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Imagine you hired a candidate after a search that took months. During that time, the other employees picked up the extra work and started to burn out. You finally hired someone — only for them to leave after two months, putting you back in the same position.
One common reason employees leave their jobs is because they don’t know how to be successful. This confusion is often rooted in poor onboarding practices. To avoid scenarios like this, you need a process that includes a structured, consistent plan, comprehensive training, and benchmarks that measure employee progress.
Below, we look at healthcare onboarding best practices to help you retain your employees and promote their success.
Table of Contents
- What Is Healthcare Onboarding?
- Why It’s Critical To Have a Good Onboarding Process
- 7 Healthcare Onboarding Best Practices
- How Healthcare Background Check Services Streamline the Process
What Is Healthcare Onboarding?
Healthcare onboarding is the process of integrating new employees into your organization. It includes familiarizing them with the company culture, policies, and procedures and their specific roles. Onboarding begins when a job offer is made and continues until the employee becomes a productive member of your organization.
The goal of healthcare onboarding is to ensure that you’ve prepared new employees to provide high-quality patient care. This includes training on industry-specific topics, like HIPAA and patient care protocols. New hires must be ready to comply with the numerous regulations in the healthcare industry.
Following healthcare onboarding best practices can help you be sure the new employee has everything they need to be successful.
How Does It Work?
Once you make a job offer, you'll begin with pre-onboarding tasks like paperwork and background checks. Before they start work, or in their first few days, you’ll also get them set up in any internal systems, like email or software.
On the first day, you'll welcome the new hire and provide orientation. Introduce them on a basic level to your company culture, policies, and procedures. Over the following weeks and months, you'll offer role-specific training, assign mentors, and conduct regular check-ins. You'll also provide any specialized training needed.
How Is It Different From Other Industries?
Healthcare has unique regulatory requirements and specialized training needs for all employees. All employees must comply with healthcare-specific regulations like HIPAA. You’ll need to cover medical terminology, patient care protocols, industry regulations, and electronic health record systems.
The onboarding process in healthcare also emphasizes patient safety and quality of care. You'll conduct competency assessments for technical skills and provide simulation training for clinical procedures.
Before the employee starts, you’ll also need to verify up-to-date licenses, credentials, and certifications, particularly if you’re hiring someone still in school. You’ll also need to make sure new hires are not on any exclusion lists and are free to work in healthcare.
Why It's Critical To Have a Good Onboarding Process
Following healthcare onboarding best practices creates a work environment that’s productive, compliant, and safe for employees and patients. You’re more likely to retain quality employees who appreciate the time and energy you put into their success. Let’s take a closer look at why good onboarding is better for everyone.
Improved New Hire Retention
Research shows that organizations with structured onboarding see 50% higher employee retention. Retention is especially crucial in healthcare, where turnover rates can be as high as 30% within two years in some segments.
Create a comprehensive onboarding program that extends beyond the first day. Include activities that connect new employees to your organization's mission, vision, and values. Provide role-specific training, assign mentors, and conduct regular check-ins to touch base with the new hires to see if they need additional help.
Consistency in Care
When you implement healthcare onboarding best practices, new hires better understand your organization's mission and deliver quality patient care more consistently.
Focus on role-specific training and simulation exercises during onboarding. These practices help new employees learn what successful care looks like. When every staff member knows the correct way to perform a task, you can be confident that every patient is getting the best care.
If you have multiple locations, have standardized training in every facility. Consistency in training translates to consistency in patient care, leading to better healthcare outcomes and less confusion among staff.
Reduce Your Hiring Costs
Implementing a structured onboarding process decreases turnover rates, which is crucial given that the average cost of turnover for a staff RN is approximately $56,300. You’ll save money on recruitment, training, and temporary staffing.
To maximize savings, use healthcare onboarding software to automate paperwork and streamline training. If you have a large workforce, you can save your organization millions by reducing turnover and improving efficiency.
Protect Patient & Staff Safety
A well-executed onboarding process contributes to a culture of safety. For staff, proper onboarding includes training on industry-specific regulations and OSHA standards. These trainings prevent workplace incidents and reduce the risk of injuries.
A culture of safety also protects patients from errors and incorrect treatment. Simulation training lets new hires practice their skills in a safe environment before working with real patients. Having a mentor or trainer as new staff start working with patients also ensures care is overseen by someone with more experience.
Maintain Compliance & Reduce Liability
By providing comprehensive training on HIPAA, OSHA standards, data privacy, and quality patient care, you decrease the risk of compliance violations and potential fines. You also create a culture of accountability and reduce the likelihood of costly legal issues.
You can also reduce liability by ensuring new employees are properly trained in patient safety protocols and job-specific competencies. Training lowers the risk of data breaches, medical errors, and malpractice claims.
Be sure to document the onboarding process and maintain records of completed training. This creates a paper trail that can protect your organization in case of audits or legal challenges. Use healthcare software to document the due diligence performed before hiring, such as running background checks, verifying licenses, and drug testing.
