Successful Physician Retention Must Start During Recruitment

Explaining healthcare marketing to my aunt and uncle, who I visited before attending Healthcare Strategy Institute's Physician Strategies Summit in Phoenix, turned out to be a timely reminder of how marketing for hospitals truly differs from marketing for consumer products.

"It's not just about billboards and commercials, because a lot of the time people can't just go to any hospital they feel like," I told them. "It entails increasing physician referrals, attracting the best doctors to your organization, and then keeping them there."

Keeping them there, I later found out at a session on physician onboarding, begins at the earliest stages of the recruitment process—and any marketer can get involved.

Recruiting for retention is a vital strategy for any hospital—and relevant for marketers even if in your organization the marketing department doesn't have a hand in physician recruitment. One in five recruited physicians never make it in the front door because the competition never stops recruiting, Vicky Hill, director of physician support and recruitment services for Wythe County (VA) Community Hospital, told the crowd at the "Physician Onboarding" session.

There are some simple steps marketers can take to increase the success of the physician sales team, boost retention, and ultimately improve market share.

Recruit honestly
It's only natural for marketers or recruiters to want to promote their organization through rose-colored recruitment tactics, but this approach often hurts long-term retention.

"You need to present the candidate an honest, open view of the opportunity," Hill said. "Sometimes you have to share the good, the bad, and the ugly whether you want to or not."

You should provide candidates with useful information about your organization and the local area, such as economic statistics and hospital rankings and scores. They'll appreciate that your organization values honesty and, if they choose you, will be more likely to stay for the long haul.

Connect with the family
An area where even marketers who don't assist with recruitment can get involved is connecting with the prospective physician's family. 

"That's where I think we fail a lot of times," Hill said. "We forget there's a spouse and children involved."

Once a physician has signed on, Hill suggests sending the family a welcome basket with a local Sunday paper, a phonebook, and information about area banks, insurance companies, and attorneys. It's also helpful to put them in touch with other physician spouses.

But the work doesn't end there—especially because 85% of the time family dissatisfaction influences a physician's decision to relocate, Hill said.

Wythe County Community Hospital holds one or two events per year targeting physician spouses and children.

Get the physician involved
Once your successfully recruited physician steps into your organization, he or she needs to feel part of the team. 

"Whatever you do, roll out the red carpet—there's only one first day," Hill said.

It's best to build specific relationships with new physicians during the first 120 days and share the organizational culture with them, rather than just sharing information.

"The more connected we can make them feel, the more satisfied they'll be," said Carrie Bennet, director of growth and physician services at LifePoint Hospitals in Brentwood, TN.

It's often helpful to arrange introductions with community leaders, medical staff, department directors, and top local employers, said Cherie Sibley, chief operating officer at Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma, AL.

"Advertising is not the number one thing I depend upon," Hill said. "I want the physician to meet people face-to-face."

Successful physician retention is a process that starts early and never ends. I think my aunt put it best when, after I finished my lengthy explanation, she said, "Wow, that's complicated."

Good thing hospital marketers are up for the challenge.

For more on the Physician Strategies Summit, visit the MarketShare blog or check out my Twitter account.