Recruiting revenue cycle management employees can be a challenge for hospitals and health systems and retaining top talent can be even more difficult.
Some healthcare organizations limit themselves in their search for revenue cycle management talent by only seeking employees who have a lot of experience and are proficient in certain software. Hospitals and health systems can broaden their search by hiring recent college graduates, LaSalle Network Founder and CEO Tom Gimbel told Becker's Hospital Review.
"We're encouraging our clients to hire five people with revenue cycle experience and five recent graduates … who have an analytical skill set," he said. "Then you have to put one of your better employees in a training role to get those five recent grads up and running."
Healthcare organizations that hire recent graduates must allocate time and cost for training in the beginning. Continued investments in employees' growth and development will help hospitals and health systems build a strong workplace culture and keep top talent.
"We're all competing for talent. What's going to make someone really good work for your hospital or system?" Mr. Gimbel said. "What's going to make someone who has years of experience or a recent graduate come to your place?"
In addition to building a strong company culture, hospitals and health systems looking to grow their revenue cycle teams should also make recruiting bilingual employees a top priority, according to Mr. Gimbel.
As the demographics of the U.S. change, healthcare organizations are increasingly seeking bilingual employees. When recruiting these employees, hospitals and health systems shouldn't limit themselves to workers who have experience with Epic, Cerner, Meditech or other software. Employees can complete software-specific training after they're hired, Mr. Gimbel said.
"Invest in sharp, motivated people who may not have the experience and plant deeper roots to retain talent," he said.
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