Tips for Recruiting Millennial Physicians

This year is the year that millennials are projected to overtake the Boomers in the workforce, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections. No industry is unaffected by this trend, including the healthcare industry, which is the largest sector in the United States.

Chances are most healthcare organizations have a millennial (those born between 1981 and 1996) or two on staff. Probably a lot more than that. If your organization hasn’t added this age group to its staff, it’ll happen one day.

With millennials, there is a stark difference in the recruitment process from generations before. Millennials are notorious for seeking praise and very technology dependent, so their recruitment should fit a similar mold.

Recruiting millennial physicians will mean leveraging everything in your digital arsenal – website, online job boards, social media, etc. This will also mean their job functions will be tied to a strong and updated technology suite once they’ve begun like integrated EMRs and using state-of-the-art equipment.

Additionally, millennials are much less money driven than previous generations. That doesn’t mean they want to be paid less for the hard work that will be required of them. Not only do they want fair compensation, but many millennial physicians put a premium on quality of life such as work-life balance, schedule flexibility, time off and so on. The quality of life will also come by way of mentorship, consistent performance feedback and culture fit.

Lastly, healthcare groups will need to reemphasis retention. Older generations (Boomers and Gen X) tend to stay put in one place, but millennials will look elsewhere if any of the above is not being met. How organizations can achieve these higher retention rates with millennials is to allow them to conduct research projects or look into additional specialties. Philanthropic endeavors are a good way to keep young physicians engaged in the organization and uninclined to look elsewhere.