Making your practice more appealing to applicants

What should you consider when recruiting? What will result in a successful hire? Find out below

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Practice Index

With the unveiling of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan in late June, the staggering number of over 112,000 vacancies within the NHS workforce has come to light. If your practice is in the process of filling a vacancy or introducing a new role, what strategies can you employ to make your practice an enticing prospect for potential applicants?

Brevity is key when crafting your advertisement. The aim is to generate a surge of applications from individuals who possess the necessary qualifications for the job. A concise person specification allows you to sift through a broader pool of candidates and make more informed choices. While most candidates gauge their suitability for the role, an effective person specification aids in swiftly eliminating unsuitable applications.

Highlight the positive attributes of your practice. Showcase your CQC rating, patient volume, and the nature of your practice. Do you excel in chronic disease management? Are you a training practice? Is your location within a bustling city or surrounded by serene countryside? Accessibility from major routes could also be a selling point worth mentioning.

Articulate the reasons why working at your practice is a rewarding endeavour. Paint a vivid picture of your practice as the ultimate workplace. Do you offer more holidays than the mandated minimum? Is parking available? Additional perks like Perkbox? And is your practice accommodating and empathetic to work for?

Align the tone of your advert with the culture of your organisation. If your practice leans towards a formal atmosphere, your advert should mirror that formality. Likewise, if your practice is characterized by a relaxed and informal ambience, the advert should embody that spirit. This alignment helps prospective applicants understand the type of environment they are stepping into.

While you may wish to delve deeper into the specific requirements of the role or the characteristics of the ideal candidate, such details are best reserved for a comprehensive job description and person specification, rather than within the advert itself.

It’s recommended to provide a salary range in your advertisement. While some employers might hesitate to pinpoint a precise salary figure, many candidates may be hesitant to apply if they lack clarity about salary expectations being met.

Exercise caution with offering a salary range “dependent on experience.” Candidates with limited experience but transferable skills could misconstrue this as their skills being undervalued. On the other hand, more experienced candidates might view it as an attempt to secure their services for the lowest possible compensation.

When advertising a salary range, it’s important to be willing to appoint a candidate at the upper end of that range from the outset, provided they possess the requisite skills and experience. Candidates often anticipate an increase in salary when transitioning roles.

If you’re open to providing candidates an informal tour of the practice prior to the interview, make sure to mention this in the application pack or advertisement.

Job description and person specification

When compiling a job description, try to include all major roles, but remember to add that there will also be some things that aren’t in the job description.

In a person specification, try to keep your items measurable. As part of a robust recruitment process, you’ll expect to ‘test’ the candidates’ suitability using their CV/application form and interview. If you have used criteria that are difficult to test or measure, you may not be able to ‘tick that box’.

Your person specification should have one list of ‘essential skills’ and one of ‘desirable skills’. Where possible, keep essential skills to the absolute minimum. Candidates will be put off applying if they don’t have one of those skills, and indeed, if you’ve listed a skill as essential, you should not interview or appoint any candidate who does not have that skill.

With a well-developed person specification, you should expect candidates to tailor their application and CV to demonstrate to you that they have the skills and experience you require. Successful candidates will show that they meet the ‘essential’ criteria as a minimum and, with any luck, some of the ‘desirable’ ones too. You might want to consider the types of words an experienced candidate might use to reflect the requirements you have listed.

When interviewing, use standardised questions aimed at offering all candidates the chance to verbally demonstrate how they meet your essential and desirable criteria.

Candidates will be keen to show off their skills and personality. If possible, consider having some solid team members involved in the process too: a member of your reception team perhaps, or one of the senior nurses or GPs. Getting a feel for how candidates behave with other members of the team can be hugely informative. Maybe a member of the reception team could bring them to the interview room, while someone else shows them out afterwards. In an environment where personality and team working are critical, insights from the wider team can be helpful.

We can’t overstate the importance of getting your recruitment drive correctly aligned from the start. From the advert, through the application pack, to interview and appointment; each step in the process is critical. It can be the difference between recruiting and not.

Most candidates will be applying for more than one position, so if you’re advertising yourself, you need to make yours the one that they feel most positive about.

The more suitable candidates you can attract, the greater chance you have of finding the perfect hire for your role and your practice.