Embarking on a career in Healthcare is a commitment to compassion, patience and unwavering dedication to providing quality care to those who need it most and the significance of good onboarding at the start of an employee’s journey in any company is vital in this fast-paced and dynamic environment. Good onboarding can make all the difference to a member of staff, from personal growth and development, care and attention, multi-tasking and adaptability as well as work morale and overall work satisfaction. Join us in this blog as we explore the process and importance of onboarding in a busy healthcare recruitment agency.

What is Onboarding?

Firstly, let’s understand what happens before onboarding. Typically it’ll begin with an informal discussion, allowing the recruiter to better get to know the potential candidate. This is followed up with an interview where more is discussed about the role and its responsibilities and whether this candidate has a skillset that aligns. A DBS check is undertaken, followed by ID checks and a look at previous references. This is done to ensure someone is capable of working in an environment that supports others. It can also take some time, so while this happens, it is common for a candidate to be kept busy with training, a part of the onboarding procedure.

Onboarding itself is the process of integrating a new employee into a pre-existing working environment and ensuring a smooth transition whereby they fit into a team quickly and can begin working efficiently and thoroughly without any hiccups. In the context of a healthcare recruitment agency, there are different aspects to the onboarding process. Typically, it begins with a warm welcome to the branch team and office. This helps a new starter familiarise themselves with business hierarchy, identifying different people in the company, their roles and their responsibilities, including those who they may be required to report or reach out to.

In the field of healthcare, adherence to regulations is key and the next step of onboarding ensures the new healthcare professional is well-versed in these compliance standards and any industry-specific guidelines. A new starter will be reminded of this, along with company handbook, throughout their full term of employment. This thorough knowledge of company, client and industry regulations will remind the new starter of their responsibilities and set a precedent of expectations which should foster confidence, reliability and attention to detail.

All healthcare recruitment agencies should also provide the appropriate training during the onboarding process, ensuring a new starter can get to ‘up-to scratch’ with working practises. Whether it’s a refresher on best practices of moving and handling, mastering the understanding of fluids and nutrition or the administration of medication, training will be provided from the start and throughout their career. Previous examples of training qualifications will also be looked at by a member of the recruitment team and additional training courses will be offered to promote the development of the staff member throughout their employment.

As the new healthcare professional fits into their new role, it is common for the recruiter who first onboarded them to reach out regularly. This back-and-forth communication will allow them to identify how well the new starter is fitting into their shifts, understand their thoughts and feelings and recognising whether they feel set up for success. It is a great way to understand how well they are getting on and also provide an opportunity for feedback or to see whether they need any additional support.

In truth, onboarding is an ongoing process that extends beyond these first initial weeks. Regular check-ins, mentorship and constructive feedback will contribute to the professional growth of a healthcare professional as they navigate the fast-paced and ever-changing industry of healthcare.

Why is Onboarding so Important?

Reputation:

Onboarding a healthcare professional successfully is paramount. It identifies to the employee the lengths at which an employer is willing to go to make them feel comfortable and happy in work through time, communication and investment. It also highlights a company’s morals and values, an aspect of work culture that is increasingly considered by new starters. This significance is two-fold as it also impacts the quality of placements made by healthcare recruitment agencies, which can impact their reputation in the sector. If a candidate is well-prepared, they are far more likely to thrive in their placements and share news of their success and happiness with those around them.

Turnover:

The nature of an agency, coupled with the healthcare sector, means these businesses often experience high turnover rates. Effective onboarding can help to mitigate these issues by ensuring a healthcare professional feels supported, confident and connected to their employer which reduces the likelihood of premature or unexpected quitting, alleviating some of the pressures for that business.

Adaptability:

Because the sector is ever-evolving with many advancements or changes to regulations, successful onboarding emphasises the importance of ongoing training and development. It also highlights the need to be adaptable when learning new or different things which will allow healthcare professionals the ability to navigate new changes, without fault or lack of confidence.

Quality:

The onboarding process will ensure that a healthcare professional is not only highly proficient in their role, but also aligned with the agency or care organisations patient-centred values and needs. These well-trained and integrated individuals will better contribute to the improved quality of care of service users which is the most important and highly regarded aspect of this sector.

In the world of healthcare recruitment agencies, onboarding is not merely a quick integration process. It connects talent with opportunity and has the ability to transform potential candidates into invaluable assets. Successful onboarding is not only about implementing comprehensive practices, but making an impact on the happiness of a candidate, contributing to their overall success and performance in the sector, acting as the glue between agency, candidate, client and service user.