Hospital Management 3 - 10 Recruitment and Training

 Safety
 Health programme
 Recreation

3.2 Recruitment and Selection

 Human resource management is a process of bringing an organization and its
employees together so that the goals of the employees as well as those of the
organisation are met.
 It is part of the management process which is concerned with the management of
human resources in an organisation. It tries to secure the best from employees by
winning their confidence and wholehearted cooperation.
Human resource management, therefore, involves all managerial decisions,
philosophy, policies and practices that directly influence human resource. It is a process
consisting of acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources.
It means that human resource management includes human resource planning, job
analysis, job design, acquisitions, training and development, compensation, benefits and
rewards, safety and welfare, motivation, employee participation in management,
organisational development, performance appraisal, job evaluation, human relations,
employee counselling and human resource information system.
Personnel management is concerned with the manpower planning, recruitment,
selection, orientation, salary administration, performance appraisal, training, working
conditions, safety, welfare, promotion, transfer, collective bargaining, disciplinary action
and resignation/termination/retirement. In another way, “Personnel Management or
Human Resource Management is the planning, organising, directing and controlling the
procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the
purpose of contributing to organisational, individual and social goals.”

3.2.1 Steps in Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning is a process that is part of the strategic plan. It involves
addressing specific needs within the organization, based on the company’s strategic
direction.
 The first step in HR planning is determining current and future human resource
needs. In this step, current employees, available employees in the market, and
future needs are all analyzed and developed.

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 In the second step of the process, once we know how many people we will need to
hire, we can begin to determine the best methods for recruiting the people we need.
Sometimes an organization will use head hunters to find the best person for the job.
 After the recruiting process is finished, the HR manager will begin the selection
process. This involves setting up interviews and selecting the right person for the
job. This can be an expensive process, so we always want to hire the right person
from the beginning.
 HR managers also need to work through compensation plans, including salary,
bonus, and other benefits, such as health care. This aspect is important, since most
organizations want to use compensation to attract and retain the best employees.
The HR manager also develops training programs to ensure the people hired have the
tools to be able to do their jobs successfully.

3.2.2 Role of Human Resources Manager in Health Sector

Human resources (HR) managers have a particularly important role in the health
sector. Fig. 3.1 shows the tasks under the HR management cycle

Workforce
planning

Promotion, Job analysis

transfer or and
termination descriptions

Coaching and
performance Recruitment
appraisal and selection

Training and Socialization

development and
motivation

Fig. 3.1 HR Management Cycle

HR managers get involved in a wide range of activities, including:

 Organisational development – working with clinicians to design new ways of
working and to reorganise the workforce to meet new priorities.

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 Staff development – HR managers deliver the NHS commitment to creating a

learning culture in which staff can consolidate their existing skills and build on their
experience.
 Recruitment – arranging the whole recruitment process, from writing job
descriptions and advertising to interviews with candidates and appointing and
inducting of new staff
 Administration – ensuring all the day-to-day activities that affect people’s working
lives function smoothly: terms and conditions, contracts of employment,
disciplinary matters and work-life balance.
 People-management strategies – developing plans so that the organisation’s
priorities and workforce strategies work together.
Many HR managers will prepare an inventory of all current employees, which
includes their educational level and abilities.
Once the HR manager has performed the needs assessment and knows exactly how
many people, and in what positions and time frame they need to be hired, he or she can
get to work on recruiting, which is also called a staffing plan.
Staff should be clear on individual roles and responsibilities in terms of nursing,
midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability. Whilst recommendations on staffing
capacity and capability presented to the board should be the result of joint working and
joint ownership of the issues, there are some distinct roles and responsibilities for
different parts of the organisation involved in the staffing process. These are not intended
to be comprehensive and will also change as innovation occurs and new roles develop.

