Tag Archives: healthcare support

Mindfulness at Work

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You may read this title and immediately think of monks or yoga poses, however mindfulness at work doesn’t need to involve either to decrease your stress level!  The main principal of mindfulness is being consciously present, that is being aware of what is going on around you and within you. Tips on exploring mindfulness are abundant and said to increase productivity, decrease stress and help take back control of your emotions. We’ve listed the basics, and our favorites below.

Press Pause

Give yourself time to live in the moment. Pause before heading into the office each morning and regularly throughout the day even if it’s for 4 slow deep breaths. This, along with different types of mindful exercises help rebalance the nervous system and encourage rational decisions over rash reactions.

Aim for Conscious Awareness

Practice being present in what you are doing, while you are doing it. It’s not uncommon to get distracted at work, but when your mind begins to wander, acknowledge it and bring your thoughts back to the project at hand.

Active Listening

Hearing, but not really listening… We’ve all been there! Also coined inactive listening, tends to happen when we are not in the moment, distracted by thoughts outside of the conversation or stressors unrelated to the topic. We often don’t realize this is happening until it’s too late. You’ve been asked a question or it’s your turn to talk and you’re clueless. To dodge these types of awkward scenarios, stay engaged by asking questions, providing feedback or even jotting down notes, if appropriate.

These small changes in mindfulness and therefore attitude can literally add years to your life and improve your productivity and achievements in the workplace.

31 Ways to Be Ambitious This August

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August 1st – “Do something nice for someone.” Not only will it make them feel good, but it will make feel good too!

August 2nd – “Make someone laugh – it’s Friday!” A big stress reliever is laughing and a study shows that people will like you more if you make them laugh.

August 3rd – “Go sit in the sun and absorb some Vitamin D.” Vitamin D promotes bone growth, reduces depression, promotes weight loss, and fights diseases! Why wouldn’t you want to be lounging around in the sun with all those health benefits? But, don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

August 4th – ” Look at yourself in the mirror. Give yourself one compliment.” You can either be your own biggest fan or your own biggest enemy. By complimenting yourself, builds confidence and positivity within yourself.

August 5th – “It’s the first Monday of the month! Dress for success.” Dressing professionally demands respect and it also builds your self-confidence. It’s also fun to know you look great!

August 6th – “Excercise for 30 minutes.” This can be going for a walk during your lunch, going to yoga, and everything in between! Get up and be active – there are so many health benefits to working out.

August 7th – “Call someone close to you – someone you love. Express your gratitude towards them, tell them you love them or thank them for being there for you.”

August 8th – “Write a nice note on someone’s desk.” This brightens up people’s day and freshens up the office environment.

August 9th – “Bring in some treats for the company.” Get your ‘Martha Stewart’ on and bake some cookies, brownies, or cupcakes! Or bring in some yummy carbs and goodies for everyone to chow down on.

August 10th – “Clean up your friends’ list on social media” Still friends with those annoying, popular girls from high school? Just unfollow them – you’ll feel less anxiety logging on without seeing all their posts about “joining their pyramid scheme”.

August 11th – “Wash your car.” There’s nothing better than a squeaky clean ride! Just cross one more thing off of your list.

August 12th – “Meditate ten minutes before coming into work” Get your mind focused and relax before the worries of work sink in.

August 13th – “Schedule a lunch date.”

August 14th – “Organize your desk – sanitize too!” You should be organizing and ridding your desk of germs, at least, once a month. Not only does this help you avoid illnesses, but it also reduces stress by not having to deal with a messy desk. Messy desks make for messy minds!

August 15th – “Go into the office early or stay late.” Think of all the work you can get done by spending a little more time in the office.

August 16th – “Organize your folders on your desktop.” Get rid of folders or documents you don’t need anymore to clear space up on your computer.

August 17th – “Buy yourself something nice – you deserve it!” Everyone deserves a little splurging every now and then.

August 18th – “Make a to-do list for the week.” Reach out to this partner on Monday, clean your bathroom on Tuesday, finish that project by Wednesday… Write down everything you want to get done within the week – personal and professional.

