So long, Recruitment 1.0. Hello, Recruitment 2.0!

 

Physician recruiters have fallen on hard times. Once viewed as heroes who deliver agents of change to organizations in need, they now find themselves constrained by ever-growing demands on their time and budgetary resources. As a result, recruiters are finding it harder to compete — they can only do so much with their list of contacts; they can expect only so much in return on their marketing efforts.

What’s a recruiter to do? Social networking on the web.

A research company, Aberdeen Group, recently published a report titled, “Employer Branding: How to Grow, Measure and Manage Your Company’s Perception.” The report recommends that recruiters more than double their adoption of Web 2.0 tools — mainly networking platforms such as Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter. Such sites are enabling recruiters with fewer resources and tighter budgets to reach more passive and active candidates. Not only do these media provide ample opportunity to connect directly with potential hires, the interconnected nature of a user network allows for greater reach of message — something the lone recruiter, with his or her contacts, phone and email could only dream of just a few years ago.

Another compelling reason to adopt social networking is the changing face of the workforce. Baby boomers, advancing in years and commanding big salaries, are becoming less viable candidates. Gen X’ers, while heading toward the twilight of their career lifecycles, are still in their prime. Entering the workforce are the Gen Y candidates — at an estimated 70 million strong. In short, the prime targets for most recruiters are Gen X’ers and Gen Y’ers, both of whom are major users of social networking channels.

Lots of physician recruiters want to beef up their marketing mix, but their funds have dried up. And, while they may be familiar with social networking sites and salivating at the potential for recruitment, they don’t know how to get started. Here’s how: First, develop a plan — spell out what you want to accomplish. Then assess your resources — know what you have to work with so you can use it as efficiently as possible. Build some time into your plan for monitoring progress and managing the activity. Time may be your least expendable resource — obviously a recruiter’s time is best spent recruiting — but you have to think of marketing tactics as an integral part of your job, especially when it comes to social networking.

Several of our recruiter clients have come to us for agency assistance — a minor investment to extend their marketing mix and include social networking, plus the minor investment in time needed to monitor and manage these activities. Their employer brand gets regular exposure, their messaging is kept up to date, the media allows for instant interaction and — best of all — they’re seeing results.