An effective onboarding process is vital to building a talented and reliable team. This is particularly true in the healthcare sector. However, with staff shortages and high turnover rates proving a constant challenge, dedicating time to the onboarding process can sometimes feel like an unaffordable luxury. Often though, a strong onboarding process can be the key to alleviating some of these pressures. From enhancing candidate experience to boosting retention, the benefits of effective onboarding are wide-reaching.
This blog will cover:
- The impact good onboarding can have on a healthcare organisation
- The best strategies for creating an effective onboarding process
Challenges in healthcare onboarding
Onboarding is the process of integrating a new hire into a company. In healthcare, there are many obstacles which can complicate and prolong this process. The most pressing of these challenges include:
- Compliance Requirements. Healthcare organisations must meet strict regulations such as those set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). These regulations are in place to protect patients and ensure they receive quality care. During the onboarding process, it’s essential that new healthcare hires are fully vetted and are up to date on mandatory training to avoid compliance risks.
- Inconsistent Processes. Healthcare recruitment commonly involves many systems such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and more. Additionally, there is often variation in onboarding practices across departments within a company. This lack of consistency can make the onboarding process inefficient.
- Background Check Delays. Accurate background checks are a legal requirement in healthcare. However, manual vetting can be a complicated and time consuming burden for the hiring team. Delays are common when HR teams are struggling with capacity. These delays can deter prospective hires and put existing staff under extra pressure.
Effective onboarding is essential to ensuring new hires feel prepared and confident in their role. However, these challenges often obstruct new hires from receiving the support they need.
How to improve onboarding in healthcare
Onboarding best practices are evolving to help healthcare organisations overcome these challenges. The following solutions can transform onboarding into a modern, efficient and seamless process.
1. Automated Background Checks
Replacing slow, manual checks with efficient, automated ones is an easy way to improve the onboarding process. Not only does this free up the hiring team’s time so they can focus on other tasks, but it also minimises the risk of human error. Using a third party background checking provider such as Zinc can help healthcare organisations speed up turnaround times, tailor checks to specific roles and make the vetting process more efficient.
2. Standardised Onboarding Procedures
Investing time to create a consistent onboarding process across departments is well worthwhile. A standardised system can reduce the chances of data getting lost, mistakes being made and time being wasted. By standardising procedures, organisations can also gain a clearer view of the tasks and timescale ahead. Sharing this information with a new hire can contribute to an enhanced candidate experience.
3. Personalised Experiences
Whilst a standard procedure is important, it is essential to customise the onboarding process to individual roles. Different positions require different training and levels of background checks. By tailoring the onboarding process, a company can ensure new hires focus on what matters most to their specific role. With Zinc, organisations can easily customise check packages to suit their specific needs.
4. Clear Communication
Unclear processes can make a candidate feel unsure about the quality of a company and unprepared when the time comes to step into their role. Communicating openly throughout the onboarding process fosters trust, makes new hires feel supported and enhances their onboarding experience.
By implementing these strategies, healthcare organisations can reduce delays, alleviate the pressures felt by hiring teams and create a more welcoming experience for new employees. All of these elements are fundamental to sustainable and successful talent management.
The role of technology
Modern technology can help healthcare companies optimise their entire hiring lifecycle. Onboarding is no exception. From automating background checks to making candidate details more readily accessible, technology is central to an effective onboarding process.
- Technology can transform weeks of manual background checks into a quick one click process. For example with Zinc’s technology, HR teams can save an average of 90 minutes per new hire.
- Modern mobile-friendly programs are transparent and user-friendly. This can significantly enhance a candidate’s onboarding experience. What’s more, both candidates and HR can receive real time notifications about status updates and onboarding progress.
- By centralising candidate data on digital platforms, organisations can ensure all data is secure, organised and accessible to internal teams.
- Feedback tools can be utilised to gather insights from new hires. This information is central to the continual development of the onboarding process.
Healthcare companies that fail to move away from manual processes and embrace technology risk losing out on top talent to companies with more optimised onboarding processes.
Benefits of effective onboarding
A good onboarding process can have company wide benefits. New hires, patients, and existing staff will all feel the positive impact of a quality system. Some of the benefits of effective onboarding are:
1. Increased Retention
A good onboarding process can:
- Foster a sense of belonging.
- Give new hires a chance to bond with other team members.
- Demonstrate a company’s investment in a candidate’s future.
- Instil confidence in the quality of the company.
These factors can make an employee feel valued and boost their workplace satisfaction. This in turn increases the chances of them staying with a company long term. In healthcare where turnover and staff shortages are an ongoing problem, making a good first impression during the onboarding process is crucial.
2. Enhanced Compliance
Utilising technology in the onboarding process can minimise the chance of compliance violations. With automated checks, opportunity for human error is reduced. What’s more, modern software can centralise all employee data. This makes it easier to keep track of ongoing checks and monitor when retraining is due. The increased data visibility achieved with a modern onboarding process makes it less likely for potential compliance issues to be missed.
3. Improved Engagement
When onboarding is done well, new hires gain:
- A clear understanding of their role.
- Knowledge of company specific practices and protocols.
- Up-to-date training.
- Confidence in their ability to perform their duties.
Combined, these factors help an employee feel engaged and switched on. Engaged employees are more attentive, provide better care to patients and are a more productive member of the team.
Conclusion
Companies who implement a modern, efficient and user-friendly onboarding process, can see immediate benefits. From improved retention and better workplace satisfaction to increased productivity. Meanwhile, healthcare organisations who fail to evolve from slow, manual processes risk being overwhelmed by the challenges of the sector. From delivering a poor candidate experience and losing out on top talent to exposing the company to compliance violations.
The key to improving the onboarding process? Leveraging technology. Automated checks, mobile friendly platforms and other hiring tools, make onboarding a smooth process for everyone involved. Book a demo to discover how Zinc can revolutionise the onboarding process and help your company thrive.
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