Finding the Right Job for the Person: Healthcare workforce recruitment concierge, a person-centred response to the growing supply crisis
Kirsten Sue See1,2, Kerry Anderson Kay2, Erin Gothard1 1Queensland Health, Metro North Community And Oral Health, 2Health Excellence and Innovation Metro North Health, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Project
Abstract
Healthcare workforce shortages have necessitated a recruitment paradigm shift, away from “finding the right person for the job”, towards “finding the right job and lifestyle for the person”.
The Tasmanian Mental Health Reform Program was initiated after several system-wide reviews throughout 2019/20. The need for significant workforce growth was identified as a key barrier to implementation.
Challenges included:
• Ageing workforce (44% of MH workforce aged >55)
• Demand exceeding local graduate output
• Minimal corporate knowledge of international recruitment processes
Resourcing was established to scope pathways for interstate and international recruitment. It was hypothesised that pursuing this through individual hiring managers would create inefficiencies and negative experiences for candidates.
The project resulted in the creation of a concierge role, featuring a hybrid of clinical, migration and human resources expertise.
The success of the role has been measured both quantitively (international and interstate job offers, commencements and active talent pool) and qualitatively, examining the overall experience of the candidates. Other positive indicators have been:
- Continued recruitment successes during border closures
- Positive embrace by clinical managers and HR
- Growth of mutually beneficial networks with internal and external agencies
Lessons learned:
- Need for proactive stakeholder engagement to minimise resistance
- Need for specific technical knowledge (migration, registration)
- Use candidate feedback to improve subsequent migration experiences
- Advertise to engage candidates in a person-centred way
- Clinical experience of concierge increases relatability and credibility
The success of the project has led to the establishment of an equivalent role in Statewide Allied Health Services, focusing on hospital workforce.
Biography
Jo is a Mental Health Nurse with over 20 years’ clinical experience across multiple settings and leadership, service design and research experience in community mental health. She has a passion for migration and the multicultural workforce and has been employed in roles focused on interstate and international recruitment since 2019.
Scott is an acute-care Physiotherapy Team Leader, now working in a strategic role for the Tasmanian Health Service, developing and implementing an allied health workforce recruitment and retention strategy. He believes that making healthcare accessible, geographically, financially, and culturally, is a fundamental lever for addressing socioeconomic maldistribution of health outcomes.