Why Onboarding is an Issue You Can’t Afford to Ignore
An effective & results-driven onboarding process is more than a cheerful “welcome aboard.” It’s a comprehensive plan that can become a real asset to your organization. An onboarding process not only helps your physicians succeed. It can increase retention, decrease ramp-up time, and improve productivity. Creating a results-based process for new physicians requires you to understand the challenges of onboarding, address them effectively, and then measure the results of your efforts. Below is a section of one of our white papers discussing why onboarding is an issue you can’t afford to ignore.
Why Onboarding is an Issue You Can’t Afford to Ignore
You may meet every recruiting and hiring goal you set, but if you can’t keep the physicians you hire longer than a few years, you’ll never be able to out-recruit your losses. It’s not unusual for a hospital to lose half the physicians it recruits over 5 years. As frustrating as that statistic is on the surface, this attrition is also costly. Consider how much your organization spends to recruit and hire a single physician. Add the cost of a guaranteed salary during the new physician’s ramp-up time. Then consider the loss of revenue an unfilled position creates. This adds up to a number most hospitals can’t afford to bear.
An effective onboarding process can also reduce the time required for a physician to come off guarantee by increasing referrals and effectively marketing that physician. When Geisinger Health System started their onboarding program, an average new physician averaged nine months to reach the 60th percentile McGladrey benchmark for productivity (the productivity benchmark included work Relative Value Units, collections, patient visits, and panel sizes.) In just 2 years, they reduced that average from 4-9 months. The reduced ramp-up time saved the health system $9.6 million over 3 years.
5 Reasons Physicians Leave
At Marketware, experience shows that physicians leave a hospital for 1 or more of the following reasons:
1. Management that does not seek or listen to medical staff input
2. The physician’s spouse or children are unhappy
3. Lack of tools or support to help the practice grow
4. Low patient volume leading to fear of loss of professional skills or income after guaranteed salary
5. Lack of professional interaction, support, or camaraderie with other physicians
Demo — Physician Onboarding
An Inside Look at Marketware’s Onboarding Platform
Our healthcare-specific recruitment and onboarding platforms are designed by industry professionals to streamline your hiring process, helping you source, qualify, and retain the best providers with ease. Interested in learning more about how Marketware’s Recruit Platform can help?
Tool Kit — Physician Onboarding
Physician Onboarding Plan
This toolkit provides essential templates and guides to ensure a smooth transition for new providers, from their first 100 days to full integration within your organization. Inside, you’ll find structured assessment plans, onboarding checklists, referral development tools, and communication strategies—everything you need to support and retain top medical talent.
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