Recruiting doctors and dentists can be a slow process, particularly in locations or specialties where the search is constrained by shortages of candidates. Even hospitals and clinics with strong cultures, attractive remuneration and low staff turnover can face difficulties in attracting suitable applicants.

Many healthcare organisations encountering difficulties with recruitment turn to a medical recruitment company for assistance and one of their first questions is "how long will it take to fill the vacancy?".  This metric, commonly referred to as "time to fill", is important in several respects. It  is a helpful indicator of how much time to allow when developing a staffing plan, it provides an indication of the cost of locum cover for the vacant position or the loss of revenue caused by the gap in service, but the number can vary widely and is often not indicative of the success of the recruitment process.

There are approximate times to fill for each medical and dental specialty and location but they are of limited value. Multiple factors can inflate or reduce those numbers. Remuneration and location, are obvious ones, but also the scope of the role, patient volume, schedule expectations, annual leave allowances and more are influential.

Beyond Time-to-Fill: 4 Medical Recruitment Metrics to Track

Whilst tracking the time to fill each position is important, there are other medical recruitment metrics which should be monitored. The four metrics listed below have a greater impact on the recruitment process proving actionable insights and prompting adjustments which influence the success of outcomes.

1 The Number of Applicants Per Medical Vacancy

Your recruitment partner will create a digital recruitment strategy to attract interested and qualified medical or dental candidates for your vacancy. The target or ideal number of applicants varies considerably and is dictated by the size of the viable prospective candidate pool. The number of candidates who respond and express interest in the position provides an indication of the potential candidate pool and attractiveness of the position.

A poor response implies little interest in the position. Whilst this is often due to a shortage of candidates, it also indicates that the position does not generate enthusiasm and you may need to consider adding additional benefits to your offering such as recruitment or retention allowances, increased remuneration rates, relocation packages or other inducements to stimulate interest. This will obviously increase the cost of hire and will need to be balanced with the losses incurred by the loss of medical service.

2 The Ratio of Number of Applicants to Client Interviews

Your recruitment partner will maintain a list of candidates who have expressed interest in the current position and can share this number with you. The recruiter will eliminate all candidates who are unqualified (regrettably many candidates apply for jobs for which they do not meet the criteria) and will proceed to screen those who meet the credentialing requirements, presenting only those who are clinically qualified and determined to be a good fit for your organisation. 

There are always applicants who do not meet the criteria set out in the job advert. They may lack the qualifications, experience or skills for the position, or require a level of supervision or visa support which your organisation is unable to provide. There are also those you drop out of the recruitment process because, after learning more about the position, decide that the job does not align with what they are seeking.

If the recruiter does a thorough job at the screening stage, there should be a 1:1 ratio of applicants to interviews. However, if the majority of applicants do not meet the criteria or decline to proceed with the next step after learning more, you should reevaluate the job advert and requirements for the job. It may be necessary to revise the scope of medical or dental practice, credentials or experience requirements or considering supporting visa applications.

3: The Ratio of Numbers of Interviews to Hires

This metric measures the number of client interviews it takes to fill the position. When you select a candidate for interview, you are already confident that the person can perform the job, and the purpose of your meeting is to gauge cultural alignment and personality fit, which you hopefully have a feel for already, too.

Two to three interviews per placement is standard practice. If you are inviting a high volume of candidates for interview but not reaching the point where you are extending job offers, this suggests that something is amiss in your candidate evaluation process or relevant stakeholders are not in agreement with what they are looking for. 

4 Job Offer Acceptance Rate 

The goal should be an acceptance rate of 100%. But this is unrealistic with the current shortages of doctors and dentists and intense competition for their services. Most organisations continue to experience shrinkages in job offer acceptance rates to an average of 25-50%. A typical offer acceptance rate may be anywhere from one in two to one in four. Circumstances vary, but if you are extending more than four or five offers without reaching an agreement, it is most likely time to revisit the offer itself, along with your contract terms or offer process.

When a candidate invests the time to attend an interview, they are clearly interested in the job but if most of them are declining your offer, it is important to investigate what has turned them off. Are the compensation terms not reflective of what has been advertised and discussed? Are the contract terms too restrictive? Is the offer uncompetitive?

Leveraging Medical and Dental Recruitment Metrics

These four medical recruitment metrics provide useful benchmarks for the gauging the effectiveness of the recruitment process both in real time and in retrospect. By tracking these metrics as the search progresses, clients can leverage the data to make immediate and relevant adjustments to enhance each stage of the recruitment process and improve its success rate, thereby reducing time wasted on failed campaigns and their costs.

A retrospective analysis of a client's complete recruitment metrics can help develop staffing plans and recruitment budgets. The standard metrics of time-to-fill and cost-per-hire provide an overview of the success of recruitment processes but do not provide sufficient information for a more detailed analysis of the reasons for inefficiencies or failure. The addition of the 4 metrics described above allows a client to pinpoint the precise point of failure or weakness and provide a remedy.

Recruitment metrics reveal actionable insights to improve your organisation’s recruitment processes. At Odyssey Recruitment, we analyse data for thousands of searches worldwide to develop medical and dental recruitment benchmarks and identify trends that influence our recruitment strategy for each client. Contact us today to learn more about our process and discover how we identify doctors and dentists who will fit, succeed, and stay with your organisation.