August 19th – “Ask three coworkers about their weekend.” And actually listen.

August 20th – “Learn something new.” Knowledge is power!

August 21st – “Read a career article.”

August 22nd – “Make your bed, you lazy bones!”  Navy Seal William H. McCraven, commander of the forces that led the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, told the 2014 University of Texas graduates, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

August 23rd – “Introduce yourself to someone new.” The more friends the merrier!

August 24th – “Clean your home.”

August 25th – “Meal prep your lunches for the week.” Start your week off right with healthy lunches!

August 26th – “Turn off your cell phone today.” Don’t let the hundreds of notifications distract you from your work.

August 27th – “Get a full nights rest.” A whole eight hours of sleep? Unheard of! Well, not tonight…

August 28th – “Compliment five coworkers.” Compliments are nice to receive but even better to give. Tell someone how much you love their hair or their outfit! You could turn around someone’s awful day to somewhat bearable.

August 29th – “Help a coworker with one of their projects or responsibilities.” Help out some of your coworkers that are stressing over certain projects, they’ll appreciate it.

August 30th – “High-five 10 coworkers.” August is over, time to celebrate the coming of a brand new month.

August 31st – “End the month doing three of your favorite things you did this past month from the list above.” You’re ending the month & starting the new month as productive as ever!

The Importance of Screening Candidates

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Your employees are the heart of your medical center, which means that each person on your team must be a valuable and qualified asset. But, finding the right applicants is an incredibly time-consuming task that you may not have time to properly prioritize.

The best way to prevent the wrong candidates from ever settling into your workforce is to work with a healthcare recruiter that knows how to find and recommend the best candidates through applicant screening. During these preliminary phone calls, recruiters assess the capabilities and personality of each applicant to determine the strongest ones to recommend for an in-person interview. Here’s a peek at how this process works and the areas it will improve around your healthcare facility.

Employee Performance

By understanding an applicant’s experience, qualifications, and salary requirements, a staffing agency determines if he or she meets the initial requirements of the position. This is the most crucial step in the phone screening process, because it eliminates unqualified candidates from ever reaching a face-to-face interview at your facility. A staffing firm evaluates if an applicant is qualified by asking questions such as:

  • “Can you describe your educational background?”
  • “Can you describe your professional experience?”
  • “What active medical certifications or licenses do you currently have?”

Company Culture

During initial phone screenings, a staffing consultant also asks a mixture of open-ended questions and questions provided by your facility to understand if the candidate fits in with your company culture. Behavioral questions to determine the candidate’s workplace preferences determine whether he or she is compatible with the mission, vision, and values of your center. A staffing firm evaluates personality by asking questions such as:

  • “What type of leadership style do you respond best to?”
  • “Are you looking for long-term employment or short-term?”
  • “Are you interested in growth opportunities in your workplace?”
  • “Do you plan on furthering your education?”

Facility Operations

A staffing agency will properly screen applicants to alleviate the need for your human resource department or medical executives to scan resumes and conduct wasteful interviews with unqualified candidates. By referring this responsibility to an experienced healthcare recruiter, your employees can put more focus on their own operations, improve the functions of your healthcare facility, and effectively evaluate the recommended applicants during the final interview.

Employee Turnover

Because staffing firms only recommend qualified and personally relevant applicants to your facility, you are more likely to hire candidates that will excel in their positions and completely fulfill their short- or long-term requirements. And, when less employees are shuffling in and out of your facility, you’ll notice a decrease in costs that come with additional training, temporary hires, and job advertisements.

Experienced Healthcare Recruiters

Perfecting your healthcare facility starts with your next hire. Luckily, the HealthCare Support team can place the perfect professionals in your healthcare facility through employment verification, reference checks, education verification, and more. Thanks to our multi-step screening process, you can feel confident that each applicant we recommend is qualified to excel in his or her job duties and blend in with your existing team of medical professionals. To learn more, visit our website at www.HealthCareSupport.com.

Are You Engaged at Work?

