Keep Your Options Open
There’s an old saying that goes “don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched” - and it definitely applies to recruiting!
It’s important to keep your options open in an industry where those options are extremely limited. If you find yourself in a situation where you have multiple physician or mid-level provider candidates, it’s important to keep them all actively engaged through the entire process.
We’ve seen this scenario time and time again:
A client has two or three finalist candidates and, when they choose one to hire, they ignore the others and stop communicating, thinking their first choice is a sure thing. The problem, though, is that sometimes the first choice turns down the position, has a life change before their start date and rescinds their acceptance, or turns out not to be a good hire and the client quickly wants to replace them. But because the runner-ups were treated poorly, none are willing to come back in the process, the client is left with zero options, and the lengthy recruitment process must be restarted from square one.
Instead of falling victim to this pattern, we recommend keeping an open line of communication with all finalist candidates until someone signs an employment contract, and making sure that all rejections are issued in a timely manner with appreciation for the candidate’s interest and respectful feedback on why they weren’t selected. Whether this communication happens through us - Creative Healthcare Solutions - or comes directly from the practice, it’s essential to keep candidates in the loop and show them that their interest and time are appreciated.
Communication and professionalism go a long way in keeping candidates engaged and willing to reconsider a position after being turned down. If your first choice candidate does say “no”, it’ll be much easier to go back to the runner-up if you ended things in a respectful, positive manner.
So remember - keep your options open, don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched, don’t burn any bridges, and abide by all old-timey sayings.