Last time, we look at why employee onboarding and integration is so critical in healthcare organizations. Today, we’re going to offer some practical steps you can take to improve your healthcare worker integration process.
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The most important thing to thing to note is that you can make huge improvements to your onboarding and integration process simply by changing your mindset and putting people at the heart of all the activities.
This shift in perception is something that HR departments across all industries are undergoing: the realization that HR must have the best interests of employees at heart. It’s not just about getting all the paperwork and compliance activities out of the way. It’s about connecting new employees and empowering them to be successful from the beginning.
Here are four things to consider as you improve your healthcare worker integration process:
1. Get the boring stuff out of the way before the new recruit joins
It’s a much more efficient use of everyone’s time to get new recruits to complete paperwork, tests and evaluations (especially things like drug screenings and TB tests) before they start.
Why not schedule a quick introductory meeting a couple of weeks before the candidate begins, to introduce them to the team, show them where to park and who to find on day one. It’s also a good opportunity to answer any questions they may have about the paperwork they are busy completing and to remind them to bring along information such as vaccination records etc.
2. Make them feel welcome
Few things will make a new employee feel valued and appreciated like a warm welcome from senior staff. The more senior the welcoming committee, the better!
It’s also a great idea to use some of the time you’ve freed up from paperwork to host a small welcome party for your new hire. This gives them some time to meet and greet their new team members.
Have you considered recording a friendly welcome video to play for new newcomers? This is an efficient way to make them feel welcome while impressing them with your organizational skills. You can also use the video to introduce your organization’s culture, standards of care, and to highlight all the resources available to help new employees.
Communicate clearly and often, especially in the first 90 days
A good healthcare worker integration program ensures that new hires have multiple lines of communication. They should know who to talk to in the HR department as well as on the front lines. It’s a great idea to pair new employees up with a clinical preceptor and/or a mentor.
Encourage regular, two-way performance reviews and feedback
As your new employee settles into their role, you can collect real-time feedback from the people who work with or manage them. This will highlight any red flags and allow you to spot problems early – whether that means identifying an employee who just isn’t a good fit, or identifying that they simply need a little more help than expected.
You might like: How real-time feedback can take your team to the next level
The software that can help you do all this
vi’s employee integration module is an intuitive piece of software that helps you automate, streamline and monitor your employee integration process.
Visit our product overview page to see exactly how vi can help you transform your healthcare employee onboarding and integration process to help you retain key talent.