Diversity in the workplace is important for every organization. Particularly in the healthcare field where the significance of having an inclusive workforce is amplified by its direct engagement with a diverse range of individuals.

Recruiting for diversity in healthcare benefits everyone—the employees, the patients, and the institution as a whole. Numerous studies have shown that diverse workforces results in happier employees, more productive work environments, and better customer engagement.

A culturally, racially, and economically diverse workforce starts with a close look at recruitment strategies. Let’s examine the best practices for creating a more diverse recruitment strategy, specifically in the healthcare sector.

1. Evaluating Your Current Workforce Diversity 

Before you look into reworking your recruitment strategy to enhance company diversity, it's crucial to evaluate your current workforce.

Performing a thorough analysis of the level of diversity at play will help you understand what changes need to be implemented. Conducting a survey with questions for current employees is a great way to accomplish this goal. Here are three open-ended questions to kick-start the questionnaire.

1. Is The Current Working environment Representative of a Diverse Workplace?

In assessing the current working environment, it is crucial to evaluate whether it truly represents a diverse workplace. Understanding the extent to which diversity is reflected in the workplace can help identify potential gaps and inform efforts to cultivate a more inclusive and representative environment.

2. What are our diversity strengths?

Perhaps you have a thriving residency program that promotes diversity by encouraging applications from underrepresented groups. Examining the mechanism of how that program operates can provide applicable insights to improve other departments

3. What are our diversity Weaknesses?

On the flip side, evaluating your weaknesses is crucial to spot the weak links. By seeking input on our diversity weaknesses, we can gain valuable insights to develop targeted strategies for fostering a more inclusive and equitable healthcare environment.

2. REWORK YOUR BRAND MESSAGING STRATEGY

A major part of implementing more diversity in your recruitment campaigns involves reworking your brand messaging strategy. Consider the way you brand your hospital or healthcare is perceived. What impression do you think it makes on potential candidates?

Conducting research on examples of successful diverse marketing campaigns can help you rework your brand messaging strategy to attract healthcare personnel from a wider talent pool.

Remember that the people you choose to feature in campaigns, the language you use to describe the job and work environment, and the kind of offerings you make in terms of policy all play a role in the kind of recruits you target. So, be sensitive and be intentional.

3. OFFER THOROUGH ONBOARDING AND INITIAL TRAINING

Proper onboarding for healthcare professionals plays a pivotal role in ensuring their successful integration into a new healthcare environment. By offering a comprehensive onboarding process, healthcare organizations can set the stage for a positive and productive professional journey. This process involves familiarizing professionals with the organization's mission, values, and policies, as well as providing essential training and orientation specific to their roles.

Effective onboarding not only imparts the necessary knowledge and skills but also establishes a supportive network, facilitating early engagement and connection with colleagues and superiors. Moreover, it helps healthcare professionals feel valued, appreciated, and confident, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced turnover, and ultimately, enhanced patient care. Recognizing the significance of proper onboarding, healthcare organizations can invest in this crucial phase to create a solid foundation for long-term success and professional growth.

4. PROVIDE FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE POLICIES

Providing flexible workplace policies is vital in creating an inclusive and supportive environment for healthcare employees. Recognizing that traditional schedules may not suit everyone's needs, offering flexibility can attract a broader range of candidates and promote work-life balance.

By implementing policies such as flexible working hours, remote work options, or job sharing arrangements, healthcare organizations can accommodate diverse personal circumstances, including caregiving responsibilities, educational pursuits, or other commitments. In fact, a recent study showed that schedule flexibility and inclusiveness are the most highly valued cultural benefits for women in the healthcare sector.

These policies not only contribute to employee satisfaction but also enhance productivity and engagement. Moreover, by valuing and prioritizing work-life integration, healthcare organizations can foster a positive culture that supports employee well-being and retention. By embracing flexible workplace policies, healthcare organizations can attract top talent, boost employee morale, and ultimately deliver exceptional patient care.

5. LEVERAGE AI TO MITIGATE BIAS

If your organization is struggling to expand the diversity of its hiring rates, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help. Some AI software can be programmed specifically to reduce bias in application processing, thereby broadening your recruitment potential.

However, this kind of system can’t really be relied on to take a truly diverse approach to recruitment sorting. It’s the kind of system that works best in conjunction with the other diversity-improving efforts on this list.

6. USE KPIs TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to measure the progress of different projects or campaigns. You can use KPI metrics for a number of purposes, including helping you to learn how to calculate profit margin on a specific recruitment drive or to determine the value an employee is contributing. The results of KPIs can identify where you need to make changes, what requires improvement, and what’s working well.

By setting diversity KPIs for your organization, you can help gain a clearer perspective of the progress you make with your new diversity recruitment campaign. Some useful diversity KPIs include recruitment figures, employee engagement rates, retention figures, supplier diversity figures, promotion figures, and exit interviews.

IN SUMMARY

Having a healthcare workforce that encompasses diversity brings about favorable outcomes for patients, staff, and the institution. Initiating a recruitment strategy that not only attracts diverse hires, but makes it a priority to support them once they are hired is the most effective way to create a happier, healthier, and more inclusive healthcare organization.

About the Author: Nina Sharpe is a content champion for various outlets, covering various business topics from finance for startups to small business accounting tips.