Healthcare IT talent – specifically Epic certified and Cerner experienced – is a limited and complex commodity, making the recruitment and retention process for these experts equally complex in a tight, candidate-driven market.

The majority of HIT FTE roles are crucial in keeping optimal clinical and operational workflow. If the roles are not filled with the perfect talent, there will be a significant and immediate impact on care delivery, revenue cycle, operational and fiscal performance, HIT internal team retention, and stakeholder satisfaction.  This scenario is daunting for hiring leaders, many of whom feel like they are not in control of the recruitment process.

Through many decades of healthcare direct hire recruitment success paired with deep healthcare industry expertise, RoundTable has identified key areas where hiring leaders can take control of the complex recruitment process, while making all the difference in identifying, recruiting and retaining the right talent:

  1. Make hiring a top priority. Many daily “fires” distract from hiring.  Your success ultimately depends on the team you have, so make time for the hiring process.  Remember…consultants aren’t cheap.
  2. Review resumes immediately upon receipt…qualified candidates have options.
  3. Provide prompt feedback to HR/business partners regarding resumes reviewed, even if they missed the mark. If business partners don’t have feedback regarding “misses”, they won’t be able to better focus efforts, which will ultimately waste more time.
  4. ALWAYS follow-up, whether positive, negative, or neutral, to EVERY candidate in a timely manner:
    • Positive feedback: a time lapse dampens candidate positive feedback, and allows them to ruminate on and inflate potential concerns.
    • Negative feedback: a time lapse negatively affects perception of the organization –candidates are going to share that insight with their network.
  5. Provide candidates with relevant and transparent information regarding organizational/departmental culture, challenges, and the expectations of a role, supplemental to a formal job description.
  6. Remember that the interview process is a two way street. Be sure to “sell” your department, opportunity and organization to the candidate. Liberally share -the “intangible” aspects of the opportunity and organization which may satisfy professional desires outside of direct compensation.  Most frequently, candidates are seeking: growth opportunity, strong leadership, recognition, a good challenge, ability to make a tangible impact, training/advanced education, technology and personnel resources.
  7. Maintain a realistic understanding of internal recruitment/Human Resources business partner capabilities – engage the right external recruiting partner firm to supplement where beneficial.
  8. When selecting a Direct Hire firm, ensure that it maintains:
    • An acute understanding of the intricacies of your team, and your organization’s specific applications (Epic, Cerner, etc.) and related job functions
    • An understanding of related clinical/operational workflows and impact
    • An investment in learning and communicating your organizational branding and the aspects of a job opportunity which will align with a candidate’s professional goals
    • The ability to identify “passive” candidates, or candidates who are “not looking for a new opportunity”

RoundTable is proud to be a strategic direct hire recruitment partner to many national healthcare organizations, leveraging our rich network of Epic, Cerner, and other HIT talent acquired through years of developing deep candidate / client relationships and serving as a trusted partner.

We welcome you to contact us today about your recruitment needs or questions.