Everyone knows there is a lot of appeal to the glitz and glam the big city. It is certainly a competitive market, but the hustle-and-bustle isn’t for everyone! Here at Radius Staffing Solutions, we know that smaller, rural healthcare facilities have just as much – if not more! – wonderful things to offer their employees. More than half of the United States is considered to be rural or suburban, so the need for employees in smaller towns is starkly present. Yet, it’s still not uncommon for big, urban facilities to win over prospective candidates. 

We pride ourselves on finding the top talent for these exciting, specialized roles in smaller towns, but there is some onus on the facility itself to make theirs’ stand out. When it comes to attracting candidates for hard-to-fill healthcare jobs, you’ve got to ask yourself: how well can you sell your healthcare facility?

Here are a few things to consider:

Close Knit Team

It can be generally agreed upon that nothing is worse than feeling like ‘just a number’. This goes for patients and practitioners alike. Patients like to feel like they are being treated as a human and not just a list of symptoms, whereas practitioners want to feel valued for their work and not simply one in a sea of the same.

In smaller, rural facilities – like the ones we aim to populate with our recruiting services – the staff to patient ratio is fundamentally smaller than those of larger hospitals. This allows for more meaningful and in-depth relationship building between staff and their patients, which can really pay off in the long run. Patients treated in smaller facilities often feel a sense of satisfaction, with healthcare providers treating them as if they are family. The patients feel better taken care of, the staff feels more appreciated – it’s a win-win.

Furthermore, having a smaller staff means that coworkers might actually get the chance to connect and get to know each other, which can be a rarity in bigger facilities. Establishing a sense of comradery in the workplace is always a good thing and leads to a more positive, team-based work environment, and is a really appealing feature to many candidates. Smaller teams, which lead to the potential for higher connectivity with patients and colleagues, can be a huge selling point for candidates.

“The potential for higher connectivity with patients and colleagues can be a huge selling point for candidates.”

Location, Location, Location

Remember, when trying to sell your healthcare facility, you’re not just selling the building itself, but the surrounding area as well. The United States is home to some truly spectacular natural beauty, which is a redeeming feature for a lot of candidates, especially if they must relocate for a position.

Aside from the aesthetic benefits of being surrounded by nature, there are a plethora of other factors that are all threatening to edge out the appeal of the big city in favor of a rural landscape. Higher quality of life, more energy and better health are all potential side effects from working in a rural area – side effects that many candidates would be happy with!

“When trying to sell your hospital location, you’re not just selling the facility itself, but the surrounding area as well.”

Opportunities to Excel

Many believe that ‘opportunities’ only lie in the big city…think again! As mentioned above, rural and suburban facilities often have smaller staff – which means more staff members often have to take on more projects and specialities than their city-dwelling counterparts. On average, rural physicians deliver more babies and make more house calls than urban physicians, which is more than likely outside of their scope of specialty. The opportunity to become a well-rounded healthcare provider is probably very appealing to a lot of candidates when deciding on their next career move – and certainly one that is not as likely to happen in a large facility. You can sell your location as not only a place to practice, but also a place with more opportunity to grow and evolve.

Another opportunity that is likely to catch a candidate’s eye is the competitive earning potential that rural facilities are able to offer. While salaries for similar positions are fairly comparable nationwide, the cost of living in rural areas is generally quite lower than the cost of living in a bigger city. Therefore, the potential to save more money in a smaller area is increased. Let’s be honest; money is a very important selling feature of any job!

The opportunities to grow beyond the specialized position that they were originally recruited for, and to potentially earn and save more money than at a ‘big-name facility’, are two more attractive aspects to a rural healthcare location.

So, there you have it! There are many ways to sell your hospital’s rural or suburban situation to prospective specialized candidates – and at Radius, we can’t wait to make those connections last!

If you have questions, join the conversation on LinkedIn or email us directly at inquiries@radiusstaffingsolutions.com.