The human resource function in the healthcare industry is going through a paradigm shift as the focus of recruitment shifts from mere clinical excellence to considering candidates for their service excellence and contribution to business performance, says Jacob Jacob, Chief People Officer, Apollo Hospitals.
“Earlier in the healthcare industry, the focus was only on clinical excellence. Today it is moving towards service excellence and it is HR's role to connect the two,” he says.
HR also has to look at the initiatives that can trigger business performance and add value to organisational growth. This will only happen with the right leadership.
Which means the metrics of hiring need to be different. “When you bring in talent, you have to assess the passion the individual has for healthcare and service excellence. It is not just a job anymore,” says Jacob.
Today, hospitals do not hire people for their technical brilliance alone. “Earlier, they would be happy to take on candidates who have worked with the best hospitals both in India and abroad. Today, when we recruit, we also assess behavioural traits. At the end of the day, doctors are managing a set of people — nurses and allied professionals. So, we look for the DNA of these people — their passion for healthcare,” he says.
The Apollo Way
Apollo has designed a programme called ‘The Apollo Way'. “The aim is to establish a healthcare service setting that eliminates all inefficient activities in the system and reorients healthcare delivery to benefit patients, staff and hospital performance. Apollo Way is also creating a set of standard operating procedures which are intended to be embedded deep within the organisation.
There is a huge shift in what hospitals want doctors to deliver today. “Apart from clinical excellence, they need to be good mentors. We have over 1,000 doctors on our rolls — and they aspire to become star doctors. Therefore, it is important that consultants look at grooming their second line.”
The involvement of doctors in the business of the hospital is also essential, says Jacob. “It is not enough to treat patients. They must also drive our business initiatives. Our hospitals have a business plan and doctors are a major conduit in delivering it.”
Talent right sighting
Today, hiring is not about filling vacancies, it is also about “talent right sighting” — i.e. finding a suitable opportunity in the organisation for good talent, says Jacob.
“When you meet a good doctor or an elite professional or support staff, you should be able to find an opportunity for the candidate in the organisation. It is no longer about filling up positions. Those are conventional methods. Today in the healthcare industry, it is about getting good value from a good professional…”
Corporatisation of hospitals has happened only recently. Large hospitals are realising the importance of support functions such as HR, marketing and finance, he says.
The healthcare industry in the country is charting new contours. Despite problems of attrition and demand-supply mismatch, the industry is also attracting good talent, with doctors abroad looking to come back to India.
“The exposure for doctors in the country has increased. They are getting opportunities to showcase their clinical excellence. Salaries have also increased 15-20 pc in the last two years. In fact, star consultants are in a better league in India than anywhere else.”