away saying “the job was not what they expected it to be”.
Who do you need to contact in order start student placements at your organization?
Running workshops for student
The second best option to student placements is running workshops. This gives a larger number of students exposure to your practice, in a “mini” way. This again has at least 2 benefits. Firstly, it begins to educate students and potential employees in a better way of practicing and increasing their skills, highlighting your company as a learning organization. Especially if you run multiple workshops, this gives students a chance to invite their friends to attend your future workshops, further exposing more students to your practice.
Secondly, in a “mini” way, it also starts the process of training potential employees in your way of conducting your business, reducing the cost and time of training once they become employees of your practice.
What workshops can you run at your practice that will further the knowledge of students and promote your practice?
Presenting at university and industry events
Another great way of exposing your practice to students is to present and educate students where they attend university or at events run by industry associations such as the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Although it is more work initially, by giving back and educating students it builds your visibility and credibility to an audience who has not been directly exposed to your practice such as with student placement and workshops.
Can you join your industry association and “give back” to your profession, exposing you to a new market and increase your credibility?
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.
