How to Attract More Millennial Physicians, Staff, and Patients
Though membership-based medicine is relatively young in the grand scheme of medical practice, the fact is we’re an aging population.
Right now, the vast majority of concierge physicians fit firmly within the Baby Boomer and Gen X demographics. A few fall on the border between Gen X and Millennials, but it’s rare in 2022 to spot true Millennials practicing in or running a concierge office.
Millennials are the next generation on deck in medical care, and we can’t put off the need to engage with and attract them to membership-based medicine. Not if we want to see this patient-focused model of care — not to mention our own practices — continue into the future.
Every generation is unique, and that presents certain challenges in recruiting from a generation not your own. We have to understand a new catalogue of wants and needs, and take stock of our current offerings and operations to ensure we’re positioned to attract great talent.
The great news is that some of the old challenges in recruiting have fallen away. Millennials are less entrenched in the conventional medical system than older generations, and more likely to embrace an alternative approach. They’re more flexible, easier to train, and want to be part of something that makes a difference in the world.
In turn, younger doctors attract younger members to practices. When patients join a practice and begin developing a relationship with their physician, they want to know this doctor will be with them for a long time.
Millennials also present important opportunities for succession planning. If your next hire is your age (or older), the odds that they’ll become your successor are low. But if your new doc is in their early- or mid-30s, they’ll have plenty of working years remaining when you’re ready to retire.
So, how can concierge practice owners attract younger physicians — and staff, and patients — to their businesses? What things turn them off? What draws them in?
Below, we’ll explore both opportunities and challenges involved with recruiting Millennials as America’s largest living generation moves into its prime years.
Technology Expectations
Millennials came of age with the internet and the explosion of personalized, mobile technology. Outdated, clunky, or inefficient technology can be a major area of frustration for them.
The healthcare industry isn’t known for being technology-forward, and in general lags behind other industries in user-friendly advancements. So while it’s not necessarily your practice’s fault, you’re probably starting out a bit behind the curve.
However, you can still evaluate the technology you have in your office — because if you fall a little behind in this area according to healthcare standards, you’re really behind according to the overall standard Millennials are used to working with.
Simply acknowledging and understanding this frustration upfront can be helpful. In fact, I’d encourage you to embrace young physicians and staff as technology experts. They may not know how to code, but they can offer more extensive insight from a user experience perspective than many of us older folks.
Given the opportunity to innovate, they may find and incorporate new options that improve the tech-friendliness of both the patient experience and your operations.
Schedule Flexibility vs. Rigidity
Millennials aren’t necessarily fans of rigid, traditional nine to five workdays, perhaps thanks in part to the rise of remote work, freelancing, and the gig economy.
Whatever the origin, we know Millennials greatly value work-life balance and place a high premium on schedule flexibility to take care of family and other responsibilities.
We recently heard a story about a married couple working as physicians at a local hospital. They had a young child whose daycare was putting on a morning program they wanted to attend, but it would make them a half hour late for work. In order to attend, they would have to use a half day of PTO per the hospital’s requirements.
They didn’t have a lot of PTO and didn’t need a half day off. They just needed a bit of grace from their employer to come in slightly late for a particular reason.
Now, I’m not suggesting concierge practices typically operate this way. Most would certainly give a physician the extra time. But what about your front office employee, or your MA? Though I think many offices already practice this principle, it’s helpful to remember how important a priority flexibility is to potential Millennial physicians and staff.
Creative Opportunities
New physicians or staff just starting out might want more money than you can pay them based on their minimal experience. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and help facilitate other ways to earn more.
You might offer them the space to run a side hustle within or adjacent to the business (as long as it doesn’t interfere with their ability to perform their work). Maybe their side hustle is a task-based opportunity that generates revenue and/or awareness for your practice.
Just providing that kind of outlet shows you understand and care about their struggles.
Or, maybe they’re more interested in community outreach and charitable activities. If that’s your front office person, you might give them a sidebar title of Chief Community Officer and throw some extra money their way for hosting occasional community engagement events — which could contribute to new patient leads.
Opportunities for Upward Mobility
Investing in the growth and development of younger employees is key, not only for their benefit but also for the long-term benefit of your practice. Similar to the point above, many of them are too young to be making the sort of money they want, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help them get there.
But upward mobility doesn’t always equate to a flashy new title and a big raise, especially with Millennials. Many of them care about building social capital through the development of their own personal brand. They like to do good in the community and enjoy showcasing their accomplishments.
You have so many options to bolster their personal brand as a function of your practice. Maybe one of your new physicians goes to a black-tie charity gala. You could have them take pictures of themselves at the event, and then post one on your social media channels about your new doc helping raise money for ALS research.
Or, maybe they love volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Maybe the whole office can spend a Saturday morning volunteering alongside them. You can use pictures from it on your social media channels or newsletter. Or maybe you feature it on your holiday card cover and give a shout-out to your employee for spearheading the whole thing.
A bit of support and public recognition helps build an employee’s personal brand, makes them happy, and illustrates your values and community involvement to potential members.
Change vs. Stagnation
Some of the older generations really preferred consistency. They liked things staying the same. They like their old office chair, thank you very much, and please don’t move their couch.
But Millennials tend to crave change, and they can’t deal with stagnation.
It goes far beyond physical space. It could be outdated technology or lack of room for growth, as discussed above, or perhaps stagnant thinking or tedium. Right now, the average tenure for Millennials at any job is less than three years.
It helps to understand that Millennials have a burning desire for new things. So, we can either anticipate that they’re going to leave and not invest in them, or we can embrace the challenge and find ways to create that newness within the practice to retain them.
Multi-Channel Recruiting
To reach great Millennial candidates, you need to know where they live and get in front of them. And this audience lives online.
But where online? They’re on social media, for sure, but different social media platforms are popular among different groups. Facebook still ranks high with Millennials, but they also spend lots of time on YouTube and Instagram. And the vast majority of this usage takes place on their phones.
These platforms — and your website or rating sites — are the places younger populations research you long before they ever call or complete an application. It’s how they become familiar with your branding, your values, and the character of your business.
It’s worth taking stock of your online presence and asking whether it represents your practice accurately, thoroughly, and authentically, and reaches your intended audience where they are.
Concierge Medicine Is a Creative Pursuit
This list isn’t exactly a how-to, but a collection of observations about a generation of people critical to the growth of concierge practices.
But they aren’t the only ones who can embrace change. As concierge practice owners, you looked at the conventional system and decided to forge another path. That same determination and creative problem-solving will allow you to imagine new solutions for attracting and retaining Millennial talent.
Have you tried some ideas for recruiting Millennials to your practice? Do you have thoughts about what might work? We’d love to hear them.
ROAMD is an international network of membership-based medical practices, coming together to learn, grow, and thrive.
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