Healthcare is a unique industry, especially for an HR professional. Hiring the right healthcare worker is different from hiring other professionals, because healthcare talent requires unique soft skills. We’ve compiled a list of the top five soft skills every healthcare worker needs. Keep these traits in mind the next time you’re looking for new healthcare hires.
1. Emotional Intelligence
According to Psychology Today, “Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others.” It requires self-awareness, social intuition and the ability to regulate emotions to get the job done. Successful healthcare workers have a high emotional IQ, which they can use dealing with patients, as well as the stress of the job.
2. Communication
Every professional should have good communication skills, but healthcare professionals in particular should be excellent communicators. Whether it’s listening, speaking or writing, when it comes to healthcare, communication can literally be a matter of life and death.
3. Respect
It doesn’t matter if you’re hiring for the billing department or a specialist physician, every healthcare job involves customer service. No other industry has the same range of backgrounds, beliefs and personalities in their customers. That’s why a successful healthcare worker will have deep respect for every patient and professional they come in contact with.
4. Flexibility
Changes to the healthcare industry are ongoing. Job descriptions can change frequently based on staffing availability. In the course of one shift, workload and pace can vary wildly based on patient needs. For these reasons, be sure to look for flexibility and adaptability when hiring healthcare talent.
5. Integrity
Integrity can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. When talking about healthcare professionals, though, integrity has several facets. Honesty, professionalism, passion and a patient-first attitude are all aspects of integrity a healthcare worker needs. Honoring patient privacy and protecting patient rights are important jobs for healthcare professionals, and having integrity will help make it happen.
At Staffing Partners, we provide top-tier employment staffing services for Oregon companies. That means we provide you with the best healthcare industry candidates, who have not just the technical skills you need, but also the soft skills that make them excel in their field. Contact us today to request an employee, and our expert recruiting staff will start searching for the perfect candidate.
