Sean Hill

Sean is experienced in medical recruitment, general recruitment and general human resource management.

He has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Policy with a particular focus on health policy, a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and he is a member of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand.

For more information, advice or assistance with your recruitment or human resource needs contact Samos Consulting on +64 4 568 5686 email us at info@samosconsulting.com

International recruitment – attracting & retaining the right professionals

It can be an expensive process recruiting health professionals internationally, but the reality in New Zealand, as it is elsewhere in the world, is that we have skill shortages that cannot be provided for domestically.

It is therefore very important to ensure that the time, effort and expense in securing health professionals from overseas secures the right person. The right person is not only someone who meets the technical requirements of the role you wish to fill, but also someone that is a good fit for New Zealand, your organisation and team in which they will work.

If you are looking for junior medical staff to fill short term posts then getting someone who is not a close fit with the rest your team and organisation may be manageable for a few weeks or months. However, if your recruitment needs require you to find permanent senior medical staff for your institution or general practice, then that is a different matter all together. It is vitally important to get the mix right or your expensive recruitment may not have a long life.

Attracting the right candidates from overseas remains a challenge for most health sector employers in New Zealand, especially when the expense in doing so is factored in. It is therefore vitally important to ensure that you get value for time and money spent.

New Zealand faces challenges when attempting to compete on a global footing when it comes to remuneration. However, we can lead the pack in terms of the quality of life to be found in New Zealand especially for those who enjoy the wonderful things that New Zealand has to offer in terms of our outdoor living and cultural diversity. This quality of life card is rightly played by many New Zealand recruiters.

Sometimes forgotten, but also of significant importance to many people in other parts of the world, is security, and New Zealand also leads in this area. The global index for peace recently rated New Zealand as second only to Iceland, which places us well ahead of Australia at 18th It is a card that is also worth playing! For more on this visit www.visionofhumanity.org

In my experience many in Europe now see the Southern Hemisphere as the part of the world that will grow and lead the rest of the world for the next 20 years. Although we have not escaped the global recession we have escaped many of its worst effects. With a robust banking sector far less leveraged and therefore less exposed to the banking practices engaged in by banks in other parts of the world. New Zealand is well placed to move forward on the back of its quality export commodities and the domestic economic surge that will occur when the rebuild of Christchurch begins to get underway.

Your well targeted marketing/advertising to health professionals overseas will bring you interest from people with the right skills who are potentially a good fit for New Zealand, but are they and their family a good fit for you, your organisation and your community? It takes time to look at a candidate’s interests and discuss it with them, and even more time to look at the needs of their family. However, if you get it right your chances of successful long term recruitment are greatly enhanced.

Employers should ensure that any new recruit is given the opportunity to grow and develop in their field. It is important to find what it is that your new recruit needs and feels is important to develop and grow; then you need to ask if it is something you can provide.

International recruits often bring with them new ideas and different methods which can be successfully shared with colleagues. An exchange and sharing of skills and knowledge taking place in an encouraging and supportive environment will ensure a great culture of mutual respect and leave a new recruit feeling valued and part of the team.

An important point often lost sight of in the rush to fill a vital role is that an unhappy spouse or partner can derail what otherwise appears to have been a successful recruitment. Important considerations are; what schools will your new recruit’s children be able to attend? Will your new recruit’s spouse or partner be able to gain suitable employment in their area of expertise (such as law) or be able to join a group that allows them to indulge a special interest in sport or music? It is important that your new recruit and their family can become a part of the community in which they work and live.

In my experience taking a holistic approach to recruiting your valuable international health professionals that encompasses their professional life, as well as their life away from the workplace produces very successful results in terms of retention and value for money.