Main image courtesy of Medical News Today.

Generally speaking, talent acquisition refers to actively seeking out talented workers for your company. Unlike recruitment, which is about filling vacancies, talent acquisition is a constant, ongoing process of finding and hiring skilled workers that bring important qualities to the table.

These are people that you would want to hire as possible leaders, executives, and supervisors at your company, so it’s important to have a strong talent acquisition strategy that brings in talented, valuable employees. In the mental health field, this can include people such as therapists, nurses, or receptionists. Mental health providers can work in fields ranging from psychology to pharmacy, so there’s a vast array of roles that are included in the industry.

Talent acquisition is a critical, long-term process, so it’s important to ensure that you have a well-developed, solid plan for improving the quality of the care that you provide. Here’s what you should be doing.

Attracting talented individuals 

Although it is easier said than done, it is absolutely vital that you put time and effort into attracting qualified individuals to your company. As a mental health care provider, you should be looking for people who are not only experienced in their respective fields, but have a real passion for what they do. 

You can attract genuine talent by showing them all that your company has to offer. Emphasizing benefits, actively providing providers with the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore, and fostering a company culture of innovation and support can attract talented people to your company.

You can get the word out through social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, or update your website with information about what you do, where your company emerged from, and what all it can offer those who join it. 

Deciding on a structure

When it comes to talent acquisition, especially in mental health, you are looking for the top candidates. These are the people that will offer excellent patient care, devote time and energy to treating individuals, and have experience in what they do. So, when it comes to forming a talent acquisition plan, prioritize finding people to fill the bigger roles first. 

If you’re in need of a manager, supervisor, or another leadership role of any kind, be sure to start actively looking for people to fill that position first. Fill a talent pool with the best of the best and then start making decisions from there. 

Doing better

As a mental health care provider, you are doing so much for people who suffer from mental health symptoms regularly. The goal of the mental health industry is, at its core, to help people live their lives authentically, with satisfaction and contentment. If you want your employees to be doing that, you need to ensure that your company as a whole is truly reflecting that message.

You can tell a lot about an institution from the way it treats its “lowest” members. Make sure that you always shape an environment that is open, welcoming, and authentic. You want to make your company a place that people want to work at and want to get treated at. This means that you have to put a lot of effort into making new employees feel welcome and included, for example, or provide incentives for other workers to improve themselves as well.

Working in the field of mental health can be emotionally and mentally taxing, and it’s important to keep that in mind. Part of your talent acquisition process should include maintaining new talent that you’ve required. Encourage self-care practices and rest whenever possible, and support your fellow providers in the work that they do. You’ll naturally find yourself attracting talented new workers!

Get out there

Don’t be afraid to talk about the fact that you’re actively looking for new talent! In fact, you should be out there looking for opportunities to let more people know that you are hiring. This can mean attending relevant conferences or networking events to meet new people. Even if you don’t find success in the talent acquisition side of things, you’ll still be able to make connections with like-minded individuals in your field and be able to expand your network.

Regularly going to networking events will help you grow your list of contacts, which in turn will help you learn more about the talent acquisition process specifically for mental health providers from other people’s experiences. You’ll have access to the advice and support of so many other people!

Overall, talent acquisition for mental health providers is all about finding people who really care about the patient experience and are willing to put the work in to make other people’s lives better. The talent acquisition process can be tedious, but if you put the time and effort in, you will see the results!