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This info graphic explains some great ways you can ensure you are remaining engaged at work. With 2/3 of the American working population disengaged we couldn’t help but share some tips!

statistics: CBS News

How to Increase Employee Retention

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When one of your valued medical professionals gives their resignation notice, you may be confused as to what encouraged him or her to leave. But often times, there isn’t just one incident that decreases your employee retention, but a series of factors that need improvement.

After asking yourself what you could do to increase staff retention, ask your staff directly. Establish clear channels of communication, find out how to improve their satisfaction, and give them the tools to feel empowered and valued in their position.

Talkative Team Building

One of the best ways to encourage employees to start and continue working with your healthcare facility is to foster a professional community at work. In fact, 46% of active job applicants state that company culture is a “very important” factor that contributes to their job search.

Use team-building exercises to let your healthcare employees grow your company culture into one that fits every employee’s social style. You can take your staff to team-building sites, like obstacle courses and escape rooms, or bring the activities to your facility and research icebreakers and teamwork games that start conversations.

Clear Communication

Employees that don’t feel comfortable communicating with upper management are 16% less likely to stay with their current company, which means that communication must flow to and from employees. Encourage your medical professionals to start conversations by letting them know how. Send an email or company newsletter addressing communication and detailing the proper channels to use for their wants and needs.

Scrupulous Surveys

The proof is in the professionals. If you really want to know how you can improve your employee satisfaction, send out a company satisfaction survey to see which areas your facility excels or needs improvement. Up to 29% of employees would replace a high-paying job with a job that they enjoy, so it’s important to also use open-ended questions and understand what would make each employee feel more valued and content with their work.

Just as you ask employees for feedback, you should provide it to them. Evaluating employee performances lets them understand which areas they excel in and which areas they need improvement. This provides workplace goals that will keep your medical professionals engaged in their everyday operations and in their place of work.

Employee Education

Turns out, 86% of employees find learning opportunities to be an important part of any workplace. Of course, the candidates you hire must meet the essential qualifications for their job title, but continuing their education provides value while making employees feel valued. Offer digital, on-site, or remote training in areas that you feel employees need more improvement or general understanding. Depending on the level of importance to each employee, you can make certain training companywide or department specific.

Healthy Hiring

Hiring the right medical professional is a victory for any healthcare facility, but improper onboarding can determine how long your new hires will stick around. Companies that effectively prepare and integrate employees during the hiring process “improve new hire retention by 82%,” but you don’t have to optimize your onboarding alone.

Experienced Healthcare Staffing

Working with healthcare recruitment professionals can elevate the process that turns interviewees into employees. Having a thorough hiring process allows you to evaluate the long-term goals of each applicant, select the best candidates for your facility, and determine how to successfully integrate them into your team. To fortify your recruitment, consider hiring a healthcare staffing agency that knows how to properly place the right professionals in the right facilities.

At HealthCare Support, we offer a range of services that bring the best professional candidates to your facility and equip it with the tools to retain them. We offer onsite visits, team building events, continual coaching, and newsletters to keep your staff satisfied and keep your facility informed. For more information, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

How to Fall Back in Love with Your Job

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Throughout the course of our professional career, we fluctuate between loving our job and despising it. When you first start a job, you start a new chapter in your life. You’re financially supporting yourself, you’re starting to make new friends, and you’re working for a company that chose you out of hundreds of people – overall, it’s a fresh feeling. But sometimes these feelings seem to evaporate over time. In fact, every year, 5.6 million people leave their job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Falling out of love with your job happens to millions of people so, in order to overcome this, you should figure out if you want to move on and find new opportunities or learn how to fall back in love with your job. If you choose the latter, here are a few easy ways that can help you:

