An ever-increasing number of Millennial physicians are graduating from medical school, and they’re hungry to start working. As the largest generation yet, Millennials sport a unique set of values and skills that both benefit and challenge recruiters. Understanding their characteristics and knowing what they expect is vital to successfully hiring and retaining Millennial physicians. These four tips will have your organization pulsing with more Millennial blood.
1. Get with the program
Millennials are great friends of technology, and they’ll expect your organization to be using the latest and greatest. They want to serve their patients in new and improved ways in order to reach their productivity goals. If your organization doesn’t have an updated EHR system, it might be a negative for Millennial physicians.
High-tech fluency also means Millennials easily accept new technologies, making them an adaptable workforce that assumes learning new systems is a given. Baby boomers can often be more rigid, likely to resist change, and may not pick up new technologies as quickly.
So how do you start the recruiting conversation with a high-tech Millennial? Text them. Millennials often prefer texting to talking on the phone and there’s a greater chance they’ll be responsive to your recruitment outreach.
2. Appeal to their lifestyle preferences
Millennials are acutely aware of their educational debt, and they have high expectations of landing a position that’ll help them pay it off. Still, they’re actually less motivated by salary than their Gen-X and baby-boomer counterparts and more concerned with living a happy, balanced lifestyle.
Positions that give physicians more flexibility and autonomy over their schedule — so they can make time for family, friends, and travel — will attract Millennial physicians. If they’re coming from a job with little flexibility, you can appeal to that pain point and win them over by offering more options. Millennials grew up watching their parents experience burnout in their jobs, and they want to avoid it at all costs.
Weatherby Healthcare urgent care recruiter, Brian Pretner, advises organizations to “paint a picture of what the community is like, talk about the town and any local fun things to do, instead of just emphasizing the job.” He points out that making the community and lifestyle a focal point is important in appealing to millennial physicians. “They’re more interested in the community itself. For them, it’s about finding the perfect opportunity in every respect.”
3. Give Millennial physicians a microphone
Millennials don’t want to be just employees; they want to contribute, collaborate, and become leaders. The more opportunities you can offer Millennial physicians to voice their opinions and be involved in the organization the better.
What are your physicians interested in? Give them a chance to pursue those interests by being part of a committee or a leadership program. Many Millennial physicians leave their employers because they feel like their ideas aren’t being respected or taken seriously.
If you not only encourage them to share their ideas, but also show that you admire and respect the unique skill set their generation brings to the table, you’ll stand out from competitors and attract and retain more of these sought-after physicians.
4. Tell them what’s up
Millennials grew up with a high-level of support and feedback from parents and teachers, so they expect it from their employers. If you don’t regularly let them know how they’re doing, they may assume they’re not doing things right. While this means you have to give Millennials more attention, it also gives employers an incredible opportunity for continuous improvement to their organization.
Because Millennials are so open to feedback and change, they can be easier to work with, and they strive for progress, efficiency, and optimization. Also, they’re more aware of feedback from their patients and online reviews. They know the damage one bad review can do. Because of this, they may have a better bedside manner, are less formal, and may be kinder to their patients.
Ultimately, Millennial physicians know their worth and they’re not afraid to leave employers who don’t meet their expectations. They don’t just want to work — they also want to enjoy their lives — and they prefer employers who can help them do both. Win over Millennial physicians by becoming involved in their journey and help them to envision a bright future with your organization.
Need help with staffing? Weatherby can provide highly qualified, locum tenens physicians in 70 specialties. Give us a call at 954.343.3050 to learn more.
