Australia's doctors are committed to partnering with medical recruitment agencies to secure the very best job opportunities, the first Wavelength Medical Recruitment and Locum Attitudes Survey 2018 reveals. According to the extensive survey of more than 500 doctors nationwide, almost nine out of ten doctors have a very positive or positive impression of working with medical recruitment agencies.
"Our research highlights the important role medical recruitment agencies have within the medical community, especially with the current medical workforce shortages and maldistribution," says Chris Riley, CEO at Wavelength.
"We also found doctors have high levels of trust in the services we offer. It is therefore important for healthcare employers to expect quality and to trust expert medical recruitment agencies to source the very best doctors and to establish longstanding mutually-beneficial partnerships," he says.
Recruitment agencies' vital role
According to the findings, 84 per cent of doctors surveyed believe agencies provide an invaluable service and 83 per cent believe having a good agency is critical, especially as competition for locums increases in the current market. 82 per cent also stated that medical recruitment agencies make their lives easier.
"We also conducted extensive phone interviews as part of this research. Some of the highlights regarding Wavelength's level of service in particular included our commitment to go out of our way to be as helpful and proactive as possible, take care of all the details and make our doctors feel valued," Chris Riley adds.
The research revealed sourcing roles tailored to their needs is the top reason why doctors prefer partnering with medical recruitment agencies, followed by being able to handle the paperwork and negotiating effectively on their behalf. Good communication, responding quickly to queries and being able to organise all travel and accommodation are also key factors.
Other general feedback on the benefit of medical recruitment agencies for doctors included agencies' ability to take care of registration requirements and source exclusive roles or roles not yet advertised.
"Our research confirms medical recruitment agencies play a role in reducing recruitment red-tape and the administrative burden often experienced by doctors. In fact, the research also suggests that the increasing amount of paperwork requested by healthcare employers can often deter good doctors from applying," Chris Riley says.
Sourcing new job opportunities
Wavelength's survey found that medical recruitment agency websites are the stand-out number one source of new job opportunities for doctors. 73 per cent of doctors surveyed regularly check agency websites and only 29 per cent rely on healthcare employer websites to secure new roles.
Agency websites are followed by word of mouth referrals and specialty college websites. Interestingly, social media is the least preferred source of new roles, with only 8 per cent citing LinkedIn and 3 per cent citing Facebook in their top sources.
"Medical recruitment agencies are relied upon by doctors to offer the greatest choice of roles, backed up with tailored advice to ensure the right cultural fit. At Wavelength, we make sure we find our doctors the right job, not just any job. And in turn, we collaborate with our healthcare employers to source the very best doctors for each and every role," Chris Riley says.
How to attract locum doctors
Finally, the Wavelength Medical Recruitment and Locum Attitudes Survey Spring 2018 delved into what makes a great locum role. Setting aside pay, the survey found location is the top drawcard for doctors considering a locum role, followed by good levels of staffing support and reasonable working hours.
The survey revealed an ideal locum consists of 8-hour days, interesting work, less administration and a positive team environment. 73 per cent of those surveyed also stated knowing more about the region and local amenities in advance would make locum work more appealing.
"With competition for good locums increasing, healthcare employers need to be on top of their attraction and retention strategies. While there isn't much employers can do about location, being competitive when it comes to key motivators such as rates, hours and flexibility will go a long way to securing talented locum doctors," Chris Riley says.
"Ultimately an effective medical recruitment agency needs to meet the workforce requirements of its healthcare employers for the long term through ongoing collaboration. At Wavelength, our 20-year history, unrivalled networks and expert recruiters mean we are the specialists in our niche market. Our doctors value our high levels of personalised service and ability to find the right roles at the right time. Likewise our healthcare employers trust us to save them time and effort with expert solutions designed to source the very best medical talent," he adds.