  1. Rearrange your desk or your office. You’ve been at the same desk for a long time now. Freshen things up by rearranging it or buying new decorations. You spend forty hours a week around the same space, be sure to surround yourself with the things you love. Also, keep it neat and tidy. 
  2. Take more breaks. Walk around your building a few times. Workout during lunch. Taking productive breaks during your day allows your mind to relax. Working out or going for a walk recharges your brain and clears your head.
  3. Read a career book that relates to the industry you work in. This can help you appreciate your line of work and will motivate you to get back in the office and grind. Other people go through the same thing, but they write about it to help you get over it as they did.
  4. Befriend passionate coworkers. It’s easy to be around people that are passionate about what they do, and it helps you to be passionate too!
  5. Celebrate your accomplishments. It’s fun when you do things right and you’re positively impacting the company. So, celebrate when you do things right or when you reach a goal! It will relieve work tension and remind you how good you are at what you do.
  6. Do one nice thing a day in the office. Hold the door open for someone, buy someone lunch, or write positive notes on people’s desks. Simple stuff like this is an easy way to make you feel good.
  7. Try something new. If you feel like you’re doing the same thing repeatedly, maybe it’s time to try other things and learn new things outside your job description. Talk to your manager about whether you can take on new responsibilities to help other teams or departments.
  8. Remind yourself about the way you felt when you got the job. How relieved and excited were you when you got offered the job? When all of a sudden all the applications you sent in and interviews you went on were over and you secured yourself a job. Remind yourself of that feeling you got and put it in your back pocket. Always keep that feeling close.
  9. Think about all the good things about your job. This can be whether your company culture is awesome, you love your job or all of the great friends you’ve made. Just remind yourself of all the good things going for you. Thinking positively impacts you more than you know.
  10. Maybe it’s time to take a vacation. Life is better when you have something to look forward to. Decide to take a vacation or a staycation. Not only will you be excited leading up to the event which will make the days pass by, but your brain can also use the break.

 

Questions You Should Be Asking At Every Interview

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Asking questions during an interview allows the interviewer to know you are interested in the position and you are serious about the company. You also want to make sure you’re getting every single piece of information about the position and the company before you accept the job. so, which questions should you be asking to give you a good feeling about what this opportunity is all about?

Creating Career Independence this Independence Day

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Independence Day is creeping up on us all this summer, which means we already have six months of 2019 under our belt… Crazy, right? This seems like a firecrackin’ time to do some self-reflecting on your career and your career independence. Career independence is the ability to be in charge of your own career, goals, and dreams. In honor of this beautiful day, the land of the free, and the home of the brave, here are ten tips to achieve career independence.

1. The first thing you can do to establish career independence is always to have your resume updated. An amazing opportunity can come up at the most random times and you want to make sure you’re prepared. You should also double-check that your LinkedIn profile matches with your resume and your profile picture is recent and professional.

2. Turn that television off! No Netflix, no Hulu, no Amazon Prime. Instead, read a book. There are so many benefits, such as, improving your memory, reducing stress, expanding your vocabulary, and improving your overall knowledge. And on the other end, watching television is bad for your brain and your health. If you don’t know where to start, grab a career book and read it! Reading career books can spark creativity and energy. It can also motivate you to try new things that could up your career game and can change your outlook on where you’re at in your professional life.

3. Write down all your career experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Keeping them in a journal is a great way to learn from your experiences and it helps to see what you are doing well and what you can be doing better at. You are your own greatest critic, so let’s make it constructive criticism!

4. Being confident and comfortable with yourself is easier said than done, but it’s so important, especially in the professional world. Confidence is an attractive quality to have; even more so when you’re working a business deal or hiring someone new. We are attracted to the people who are enthusiastic about their skills and knowledge because we know they can handle whatever we throw at them without having to “hold their hand”. Lastly, think about it this way: if you don’t appreciate yourself, then why should others?

5. Don’t get confidence confused with your ego. In fact, leave your ego at the door. No one likes a boaster who thinks they are too good for everyone. It not only is annoying, but it’s hard to work alongside them.

6. If you ever get bored with your job, you have two choices and you need to decide for yourself what you’re going to do about it: quit your job and move on, or learn how to fall back in love with your job. For you to establish career independence, you must choose one. If you choose the latter, a couple of things to try are learning something new, taking more breaks throughout the day, starting a side hustle, or reflecting back on what it was like before you started the position – a little nostalgia can go a long way. However, if you’ve decided it’s time for a new job, allow yourself some time to apply for jobs and have interviews before you quit. That way you won’t be in financial trouble.