3.2.3 Recruitment
Recruitment is an important job of the HR manager. Knowing how many people to
hire, what skills they should possess, and hiring them when the time is right are major
challenges in the area of recruiting. Hiring individuals who have not only the skills to do
the job but also the attitude, personality, and fit can be the biggest challenge in recruiting.
Depending on the type of job you are hiring for, you might place traditional
advertisements on the web or use social networking sites as an avenue. It is important to
keep in mind that the recruiting process should be fair and equitable and diversity should
be considered.
Recruitment may be defined as the process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. The information generated in the
process of writing the job description and the candidate profile may be used for

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developing the ‘situations vacant’ advertisement. The advertisement may be displayed on

the factory office gate or else it may be got published in print media or flashed in
electronic media. This step involves locating the potential candidate or determining the
sources of potential candidates. In fact, there are a large number of recruitment avenues
available to a firm which would be discussed latter when we talk about the various
sources of recruitment. The essential objective is to create a pool of the prospective test
and the interviews are offered an employment contract, a written document containing
the offer of employment, the terms and conditions and the date of joining.
Health staff is often recruited without conducting an in-depth analysis of competency
requirements. There is a growing belief that it is simply impossible to improve a person’s
performance until specific competencies required for satisfactory or superior performance
are identified. It is only after these competencies are identified that staff can be selected.
Some new recruits may require skill or knowledge enhancement to be able to perform
optimally.

3.2.3.1 Benefits of Recruiting

Engage patients, ward staff, hospital management and governors in assessing the
quality of care. Receive training in Person, Interaction and Environment observations of
care.
Identify areas of achievement and improvement to enable action planning. Encourage
team reflection Get awarded and recognized for achievements. Achieve a continuous
focus on improvement to quality of care for sick and older people.

3.2.4 Selection
Selection is the process of choosing from among the pool of the prospective job
candidates developed at the stage of recruitment. Even in case of highly specialised jobs
where the choice space is very narrow, the rigour of the selection process serves two
important purposes :
i) it ensures that the organization gets the best among the available, and
ii) it enhances the self-esteem and prestige of those selected and conveys to them the
seriousness with which the things are done in the organisation.
The rigour involves a host of tests and interviews, described later. Those who are able
to successfully negotiate the test and the interviews are offered an employment contract,
a written document containing the offer of employment, the terms and conditions and
the date of joining.

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After you have reviewed resumes for a position, now is the time to work toward
selecting the right person for the job. The following task are carried out under the
selection process.
1. Time to review resumes
2. Time to interview candidates
3. Interview expenses for candidates
4. Possible travel expenses for new hire or recruiter
5. Possible relocation expenses for new hire
6. Additional bookkeeping, payroll, 401(k), and so forth
7. Additional record keeping for government agencies
8. Increased unemployment insurance costs
9. Costs related to lack of productivity while new employee gets up to speed
Because it is so expensive to hire, it is important to do it right. First, resumes are
reviewed and people who closely match the right skills are selected for interviews. Many
organizations perform phone interviews first so they can further narrow the field. The HR
manager is generally responsible for setting up the interviews and determining the
interview schedule for a particular candidate. Usually, the more senior the position is, the
longer the interview process takes, even up to eight weeks.
After the interviews are conducted, there may be reference checks, background checks,
or testing that will need to be performed before an offer is made to the new employee. HR
managers are generally responsible for this aspect. Once the applicant has met all criteria,
the HR manager will offer the selected person the position. At this point, salary, benefits,
and vacation time may be negotiated. Compensation is the next step in HR management.

3.2.4.1 Skills for Healthcare Management

Healthcare managers, also referred to as medical and health services managers.
Healthcare managers serve in a variety of roles to pan, direct, and coordinate healthcare
services in various organizations and settings. Within the industry, employment of
medical and health services managers is projected to grow at a faster rate than the
national average, with the predicting enhancements.
Healthcare managers direct entire facilities, specific departments, or medical practices
and are therefore required to possess several skills including :
Analytical Skills – Understanding and abiding by current regulations, as well as
adapting to new laws.

