Since the needs of the healthcare industry change all the time, hiring the right health care workers has become a daily challenge, with organisations struggling to find qualified and experienced staff to meet their requirements. A specialist healthcare recruitment agency can offer a long-term solution to improve your hiring strategy. Read on to find out why it pays to work with an agency.
Care is a difficult industry to recruit for
It’s the largest sector in the UK, employing nearly 4 million people across a whole variety of specialisms. Not only that, but that specialist experience might be needed in a variety of different environments, from hospitals and clinics to residential homes or the community. If this wasn’t a difficult enough scenario, industry needs can – and do – change very quickly, meaning staff can be needed at the drop of a hat. This all adds up to make care a fairly difficult industry to recruit for. A specialist care recruitment agency takes much of the stress out of the recruiting process, by doing the groundwork on your behalf.
They already know the best candidates
Care agencies will have a readily available network of candidates. As well as being able to find the ideal person at short notice, they will have relationships with both active job seekers and those who aren’t necessarily looking for a new role. These highly skilled workers are more likely to take on a new role if they have an established and trusted relationship with their agency.
A care recruitment agency spends time and resource building up their network of contacts and getting to know their candidates, so they already know whose experience best suits a job specification. This means organisations can avoid spending time sifting through application forms and personal statements, or holding interviews only to discover that the candidate isn’t quite right after all.
They understand your personal needs
If you have a strong relationship with a care recruitment agency, they will understand not only job needs, but hiring manager needs too. Care agencies usually offer a range of care options and workforce. They will match a candidate based on these individual needs and will consider personal preferences or religious requirements. Personal qualities are often as important as experience level and an agency will understand the need to find a candidate who will fit into your working practices. It’s not always possible to work out whether someone fits the bill on paper, but the candidates put forward by any agency will have already been vetted as worth meeting for a further interview.
Specialists in their field
Finding good talent is a difficult task for most industries – that’s why recruitment agencies exist. When running a care organisation, spending time and money creating job listings, sifting through applications and conducting interviews can often be an added burden. Care recruitment agency staff specialise in their field. They understand the needs of the industry and will therefore know instantly what kind of expertise will be needed based on the specifics of the role. Essentially, care agencies can make life easier for any organisation looking for workers.
A standard of care
Whatever the care provider or organisation, it is only as good as the staff they recruit. Finding the right employees is of the utmost importance if you want to provide, or need exemplary patient care. A health care agency will build a relationship with you so they can better understand how you work and what your needs are. But aside from this, a good agency will also make sure that the people they recruit are well trained, supported and feel valued. This is essential to ensure that employees are caring, skilled and competent.
An agency can provide clear evidence and assurance to employers. Support workers will have been assessed against a specific set of standards and demonstrated the relevant skills, behaviour and knowledge to make sure that they are going to provide a high standard of care.
Are you looking for a more efficient way to solve your staffing needs? Our specialist recruiters have extensive experience in all areas of health care, providing experienced workers across all industry areas. Contact us today to talk through your specific needs.