Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan at the end of June, it was revealed that there are currently over 112,000 vacancies across the NHS workforce. If you’re looking to fill a vacancy within your practice, or recruit for a new role, what can you do to try to make your practice appealing to applicants?

What should you consider when recruiting? What will make your campaign successful, with a number of suitable candidates to choose from? What will result in a successful hire?

Advert

Try to keep your advert short. The purpose is to encourage as many applications as possible from the group of people qualified to do the job. A concise person specification gives you the opportunity to narrow down your choices from a wider field of candidates. Most candidates work out whether they would be suitable for the role themselves, but if you get applications that are not suitable, the person specification should help you weed them out quickly.

Talk about the positive aspects of your practice. Give your CQC rating, the number of patients you have and the type of practice you are. Do you have fantastic chronic disease management? Are you a training practice? Are you in the city or surrounded by open countryside? Are you easily accessible from main routes?

Tell potential applicants why it’s great to work for you. Sell your practice as the best place they could ever work. Do you offer more holidays than the statutory minimum? Do you offer car parking, or additional benefits like Perkbox? Are you flexible and considerate to work for?

Try to reflect the culture of your organisation in the style of your advert. If you’re a fairly formal practice, then the style of your advert should reflect that. If you’re a very relaxed and informal practice, your advert should reflect that too. It helps someone applying to know what sort of culture they should expect.

You may want to talk in greater detail about the person you’re looking for, or what the role entails. However, this should be included in a comprehensive job description and person specification, rather than in the advert itself.

We’d always advise that you advertise a salary range. Employers can be reluctant to put a figure to the salary, but many candidates will be put off applying if they are unsure that you will meet their salary expectations.

Be cautious about giving a salary range “dependent on experience”. Candidates with little experience, but many transferrable skills, may think that their skills will not be valued in the way that they are in their current role, resulting in a lower salary offer for them. Meanwhile, candidates with more experience may feel that the offer will be a “low-ball” to try to secure their services for the lowest amount possible. When you’re advertising a range, you should be happy and willing to appoint a candidate at the top of that range on day one if they have the right skills and experience. Most candidates will expect to secure an increase in salary from their existing role.

If you’re happy to show the candidate around the practice informally, in advance of the interview, mention it in the application pack or advert.

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.

To save you much of the leg work, you can access a range of template interview packs [PLUS] for the main practice roles and many of the PCN roles you may be recruiting for.

Interview

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. If you’re struggling to find the time to recruit yourself, the Practice Index Recruitment Service will take the stress and pressure out of the process by managing this for you. Highly recommended by former clients, the team works cooperatively with you to find you the perfect candidate.

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.