7. Keep your expertise up to date. If you have skills from a previous position that you aren’t using in your current role, take some online courses to refresh your mind. If you have any certifications or credentials, keep them up to date.

8. Knowledge is never-ending. There are always new things to learn and excel at. Take the time to do so by watching videos, reading articles and books, and taking online courses. Technology is changing every day so why not stay all caught up with the latest trends?!

9. Stop. Networking. Keep in touch with old coworkers by asking them out for coffee or lunch. Down the road, they could be the ones to assist you in getting your dream job. Also, stay connected with all your old and current coworkers by following them on LinkedIn, it’s a great tool to use when reconnecting!

10. Are you subscribed to any streaming services or monthly clubs that you don’t use anymore? Cancel them! According to an analysis by Waterstone Group, a management consulting firm for tech companies, the respondents spend more than $237.33 a month on subscription services. The respondents guessed they spend, on average, $111.61 a month. That’s a big gap! Clean up your expenses by canceling the ones you don’t use. Your bank account will thank you later!

                It will take some real reflecting on your professional life to achieve career independence, but there is no better time than the present, or on Independence Day! We hope your Fourth of July is filled with lots of yummy food, bangin’ fireworks, and fun!

Job Openings Outnumber Unemployed: What Should Companies Do?

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The number of job openings has exceeded the number of the unemployed for the second month now, setting it at 7.45 million open jobs to 5.82 million unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the largest margin on record – leaving a gap at 1.63 million – which is why so many employers are having a tough time finding good, quality candidates. While the number of openings in April decreased by 25,000, the number of hires increased by 240,000 and the unemployed fell by 387,000. Employers are eager to fill roles as the week’s pass, so what should they be doing in order to fill their jobs?

One of the most obvious things employers can do is raise wages. Quality candidates know their worth when they come in for interviews, so if you offer them something lower than what they expected, then it probably will not work out.  Raising wages in your company improves the productivity, motivation, and overall morale in your company. In the end, don’t you want employees who want to come in and work hard to make a positive impact on the company?

Another way companies can help with the job openings to unemployment ratio is to be quick when making a hiring decision. Did you know it takes one to three weeks to hear back from a company after you’ve applied? And the job hiring process as a whole? That can take up to twelve weeks; maybe, even more, depending on how many applicants the company receives. Twelve weeks is a long time to wait for one job and, most of the time, candidates are going through more than one interview process. Some ways you can speed up hiring is letting your internal team know what positions are open and see if any of them want to make the switch to a new department. By letting your employees know, they can also dig up some quality candidates of their own through their network. To speed up the hiring process, companies can also be more selective about the candidates they bring in for an interview and reach out to those not chosen so they can move on in their job search. One last thing that will help speed up the hiring process is using a staffing company, like HealthCare Support. Hiring recruiting and staffing firms for your hiring needs may cost money but will save you tons of time because while they are busy finding and screening quality candidates, you and your employees will be doing your own work with the thought that your company is in good hands. If speeding up the hiring process seems like a tough thing to do because of the size of your company, then focus on staying in touch with your candidates every step of the hiring process so they won’t lose interest.

The last thing companies can do is improve their company culture. With millennials becoming the main group in today’s workforce, they are drawn to companies that have an awesome company culture with great perks and benefits. Some of the most common questions millennials ask during an interview are, “what’s the company culture  like” and “do you like working here?” This allows them to get a feel if your employees are happy working for your company. Some of the perks and benefits that candidates are most drawn to are flexible hours, company incentive trips and prizes, unlimited PTO, gym membership discounts, healthcare coverage, working remotely, and food catering. A company’s culture makes a huge impact on one’s decision to work for a company, so in order to fill jobs, have a company culture that stands out from other companies.

With job openings exceeding the unemployed by about one million, now is as good a time as any to start thinking about what changes you can make to reel these unemployed in. Increasing wages, speeding up the hiring process, and improving your company culture are a great place to start.  Partnering with a staffing firm like HealthCare Support who can guide you through the process and provide insight to industry supply and demand, salary averages and speed up new employee onboarding could be just what your company needs.

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