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Communication Skills – Effectively communicating to convey policies and

procedures to other health professionals and ensuring compliance with current
regulations and laws.
Detail Oriented Skills – Paying attention to details, including organizing and
maintaining the scheduling and billing information for substantial facilities like hospitals.
Interpersonal Skills – Discussing staffing problems and patient information with
other professionals, such as physicians and health insurance representatives.
Leadership Skills – Hiring, training, motivating, and leading staff, as well as finding
ways to creatively solve staffing and administrative issues.
Technical Skills – Staying current in healthcare technology advancements and data
analytics for coding and classification software usage or Electronic Health Record (EHR)
system implementations.
Critical Thinking – Identifying strengths and weaknesses, and finding alternative
solutions or approaches to problems through logic and reasoning.
Active Listening – Offering one’s full attention with regard to what others say, asking
questions when appropriate, and not interrupting during inappropriate times.
Coordination – Adjusting one’s actions with regard to another’s actions for effective
work collaboration.
Judgment and Decision Making – Examining both benefits and consequences of
potential actions to help determine those most appropriate.

3.2.5 Sources of Recruitment and Selection

The recruitment and selection process are the platforms for success in any
organization. The reason is that Human Resource (HR) has a significant role in the overall
performance of any organization. Job redesigning, integrating information on job design
in training and management development programs, and executing them to ensure that
sound human resource policies and practices are developed, are all done by the HR
department. It is vital to have a well-organized employment policy and strategy.
Therefore, recruitment process in an organization must be effective to attract the best
talent. The responsibility of the HR manager in a healthcare industry is versatile and
complicated too. Manpower planning and recruitment takes a lot of thought process. The
primary data collection for the study was conducted by personal conversation with the
employees of the selected hospitals.
The HR specialists of the recruitment department of the organization frequently face
new tasks. The largest confrontation in recruitment is to recruit the best potential aspirant

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for the organization as they are already aware of lack of motivation and technological
issues. Candidates for lower positions are not that rewarded. To find the best candidate
for their organization, they have to face and overcome various issues.

3.2.5.1 Sources of Recruitment and Selection

Hospital Management or any Healthcare industry follows different approaches of
recruitment and selection procedure which is shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 : The sources of recruitment and selection process

Internal Sources External Sources

Promotions and advertisements Press advertisements

Retired employees Internet advertisements

Transfers Campus Recruitment through placements

agencies and consultants

Employee Recommendations

E-Recruitments

Internal Sources

a. Promotions and advertisements

Firms offer promotion to existing employees because firms need not train them as they
are familiar to the policies and working environment of the organization. This saves a lot
of time,money and efforts. Employee is well-known with the working culture and
functioning style. In addition, the purpose of promotion and advertisement in the
hospital is to give an opportunity to the doctors to apply for the promotion. In this,
vacancies in a particular department are notified. Interested candidates can make a formal
application for the promotion. This technique helps in locating people who desire to shift
in their own branch.

b. Retired employees
Many companies call or appoint doctors retired from army or from government
hospitals of rural areas. This is useful as the doctors from military background or from
rural area hospitals have already got better exposure (related to variety of patients and
their diseases). The technique is beneficial because it gives a sense of pride to the retired
army officers and it will help the organization to minimize the cost of recruitment,
selection and training.

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c. Transfers
Transfer is a process of recruitment. This concept is followed by the employers to fill
the required position where there is scarcity of manpower.

d. Employee reference
In this source of recruitment, personnel are asked to recommend people for required
position. Since the personnel is well-worse with the working environment of the firm, he
will suggest only those people who can adjust to the situation.

e. E - recruitment
E- Recruitment is the utilization of technology to help the staffing process for a smooth
functioning. The job searchers send their applications through e-mail or place their CV’s
on employment portal, which can be listed out depending upon their requirements. Now
with emergence of employment portals, searching of job has become faster, simpler and
easier. Employment portals are the accessible platforms through which recruiters and job
seekers are linked to each other. These portals have gained acceptance because of the
growing access and availability of connectivity on the internet. Employment portals were
used for sourcing candidates for some of the following positions:
 Relationship Manager
 Nursing Candidates (Female candidates only)
 Dieticians
 Lab Technicians
 CSSD Technicians and many more.