7 Healthcare Onboarding Best Practices
A good onboarding strategy does more than just get your employee in the door. You need to think beyond the first 90 days and aim for long-term retention and success. Here are six healthcare onboarding best practices to help you achieve that goal.
1. Create a Structured, Consistent Onboarding Plan
A well-designed plan helps new employees understand their roles, the company culture, and important policies. It also reduces the risk of overlooking critical training or compliance requirements.
A structured plan may include steps like:
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- Establishing background check processes for things like immunization tracking.
- Setting clear timelines for completing onboarding tasks.
- Defining the training priorities for each role or department.
- Creating a checklist noting all legally required training and documentation.
- Assigning mentors to guide new hires.
- Documenting the process for consistency and easy replication.
By making new hires feel supported and informed from day one, you can improve the onboarding experience.
2. Provide Comprehensive Training Upfront
Deliver thorough, role-specific training right away so new hires have the broad foundational knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs. In the next few days or weeks, you can review these skills more in-depth and correct any issues.
Set a time for intensive training from the start. Your program could cover everything from hospital policies to hands-on clinical skills. It could include role-specific training and sessions on compliance and safety. With these principles in place, new hires can start their employment with you fully equipped with the knowledge to be successful.
3. Have a New Hire “Cheat Sheet” Guide To Answer Common Questions
Design your cheat sheet to be concise and easy to reference so new employees can quickly find answers. As they navigate your company, they’ll feel more confident and self-sufficient in their new role.
Here are some practical cheat sheet items:
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- Contact information for key personnel and departments
- Procedures for common workplace tasks
- Overview of important policies and protocols
- Guide to essential software and systems
- Common acronyms and abbreviations
- Role-specific notes, like medication administration protocols
The best guide will make new hires feel more prepared and less stressed during their first weeks on the job.
4. Include Compliance & Safety Training
New hires must understand and follow regulations from day one. Proper training protects patients, staff, and the organization from potential risks and legal issues and creates a culture of safety and compliance.
Here are some key compliance and safety training topics to cover:
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- HIPAA and patient privacy regulations
- Data privacy regulations
- How to handle hazardous materials
- Infection control and hygiene protocols
- Proper use of personal protective equipment
- Emergency procedures and evacuation plans
Use interactive simulations and real-world scenarios to reinforce key concepts. Compliance and safety are essential to protecting your organization and improving patient care.
5. Document Their Progress
Track each step of an employee’s progress to ensure they complete each training and task. You’ll also be able to see if you’re getting behind schedule so you can extend or adjust the onboarding. Documentation helps prove they received specific training, helping with compliance and legal liability.
It can also help you identify areas where new hires may need additional support. Use a checklist with review points to ensure they understand each training area before moving on to the next.
6. Set Benchmarks, Check-Ins, & Feedback Sessions
Establish clear goals and milestones for new hires to achieve during their first few months. Schedule regular check-ins to assess their understanding and perform a skills assessment periodically. More formal feedback sessions provide opportunities for both praise and constructive criticism.
Start with these tasks:
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- Set specific, measurable goals for new hires.
- Schedule weekly check-ins for the first month.
- Conduct formal feedback sessions at 30, 60, and 90 days.
- Use a standardized checklist for consistent evaluations.
- Identify training gaps and provide timely support as needed.
7. Conduct Thorough Background Checks & Screening
The first step in having a quality onboarding process is ensuring you’re onboarding quality candidates.
Checking applicants’ educational requirements and employment history ensures they start with the correct knowledge. Checking their names against OIC exclusion lists ensures they are eligible to work in the healthcare industry and don’t have a recorded history of patient abuse or another major issue. Verify their licenses with the respective sources and boards to make sure their credentials are accurate and up-to-date.
To complete a thorough background check, use a service like Cisive's PreCheck. With PreCheck, you can receive quick results with 99.9% accuracy, helping you hire faster and onboard sooner.
How Healthcare Background Check Services Streamline the Process
PreCheck enhances your onboarding process for new healthcare employees by providing fast and thorough background checks tailored to the industry. All our processes safeguard sensitive information and meet the stringent requirements of the healthcare industry.
PreCheck includes verification of education, licenses, and certifications to ensure that candidates meet the necessary qualifications. It offers real-time updates on candidate status, which helps you stay informed throughout the hiring process. It also reduces the time to hire, allowing you to fill critical roles quickly and maintain adequate staffing.
Choose PreCheck To Support Your Healthcare Hiring & Onboarding
Your primary goal as a healthcare provider is to create a safe environment for patients. You also want your employees to be productive, happy, and engaged. By implementing healthcare onboarding best practices, you can achieve these goals while reducing employee turnover.
Cisive’s PreCheck screening and monitoring platform makes onboarding easier. It simplifies your process and helps you feel confident in the candidates you hire. Contact Cisive today to speak with a PreCheck expert and get a demo of this powerful tool.
