In a market where the competition for employees is only increasing, a hospital’s brand is extremely important.

There is keen competition for healthcare workers. Ample, qualified, dedicated employees are not easy to find. In many markets, recruiting hospital staff and professionals is ever increasingly difficult. The down-economy and anticipated healthcare reform will not ease the burden. And the brand reflected in your recruitment efforts is becoming more and more important.

Here are some interesting facts:

1. The President’s Council of Economic Advisors recently released a study that stated there would be 3.5 million new jobs created in the healthcare industry by 2016.
2.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 20,800 new jobs in healthcare in June of this year and over 125,000 new jobs in the first half of the year.
3. As the population ages and babyboomers get older, there will be greater demand for healthcare workers.

So the days of simply running help-wanted ads and hiring a recruiter have passed. The competition for workers demands that a strong and effective brand image be created and projected to potential employees.

Job applicants will have more choices where to work and how a hospital projects itself to these applicants is becoming more and more important. More creative and strategic thinking will be required to be successful.

With young job applicants, pay is important but it is not the most important issue. The new generation of applicants is seeking a certain quality of life.  They want to work at a place that shares their values, and they want to be proud of where they work and what they do.

Obviously, the typical help wanted ad does not communicate to any of the felt needs of the applicants. So the hospital brand and personality must be communicated in recruitment efforts.

The applicant is not simply wanting a job, but a place to belong, a place to receive satisfaction and meaning, a place that connects with the consumer, a place that values employees and a place that offers professional and personal growth.

In this competitive market hospitals must project a brand that is appealing and speaks to the needs of those seeking employment.  Hospitals must be successful creating a brand that resonates to potential employees. A brand that will attract the most qualified, most caring talent.  Otherwise the brand we project in the marketplace to consumers will be greatly compromised.