Your organization is recruiting to replace or grow its capacity to deliver care to a population most commonly living with a mental illness or addictive disorder. Just as with any industry or profession there are “tiers: of candidates differentiated by education, experience and training. Each tier has a different strategy and tactics for attracting behavioral health candidates that we will discuss. If your recruiter shared this with you fire them or listen to what they have to say!
Physicians & Nurse practitioners
These practitioners are older, typically over age 30. What attracts psychiatrists, addiction medicine physicians psychiatric nurse practitioners to roles varies but the key variables include:
Salary: Two words, student Loans. If your organization is a nonprofit, student loan repayment is a valuable incentive to help offset lower salary. Get a competitive salary first and foremost.
Care delivery: Minimal paperwork, administrative meetings and treatment effectiveness. Medical providers have extensive education and training. Younger providers have limited experience and often lack realistic and comprehensive vantage points that encompass the entire picture of what an episode of care looks like from the client side. This is where expectation setting is critical, particularly how they will be part of a team and the outcomes your organization has collectively.
Quality of life– reasonable call schedules is critical. Also be thinking about professional development and paying for a professional conference a year!
Psychologists
These professionals typically are a good balance of academic and clinical perspectives. It’s rare to find a psychologist that does not have any interests beyond clinical work i.e. presenting at conferences, developing programs, APA involvement. You would be wise to make sure you are utilizing these professionals to their full potential. They can help you with developing client metrics, research, grants and organizational professional development.
Salary: The student loan issue is relevant here as well. If you are not a non-profit, consider a way to help them pay back their loans through contractual means such as the longer they stay, the more you pay etc. Fund their professional growth, help them develop their professional identity and they will stick with you.
Care delivery: Be mindful of the amount of time they are performing testing and writing reports. Make sure the expectations are clear and that they are able to have a voice on your care team. Let them have input into program development and seek out their their opinions on measuring outcomes, particularly as we move into capitated payment models.
Quality of life- They usually don’t take call and work 9-5. Consider allowing them to write reports remotely, 4 day work weeks and other flexibility around their schedule.
Counselors/Social Workers
Masters level clinicians usually love seeing the fruits of their labor but rarely do so. When clients get better they often leave because they no longer need services at higher levels of care. Our job is often to help clients no longer need our services. An existential crisis. Counselors rarely have the educational debt that the previously mentioned providers incur but they have been living off salaries that are less than desirable or comparable to other masters level professionals. Help them stretch a buck with financial literacy training, generous retirement options and flexibility to moonlight.
Salary: These are strange times (July 2022) and these clinicians are beginning to get the respect they deserve. Unknown but large numbers of these clinicians are working for telehealth companies making $80-$110k from home on their scheduling preference. You likely will not be able to compete with the salary so it’s time to step up work life balance, professional development and their work experience.
Care Delivery:
Quality of life: Consider providing them with administrative support like an MA is to a physician. Get them to perform at top of scope: individual, group and family sessions. Monitor their billable services and help them transition into that model. 27 billable hours a week is the industry standard. Telework options are a must. This is the new world. There are reasons they need to be in the office and those reasons should be client /care driven.
Quality of life: Consider providing them with administrative support like an MA is to a physician. Get them to perform at top of scope: individual, group and family sessions. Monitor their billable services and help them transition into that model. 27 billable hours a week is the industry standard. Telework options are a must. This is the new world. There are reasons they need to be in the office and those reasons should be client /care driven.
I have a whole article dedicated to Masters level SUP counselor turnover and retention: HERE.
Across all professions, the reason employees are leaving positions and starting new ones varies slightly. Compensation, work life balance and workplace culture are still top 5 variables for most industries. Do your homework, talk to your staff and team to make sure you are adhering to your human capital management plan. Don’t have a human capital management plan? Get one!