A Culture of Learning:
In a service industry such as behavioral health, our competence is directly tied to the quality of the service that we are selling. Being more competent makes the organization more attractive from both a marketing and recruitment perspective.
The Mindset Shift:
Marketing and recruitment is not a single event and is approached much more successfully as a process. Consumers and team members are making a significant choice by choosing a behavioral healthcare provider and as such the best clients/team members are unlikely to make a decision based on a single interaction. They will generally pick the organization that they know, like, and trust. This happens over time. If the first time you meet a potential client/team member is the day that you need them, then you have a problem. You will desperately try to close the deal on the first interaction. Ask yourself: What does this feel like to the potential team member/client?
Conversely, if you have a continuous learning process, the marketing and recruitment efforts can build on this foundation. Making a culture of learning visible to the public does a lot to attract your ideal clients/team members.
First, education provided to your team members creates better service, which leads to greater word-of-mouth, which is the most powerful form of marketing. Additionally, team members can position the company as a leader in the community by sharing what they have learned in a publicly engaging and accessible way (aka marketing).
On the other hand, a culture of learning can also be leveraged as recruitment if Continuing education credits (CEU’s) are offered publicly in exchange for an email address. Providing CEU’s that help meet the company’s needs can provide you with an email list of potential employees that have already taken the training that meets your needs!!! Additionally, when a job opportunity arises, it can be offered in a thoughtful and targeted way to a potential team member who has already had a positive experience with you.
The Challenge:
Building a culture of learning is not simply providing information to your team. They must be enrolled in the journey and believe in the mission, vision and values. Creating engaging content, measuring enrollment, and collecting leads is what we do at Tetra Prime and in a digital world it is more achievable than ever. If this is something you are moving toward l would be happy to discuss how this is achieved.