Physician Recruitment . . .
And All Those Other Duties
By Allison McCarthy, MBA
With budgets shrinking, many hospitals are working to do more with less. Physician recruiters are being asked to take on additional responsibilities in physician relations, lease management, physician marketing and other physician strategy components. Many feel overwhelmed by the obligation and unsure how to manage all the balls to be juggled. Here are some tips:
Clarify Your Focus
Know what you need to accomplish – from a big picture perspective. The strategic plan, clinical program development plan or a marketing plan provides direction when reviewed within the context of physician recruitment and relations. Knowing which clinical services and/or markets are top priority helps to prioritize and manage the pressing “to do” list items. Understanding whether your role is designed to support growth, retention or both clarifies tactical approaches. Jennifer Hart, Director of Physician Relations and Marketing for Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, recognizes that referral growth is the top priority at her organization. To grow, Emerson Hospital must recruit new physician talent. “That doesn’t stop existing physician requests for support. It’s hard to make those choices,” she said. To manage this, she pulls herself away from individual requests and develops her “mini strategic plan” based on the global needs of the organization. She uses that “mini strategic plan” to stay focused on the hospital’s overall objectives.
| Think Creatively The best recruitment, relations and marketing leaders know they cannot do it alone. Other resources – both internal and external – enable them to get things done. |
|
|
• |
The first step is determining what “you” have to do yourself. |
|
• |
In recruitment, the internal leader’s priority is often managing the candidates through the internal process. |
| • | Many choose to “outsource” the sourcing or promotional segments because it can be cleanly delineated and assigned to another party. |
| • | Once the contract is signed, “best practice” organizations use an on-boarding team to guide the new physician through start-up and relationship development. |
Establish Assessment Mechanisms
Developing simple mechanisms for tracking outcomes is a must in today’s resource constrained environment. First, these tools identify efforts that have the greatest impact. With that information, course corrections can be made effectively to plans. If there are too few prospects for an opportunity, then dedicated attention in the next quarter to sourcing might be the priority. Alternatively, if prospects are plentiful but are being lost during the interview process, a more diligent monitoring of the recruitment team might require renewed focus. Be careful not to put priorities in place just because of timing and deadlines.
|
It ain’t bragging if you done it. Baseball |
Tracking also includes tools that help determine physician relations priorities. If reports uncover declining volume from key referral sources then certainly attention is needed. But rather than diverting your focus, perhaps leadership should meet with those physicians to uncover the reasons for this shift. And if those same reports identify that splitter field efforts demonstrated a referral increase, a stronger case can be made for assigning others to the “red flags” to maintain the growth momentum.
Communicate Your Value
While assuming more responsibility may feel overwhelming and burdensome; it’s good news as it suggests that the organization recognizes you for being able to get things done and work effectively with this critical customer group. “Just the assignment itself is an affirmation that you are doing a good job”, says Jennifer Hart. “It’s then a matter of how to continuously remind them of that good decision.” Hart sends twice monthly progress reports to her leadership team to share progress. “The most important part of those reports is the next actions section which I highlight in red font to get attention.” Beyond accomplishments, it’s important to share the challenges and how you worked to turn around those tough spots. A “challenge log” may help to remember those unique communication opportunities. Also remember that numbers speak volumes in health care. Statistics on numbers of prospects, ratios of candidate conversions or direct shifts in referral volume – as a result of your efforts – also demonstrates value. As Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean said, “It ain’t bragging if you done it.”
Jennifer Hart and Allison McCarthy will present more on this topic at the Physician Strategies Summit, April 26-28, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Learn More
