By Tanya Dodge, Director of Photography and Co-ECO, Centerpoint Medical Center
Hospitals continue to experience staffing shortages due to the pandemic, making it critical to share best practices and develop new strategies for building balanced departmental teams. Traditional employment models of experienced or newly qualified workers are no longer sufficient; creating both short-term and long-term workforce plans is essential for future sustainability. Thoughtful leaders must adapt to the changing landscape of recruiting, hiring and retaining talented employees to manage a well-maintained department.
To attract and retain potential employees, create a toolbox of options by offering entry-level jobs, high school shadow programs, student technical roles, pre-student and student support groups, relocation and onboarding, cross-training and on-the-job training, career growth opportunities, diverse roles, diversity, weekend-only incentive programs and employee culture programs that encourage and share employee ideas. If you don’t have this, develop it with your leadership team. It’s important, do it.
To meet our recruiting challenges, I was lacking in building meaningful connections with students during pre-req and the first months of school. This includes viewing them as future team members, engaging with them early on, and continuously sharing benefits and opportunities in photography. We started meeting for food. As we chat, we work to hear what’s going on at school or what they like or don’t like about photography. This helps us focus on which roles are best suited for our students. I joke that I’ll be talking to preschoolers soon, but I’ve worked with local high school juniors to spark their early interest in the role of imaging and expand their minds beyond traditional medical careers, such as doctors or nurses.
Take risks to innovate and move forward. Each day offers an opportunity for a successful idea, and even failure shows a commitment to improving beyond the status quo.
I recommend providing shadowing in imaging, creating roles that align with radiology technology, and creating community involvement with schools at all levels to help get your institution’s name out there. You can focus on creating that excitement early and build a long-term environment for adults who see photography as a profession with long-term growth potential. My team created PowerPoint presentations and whiteboards and used resources from marketing and other departments within the center to identify opportunities to present and speak to children of all ages, helping them explore career opportunities. This allowed us to talk about our plans for self-supporting institutions, and those who needed scholarships began to consider our work. It’s nice to hear the teacher say, “They’re going to apply to radiology schools because of what you said.”
Another option is to look at the students you have at your institution. Can you add students, or other student programs, or add students in shifts? If you don’t have a relationship with the schools, you should. Some places are described as school deserts, but if you search, you will find different relationships for short rotations in rural communities. We have established quarterly student sessions; by discussing their needs and inviting the behaviors of each method, it helps to connect them with our department. Then we sit together, in person and without phones or distractions, it’s important. It’s worth it. Trust me.
Recruit students to assistant programs, rotate them to different locations so they are exposed to all methods, and emphasize that they are needed on your team. Get your team to do the same and keep them engaged. Ask your team which students they prefer, listen, and hire accordingly. Ask students which method they prefer, or which part of the diagnosis they prefer, to find out what interests them personally. This builds trust and culture when you add them to your team.
Identify who among your employees is performing well, ready for new challenges, or struggling. Start conversations and ask employees how you can help. Your support is important. Even if they don’t respond immediately, your offer will stay with them. Finally, someone may ask if your promise still stands. That’s your chance to help them grow and stay. This is the essence of leadership and is one of the most important things to keep a team informed in every way.
Raise the profile of credit officers even when they are not in the interview room. This investment in recognition and innovation improves patient care and workplace culture, making your facility a desirable place for those who work there and the community. This will help you recruit and retain employees and strengthen your department. Fighting for the next generation in the rooms that don’t exist, and it will pay dividends. Do it, it’s important.
Create a desirable work environment by collaborating with peer leaders through various organizations or social media groups, regularly sharing strategies when you are part of a larger system, and creating fun activities for your team regularly and every shift. Interact with all staff, students and adjacent departments including check-in and check-out and always show appreciation. Learn from both failure and success and continue to show support for your team. As John Mayer said on CBS Sunday morning this week, “Maybe today is the day you write ‘Thriller.’ Chances are it isn’t. But the only way you have a chance of it being so, is to keep showing up. ” Show, do; there is a story.