External sources
The sources are as follows :

a. Press Advertisements
It is the most accepted and one of the oldest sources of recruitment method.
Advertisements for the job are specified in well-known newspapers; the information
about the job is given. Candidates were given a communicating address where they can
send their application within a stipulated time.

b. Internet advertisements
Internet advertising has an impact because of its straightforwardness and its reach.
Therefore, government and private firms are using the internet as a medium of
advertisement to recruit desired candidates. Candidates can apply for their suitable jobs

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from several employment sites like naukri.com, monster.com, etc. The internet is a
definite standard to advertise and to reach the target audience easily and effectively.

c. Campus recruitments through placement agencies/consultants

When companies search for fresh graduates or new talent, then they start selecting the
manpower through campus placement. Campus recruitment process is organized by
various placement agencies for hiring the candidates in the various departments like
doctors, technicians, nurses, etc. On behalf of client companies, there are various private
consultancy firms that perform recruitment function by charging a certain fee. The reason
is simple because, Indian companies are slowly but surely realizing that to survive in this
competitive environment, they need to appoint the best people to work for them. If a firm
decides to contract out its recruitment processes or activities, it will be essential to find
and go for suitable recruitment consultancies, which can deliver results according to the
necessities of the organization. Outsourcing decisions influences the strategic choices of
the HR function.
As in healthcare industry, many hospitals hire female candidates for the nursing staff
because there is a huge demand in the industry. For this purpose, a hospital approaches
various colleges and universities wherein fresh B.Sc. nursing graduates were interviewed.
The main purpose of this visit is to tie-up with the college as a result of which fresh
nursing graduates would be directly placed with hospitals. This is an extremely
important step considering the huge requirement of nursing candidates at private
hospitals.

3.2.6 The Process of Recruitment and Selection

 Information about the vacant positions is obtained from the Head of Department
(HOD).In case the position is new, the personnel requisition form is filled which is
duly approved by the HOD, HR officer and a member of the governing council.
 If the position is not new, CV’s are sourced from various job portals site. In case the
requirement is really urgent, consultants are also referred. The HR team is given the
information about the vacant positions for a particular opening.
 The CV’s of the candidates are screened by the HR officer and appropriate CV’s are
forwarded to the concerned HOD for approval. If the CV is found suitable, the
interview is scheduled.
 The candidates are informed about the first round of interview over the phone or
through e-mail. In this initial screening, the HR officer judges the candidates on
his/her communication skills.

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 The HR officer attaches an assessment sheet to the candidates’ CV. This assessment
sheet is used for reference in the next round of interview.
 Only if the candidate is found suitable by the HR officer, they are sent for the
second round of interview which is taken by the head of the concerned department
and it usually deals with technical questions from his/her field. On the basis of the
success/failure in second round, the HR team at hospitals prepares the
remuneration packages. These are proposed packages which are then negotiated
and finalized.
 Further, they are called for the medical check-up to determine whether the
candidate is physically fit or not for the offered job. While coming for the medical
check-up, the candidates are also required to carry relevant documents with them.
 When the candidate goes for the medical check-up, the proposal sheet of the
candidate is prepared by referring the assessment sheet. This proposal sheet
contains the grade of the candidate, CTC offered, and his/her reporting officer. This
proposal sheet is attached to the offer letter which will be given to the candidate.
Once the medical reports come, the fitness of the candidate is intimated to the
concerned people in the HR Team. Once the candidate is found to be medically fit
to join the hospital, the offer letter is given to the candidate with confirmed date of
joining.

3.3 Training and Development of Hospital Employees

A Hospital is a place where Patients come up for general diseases. The most important
asset of a hospital is the people who work there. Employees, whether they are the
hospital’s security guards, lab technicians, nurses or even physicians, are responsible for
carrying out the hospital’s duty to care for patients. Among the core activities of HRM,
training and development are important.
In Hospital management, largely, personnel department has been associated with
procuring and hiring the human resources. But, after the newly appointed employees join
the organization, it is necessary to impart training to them in order to make them
competent for the jobs that they are supposed to handle. In modern healthcare industrial
environment, the need for training of employees is widely recognized to keep the
employees in touch with the new technological developments. Every company must have
a systematic training programme for the growth and development of its employees. It
may be noted that term ‘training’ is used in regard to teaching of specific skills, whereas
the term ‘development’ denotes overall development of personality of the employees.

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